It seems to me that when it comes to self care, we often have a mental clock that says there isn’t time for that. The last ten weeks have been really tough in my life, I was away from home for six weeks caring for my dying father, the funeral, the trips back and forth each way over 450 miles, and then of course Christmas and all that entails. Whew, self care just didn’t seem to fit in the schedule. Isn’t that the biggest lie ever? If we don’t take time for self-care we can’t keep caring for anything or anyone! I am often on high drive, high energy naturally means that I have to be careful or I over commit to others and forget to leave time for me, for rest, and for recovery after hard pushes. What I am learning to do though, is to be purposefully aware of what allows more peace, comfort, or ease. This morning I am starting with what I often encourage my clients to do. Look around, what can you see that in 5 minutes would bring you more peace, comfort, or ease? Personally for me this morning it is the kitchen counter. In five minutes I cannot finish all that is there, but if I set the timer for 5 minutes I bet I can feel better than I do now looking at the disaster that is my kitchen. (and the kids are not even in town to blame!)
I am a messy by nature, but I like to have a comfortably together house, so my five minute goal for this hour is simply to go load the dishwasher, or unload it, which ever is required first (it may take a few runs this day!)
Each hour or so of my work from home schedule I work on a 5 minute “what’s in it for me” self care item. It gets me up, it gets me moving, but more importantly, it focuses me on taking small steps to nurture and self-care MY environment as focused as I work on my clients and family’s needs. Amazing how just 5 minutes can make SUCH a difference. Need some ideas that have been my “aha’s” the last few weeks?
- threw away all pens on my desk I didn’t enjoy writing with
- made my bed with fresh sheets
- went to a free radio station online and chose my favorite music to listen to
- emptied all the trash cans in the downstairs
- made a coffee station in my office
- separated my favorite coffee/hot chocolates from the ones guests might like
- tossed a bag of things from my drawers in the office
- gathered all the washcloths in the house to do one load of bleached, clean ones
- emptied my car front seats
- wiped down my computer screen
- took time to put a lip balm in my coat pockets
- made an hour a 3x a week on my calendar for ME
- Planned a lunch with a friend on the phone
- pre addressed letters to a friend for 4 letters to support writing
- put my favorite books to read on a shelf in my office AND on my kindle
- threw away a bag of stuff from my top drawers
- bought 5 small boxes from uhaul to declutter with in every downstairs room
It was hard at first for me to think “what is comfort to me” in five minutes no less, but as I worked on what/when I feel relaxed I realized some common themes and am now working 5 minutes a time to do something about them.
How about you? What in 5 minutes would make a difference?
