This summer, we have two important days that are celebrated. The first is National Simplicity Day. This day is an opportunity to declutter and eliminate the unnecessary burdens that weigh us down.
Second important day is International Self-Care Day. This day focuses on the importance of self-care and empowering people with the knowledge and ability on how to be active participants in their own wellness.
Over the past fifteen months, most people have been trying to keep their head above water. Self-care and simplifying work and family life have not been at the forefront of priorities.
Work emails continue flying in, the phone is continuously ringing with work calls, the pediatrician appointment needs to be rescheduled, your child’s zoom class is starting in 5 minutes, you’re not sure if you remembered to put the clothes in the dryer and no one has clean socks….
Was that a good summary of what things have been like?
So, how do you simplify your life and focus on self-care so that you don’t feel like you’re drowning in a sea of emails and laundry?
In this month’s blog post, we are going to talk about 6 ways you can start feeling refreshed (right in your own home). By doing these tips, you will feel rejuvenated, gain clarity and feel a sense of stress relief in your life.
Tip 1. Keep Work at Work.
While being an overachiever is a great thing, not stepping away from your job will only cause you frustration and resentment over time. The minute you see an email or receive a phone call, you feel annoyed and those feelings ultimately translate; making people less likely to want to work with you. Instead of being available 24-7, create firm boundaries for yourself. Here are some ideas:
- Put your phone on silent after a certain time in the day.
- Do not check or respond to emails past a certain time in the day.
- Don’t check your emails during the weekend.
Tip 2. Put Your Phone Down While With Your Kids.
When we are with our family and friends, we are still connected to our phones. Instead of connecting with family and friends, we are distracted by alerts on our phones and our mind isn’t getting the connection or recharge that it needs. Here are two ideas to help with this:
- Invest in a camera so you don’t use your phone when you’re with friends/family
- If you don’t want to purchase a camera, put your phone on airplane mode any time you’re supposed to be spending quality time with someone.
Tip 3. Do Not Sleep With Your Phone!
We’ve all done it. We put our phone on our night table and use it as our wake up alarm. But before we put it down for the night, we check our emails one last time, we look on social media, we ramp our brains up thinking about more and more things we need to do instead of disconnecting. Then we put our phones on our night table and as soon as the alarm goes off, we grab it and start it all over again. Try and start putting your phone in another room to charge at night and get a classic alarm clock instead. This will help you to keep your phone boundaries at night and help you to take time in the morning to meditate, pray, or just be quiet instead of automatically checking your phone!
Tip 4. Write it out.
Pen to paper is such a healthy source of experiencing a mind body connection. It can feel so nice to write with charcoal pencils or fine tip sharpies in a special journal. By writing down your thoughts, feelings and reflections, will bring you a sense of calm and perspective. Try it for 10 minutes each night and you will see a huge difference in how you feel.
Tip 5. Connect to Nature.
One of the best ways to truly unplug is to plug yourself right into nature. Instead of bringing your phone to listen to music or a podcast, leave it at home and listen to the sound of the wind, the rustle of the trees, the buzzing of the birds. This will help you to disconnect and reconnect with what’s truly important.
Tip 6. Be Fully Present Wherever You Are.
This is really key. We normally have 17 different tabs open in our brain. If we are working, we should be working. If we are cooking dinner, we should embrace the art of cooking. If we’re with our children, we should be fully engaged with them. When we are constantly multitasking, we are missing the experience at hand and not giving our best. By being present in each situation, we are taking more joy from the experiences, we feel we have given our best and we feel more balanced. Trying to keep yourself balanced, will provide you with more energy, helping you to feel your best.
What are your favorite ways to put boundaries into your life so you can feel your best?
Leave a Reply