Oh man, you guys. Last week I had A WEEK. Like one of those weeks where there is literally not enough hours in the day and you feel like you have to work from the second you wake up to the second you fall asleep at your laptop. Fellow business owners- DO YOU FEEL ME?! It was brutal.
And in the hustle of the week, the first thing to be forgotten was taking care of myself. I pushed my own health and self care to the back burner which resulted in me being a complete stress case, snapping at my husband, and quite literally falling asleep while working.
Here I was trying to work so hard, but in reality the quality of my work was suffering because I wasn't at 100%!
The best quote I heard recently was: self care is a discipline, not an indulgence. This totally resonated with me this week. We have to treat our own self care as the highest priority on our to-do list, not something that can be neglected again and again.
I feel like we tend to think of self care as getting facials or massages and splurging on ourselves. But really it's a little less glamorous. I list "flossing" as a way that I practice self care, which sounds hilarious but it's true!
I feel better when I know that I've taken care of myself and I'm presenting my best self. Here are some ways that I (try to) practice self care every day-
1. Exercise
I'm not a person who loves working out every day, so I HAVE to go first thing in the morning, otherwise it ain't happening. Even though I grumble all the way there, I legit feel SO much when I get it done AND I read that exercise literally reverses the effects of aging! Sooo, sign me up.
2. Skin Care, Floss + Vitamins
These little habits so easily fall to the wayside when life gets busy. It sounds so small, but taking the time to wash your face every morning + night, flossing and, for me, take my vitamins are little habits that are not at all glamorous, but I know that they have long lasting benefits if I am consistent with them.
3. Gratitude
This is mindset self care. Negativity sucks and it makes everything around you suck too. Listing three things you are grateful for everyday gets you immediately in a positive headspace which ripple effects to the rest of your day.
I've found that it really helps eliminate stress for me. I have the tendency to put a ton of pressure on myself to work harder, get more done, and always, always be pushing myself. Today, I took a second to think to myself- Take a breath. You've had a great start to the year with new clients, you have a wonderful husband, a home that you love and two cute little goats. Everything is OK.
I'm telling you, it changed my whole mindset and I was instantly relaxed and positive. Try starting your day that way and put it all in perspective.
4. Making time for what matters to me
For me, work life balance is everything. I get burned out when I work 24/7 and then I don't showing up for my clients in ways that I want to. I was working my ass off this week and I didn't want to "waste" any time, even on Saturday. My husband convinced me to take our baby goats out to play for just an hour and it totally reset my mind, probably brought down my blood pressure and gave me the mental break that I needed.
So I've learned it's important for me to make sure that I take time every day to spend time with my husband, our baby goats and just be present at home. Because that's what REALLY matters.
For you, this may mean making time for dinners with friends, or spending time being creative outside of your day job. Whatever it is, make time for the people and things that are so important in your life. It's good for you.