Welcome to Wednesday’s Wellness Clinic. I can promise you I am not a doctor, a psychotherapist or a preacher, just someone with a lot going on inside her head looking for a way to calm the storm and impart that wisdom to you.
It’s been 3 whole weeks since I last visited my Wellness
Clinic and I must say I think I’ve been letting myself slip. I had intended on
writing this session last week, but it never felt like the right time, and I
hadn’t been focused or committed enough. However, I think this may have helped
to highlight what I am struggling with. My focus was supposed to be learning to
take time out for myself, something which I realise, after 3 semi-failed weeks,
I suck at! So how can I train myself to be more considerate of my need for me-time?
I think the best place to start is to consider where in my day I can take that
time.
My mornings have a standard routine – get up, exercise, make
breakfast/lunch, shower, get dressed, walk, and then for about 45 minutes, I
have some time to myself before work. Usually I spent this time reading, but
perhaps here is where the first bit of me-time can be taken. Working in a
10-minute meditation session might be beneficial – the ‘Great Meditation’ channel
I linked in my third Wellness Wednesday has provided some short, refreshing and
enjoyable sessions – or I could spend 15 minutes on my newest project: Insta-worthy
notebooking of British birds! (I hope to share more of this one Feathered
Friday in the not-too-distant future.)
My commute is usually a mixed affair with time on the bus
and train spent either watching the world go by – a mentally stimulating activity
(as opposed to staring at my phone) so I think this counts as ‘me time’ – listening
to music for my blog on Mondays, learning birdsong from my Memrise app, or
reading again. What I need to remember is that this ‘me-time’ should be spent
doing things I enjoy without feeling compelled to do them so I think, for the
purposes of my commute, I will simply do whatever I feel like doing.
At work is where taking time for myself starts to get tougher. While I have set my alarm at half hour intervals which reminds me to get up from my desk, hydrate, and move around, I don’t make the best use of this time. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes, I could also:
- Sit and daydream (let the mind really wander)
- Stretch (yes, I have ben slacking here too)
- Doodle or scribble down my thoughts (I recently started a simple journal)
- Brainstorm a project (I seem to have an endless supply of prospective, self-made missions lately)
- Take a quick walk around the block (my co-workers take cigarette breaks after all – and the fresh air will do me good)
- Chat to my co-workers (it’s often surprising how little I do this)
- Make some tea (the more relaxing, the better)
- Anything but look at a screen! (see more ideas here)
Ultimately, I need to remind myself that I am not a machine
and no one expects me to work like one – as much as I pride myself on my work
ethic – so taking short breaks, especially during this quieter period, shouldn’t
be something to be afraid of.
My next free period is when I get home. For the 90 minutes before I head up to bed, I’m usually feeling worn out, so I end up just watching TV with my dad. But I think I need to learn to break this monotony every so often with some low-intensity activities – phone a friend/family member, work on that brainstormed project, have a long shower, or play a video game by myself instead – because this is the only time, before I go to bed [and work on my blog or watch a TV series] that I can have to myself. The weekends are somewhat different as the whole day is largely my own, but it will still be beneficial to remember the need for me-time. This could include:
- Tidying my bedroom
- Baking
- Doing something creative (colouring books, writing, etc)
- Getting out of the house with friends (when this becomes possible)
I could list more but it’s getting late and I have rambled
on for long enough. Hopefully I can start to put these plans into action and
get back to you in a fortnight with better news. But until then, stay healthy!
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