Kiddipedia
Too often I work with people who are feeling tired stressed and overwhelmed and like they just can’t do it anymore. Once we start to peel away the onion layers and get to the core, which is ultimately self, we quickly discover that self is hidden beneath way too much. Way too much giving to others, putting others first, giving time to others, saying yes to others, that by the time they get to their own core, their own self, there is simply nothing left to give. Sound familiar?
For many of us, it does. For you too I assume.
So with such a busy and demanding life, how can you put yourself first and make self-care part of what you do daily?
- Self-care is a great way to start your day. Make time before everyone else is up, before the demands start, to take care of you. This could be time to exercise, time to meditate or journal, or time to just get organised for the day, because yes being organised it part of self-care too.
- Schedule self-care in your day. It can be easy to book yourself back to back with life stuff; work, kids, family, friends, meetings, appointments… All this and the days can be taken up instantly. So to make sure your day includes you, schedule time for you in your day just like you do everything else.
- Announce when you are having some self-care time. Often we can set aside time for us only for it to be taken away by others creeping in on our time, and really who can blame them when they are so used to us being there and when we always say yes. So instead, announce that the first 30 mins of the day it’s self-care and you can’t be disturbed, use a room in your house and put a ‘self-care in session’ sign on the door so when family see it they know not to disturb you or tell them Saturday afternoon is when you’re taking some me time, tell whoever you need to tell and stick to it.
- Involve others. Simply can’t seem to find time alone? Turn self-care into time with others too. Get mani/pedis with your girlfriends instead of just chatting on the phone, take your family to the park for a picnic and use this time to run around with the kids or read while they play or make date night a regular part of self-care too.
- Get organised. Sometimes self-care is actually doing the hard stuff. Cleaning out your wardrobe, preparing weekly meals, paying the bills and doing life admin. As boring and mundane as these things sound they really are self-care. With these things looming over us it’s hard to switch off and relax so by getting them done we are actually taking care of us allowing more time and space for other things.
For me, this is the only way my self-care can happen and it’s been amazing the time I have been able to give to myself by implementing one of these 5 tips each day. Hopefully, these tips will give you some new ways to put some self-care into your day.
You may also like to read:
Self-care is a foundation of strength as a parent
