Do you self-care during busy times?
Self-care comes in many different forms, from meditating right through to building personal wealth. The kind of self-care I am referring to is allowing regular time and space to nurture yourself, relax and recharge.
I always find, like many people, this time of the year is often the busiest as we wind up the current year and start to prepare for the New Year ahead. And during these times it’s easy to forego self-care.
We might tell ourselves we don’t have time at the moment.
And we promise ourselves we will do it later.
We think allowing time for self-care will slow us down and if we just skip it we will get far more done, when in fact the opposite is true.
If we don’t self-care regularly then our body goes into survival mode and this creates resistance. We might feel busy, but we are not really at our most productive and not able to handle challenges as well as we could.
When we regularly allow time to relax and recharge however, then we are giving our body what it needs. We feel less frantic and more at ease, we become more focused and we achieve a lot more in a lot less time. It almost feels like time is slowing down and expanding and helps us deal with even the most difficult challenges.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my entrepreneurial journey is the importance of self-care in achieving my dreams. I learned this the hard way and it wasn’t until I burned out that I truly got it. Because of this, I am passionate about sharing the lessons I have learned and how I now manage my self-care, even during busy times.
Create a ritual that works for you
There are a multitude of ways to relax and recharge and its important to find the one that works for you. For me gratitude writing, yoga, meditation, beach time, exercise, energy clearing are all part of my self –care ritual, but that doesn’t mean its right for everyone. Find a ritual that works for you, and that might mean giving a few things a go before you find what fits.
Schedule your ritual time
We tend to schedule in time for work, meetings and clients, yet often don’t schedule in time for ourselves. It’s easy to forget your self-care ritual if its not scheduled in. Always remember you are more important than your most valued client, because without you your business, career and life go nowhere. This means you must come first. Block time into your schedule for your self-care and aim to do it at a regular time each day that suits you.
Be flexible with your schedule
As we get busy, it often feels easier to just let self-care go and concentrate on the multitude of other things we have to do. This is where self-care becomes even more crucial and it’s important to let go of the ‘all or nothing’ strategy. Even a small amount of self-care is better than nothing. Learn to scale your self-care ritual back a little if life is busy or change the timing if you need to.
Last but definitely not least, its important to remember neglecting our own self-care is like running a car with old oil or no oil at all. We may get there, but it’s a struggle and it’s at the detriment to our health and everyone else involved in our world.
Scheduling self-care is something that is covered in my coaching programs, because it’s the fuel that helps us get to where we want to be. If you are ready to hear how coaching can help you achieve what you want, email me on success@debjohnstone.com.au or for help with scheduling Your Success Planner may be something you need. CLICK HERE for more details.