Much like the Wellness Wednesday post this past week, this will be my last Self-Care Sunday post for the year and even though it doesn’t mean I’m giving up blogging, I’m not sure what my self-care blog focus will be like in 2022. I think the reason for my indecisiveness is, I don’t want to go into the new year with the same template I had for the blogging in 2021. I’ve spent most of the fall trying to contemplate what my approach will be for self-care in 2022. I’ve often asked myself, how can I take self-care to the next level? What will it look like? And I continue to draw blanks. In addition to not knowing what my approach will be, I struggle with trying to figure out how often I will blog in the new year, but I know it will not be twice per week. When I started this blog I had a lot more time on my hands because I was home a lot more when the pandemic first started but not only am I a little more busy, I’m trying to avoid sounding repetitive and predictive with my blog post. The future of selfcareatforty is a toss up at this point but my goal is to still keep the blog active.
There’s a list of situations at work that can cause us a great deal of stress, sometimes these situations can be so intense that they cause us to leave our jobs, dread going to work, or do things that will cause us to get terminated. Work is by far probably one of the most stressful situations that we have to deal with in order to sustain a lifestyle and it doesn’t help that we spend forty hours per week (sometimes more) there. This week my goal is to provide you with a list of self-care ideas that you can implement in stressful situations especially in situations where it’s not easy for you to get up and walk away.
BREATHING EXERCISES this has shown up on my blog a lot and I’m sure it’s because this is one of the easiest self-care practices you can incorporate in any situations. This is the case because no one has to know that you’re doing it. I would suggest doing this if you’re in the middle of a presentation or right before it’s your turn to speak at a meeting. Just be strategic with when you choose to do it, it will throw your flow off if you’re trying to do it in the middle of talking.
AFFIRMATIONS this may not seem like a typical self-care practice that you can use at work but it can be highly effective if done often. Much like the above, this will likely have to done strategically (especially if you’re in a situation where you have to be alert). You can scribble a few words that make you feel empowered during a dull moment in a presentation or training or when you have some down time at your desk, you can devote more time to it. In fact, if you think it will help, keep a book of affirmations that you wrote in your desk that you can use as a guide when you feel challenged.
IGNORE A CALL don’t make a habit of this and don’t do it if you know that you’ll get in trouble but if you can afford to ignore a call from someone like your boss or a colleague who’s overbearing I encourage you to do it. This also works if you choose to ignore them an call them right back because sometimes you might need to take minute or two to mentally prepare before you speak to that person. It may not seem like much but sometimes that extra few seconds or minutes can do you a world of good.
IGNORE AN EMAIL similar to the above, you don’t need to respond to an email right away (unless it’s crucial) sometimes I like to take a day or two or maybe a few hours before I respond to someone’s email. Often times it’s because I’m not sure how to respond but sometimes it’s because I’m not ready to deal with that person or their request at the moment. The great thing about this is, they don’t have to know that you’ve ignored them, they may automatically assume that you’re busy.
VOLUNTEERING and by this I mean don’t always be the first to volunteer to lead or participate in a project, especially if you already have a lot on your plate. I know in some cases some people want to show their boss what they’re capable of but you can’t pour from an empty cup and you don’t want to over do it and stress yourself out because you want to impress. I would suggest selecting a set number of projects you know you can handle and stick to it. Maybe you can assist on the others but it’s not always necessary to take the lead.
DON’T ALWAYS PARTICIPATE unless you’re leading a meeting or expected to share, try staying silent and just observing during your next meeting. It’s not always necessary for you to speak up and knowing that you’re about to walk into a meeting and just take note and sit quietly is a form of self-care within itself.
BE UNAVAILABLE this will work really well if you have an office and it can definitely be done if you’re working from home. Depending on your position it might only work if you have a slow day at work but if and when you can, utilize a ‘don’t disturb option.’ Close your office door and work all day with few to no disruptions by putting up a sign on your door if you need to and/or, block off an entire day on your calendar so no one will schedule meetings for you.
Self-Care on the go are essentially bite size versions of my self-care challenges. It’s open to anyone but it’s specifically created for moms and other working women; who may not have time to participate in all (or any) of the challenges that I provide weekly because of their mommy duties or busy work schedule. You can access the infographic HERE. I’ve been posting them every Sunday since the beginning of the year and I really enjoy creating them. If you’re one of my readers who participate in, or enjoy these options because you find them convenient, leave a comment and let me know what you like about them or what you think I should change. Thanks for going on this self-care journey again with me this week.
By the way, if you’re interested, my Newsletter and Self-Care Accountability Worksheet is now available. The worksheet will act as a supplement to my daily self-care challenges. The purpose is to help you stay on track with your daily self-care routines. If you’re interested in receiving these items weekly, email me at [email protected]. The self-care worksheet is FREE, but will only be available to my Newsletter subscribers. I will NOT spam you, I will only email once per week.
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