If it doesn’t nourish your mind, body or soul, get rid of it.
I’ve come to this conclusion after months of personal and professional overload. It’s caused me to feel burned out which isn’t a positive place to be. As a business owner, wife, mother and friend, the stress of juggling too many balls had taken a toll. Taking time for me was no longer optional, but a necessity to regain balance, health and harmony.
When your body, mind, and soul are healthy and harmonious, you will bring health and harmony to the world – not by withdrawing from the world, but by being a healthy, living organ of the body of humanity. B.K.S. Iyengar
I started my plan to recover my balance by incorporating these self-care practices:
Sleep hygiene. Was I getting enough quality sleep? Absolutely not. The pandemic caused me to live life differently, and, like a baby, I got my days and nights crossed. I stopped checking my phone before bedtime and started winding down one hour before I wanted to retire for the night. I left the phone in another room, turned off the television and started reading (finally got to read the stack of books I’d been accumulating). If my mind started racing, I’d jot down a few ideas on a bedside notepad and not dwell on them while I was trying to fall asleep. I’m now drifting off to sleep within 15 minutes and getting a decent night of sleep.
Morning Routine. I usually start my morning with a cup or two of coffee. Sometimes, I didn’t eat breakfast until 11 o’clock due to Zoom calls, customer deliveries or other distractions. Not eating breakfast regularly contributed to fatigue, brain fog and crankiness. Keeping ingredients on hand to make overnight oats, a protein smoothie or a granola bowl with fruit and yogurt has helped me immensely. Giving my body fuel is essential for it to perform at its best.
Movement. Admittedly, I wasn’t moving around as much as I should. Sitting more on Zoom calls didn’t help. I dug my sneakers out of the closet and returned to walking in my neighborhood at least every other day. The fresh air and sunshine helped. On bad weather days, I jump rope in my garage. Moving more has resulted in getting better sleep, thankfully. Can’t wait for spring to get back on my bike.
Passion Project. I asked myself what I was passionate about. Almost two hundred days ago, I began a daily practice of gratitude which reminds me to be grateful for even the smallest things, like a ripe pear to eat, friends who check in on me, strangers who are kind, or recalling a pleasant memory. I’ve posted daily on Facebook and the reactions have been remarkable. The posts have been shared and have generated an upbeat attitude of gratitude.
I’m more attuned to the signs of burn out creep and will continue to battle this beast with my arsenal of self-care tools.
