I am sure I am not the only one that feels that they should be constantly doing something productive. Whether that something be working, chores or other activities. I feel there is so much pressure to be consistently working towards a goal and achieving.
Don’t get me wrong, I set goals and I am always striving to achieve more. However, I always find it hard to switch off because of the guilt I feel for not being productive. Do you ever get the guilt when you try and relax and switch off?
Unfortunately I learned the hard way in the past few weeks. When I became poorly I had to stop everything work, blogging, taking photographs and chatting with you all. I was on strict bed rest which was so much harder than I thought it would be. Then I thought when was the last time I had a complete break from everything?
I knew when that when I was out of the worst I needed to start making myself a priority. Is making yourself a priority something you need to work on? I have 7 simple ways you can start this process today!
1. Allocate time for yourself
Life can be so busy and therefore it is so important to set aside time to look after yourself. A bit of pampering or just to sit alone with your thoughts. It is important you show yourself the same time you would to others. Relaxing is so important, it helps you to recharge and boost your motivation and productivity.
2. Speak kindly to yourself
I am so guilty of being so hard on myself. I am sure I am not the only that is. I am consistently trying to be kinder to myself and focus on what I am good at. We are all told numerous times on social media or in the media about how we should look and what we should be doing. So it is even more important that we are kinder to ourselves. I have started using pages in my bullet journal to focus on positive things that I can say about myself.
3. Surround yourself with the right people
Life is too short to waste time on people that do not support and nourish your soul. You need to be around people that make you feel good about yourself and build you up. I have definitely learned to cut out toxic people from my life and it is so liberating.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
We are all human and as much as I try to do it all by myself at times, I need to learn to ask for help. People around you want to help you and it is important for you to know when to ask for help, to stop you burning out.
5. Acknowledge your feelings
It is important that however you may be feeling, you take note of them and work through them. If I am struggling with how I feel, I write them down and work through them in my journal. Bottling up how you feel is damaging and stops you from moving forward.
6. Start a gratitude journal
Writing in a gratitude journal can help you focus on the positive aspects of your day or how you are feeling. A gratitude journal especially during lockdown can definitely help you focus on what is important. Taking some time out of each day to write down what you are grateful for and helps you to feel more appreciative and positive.
7. Listen to your body
Your body will tell you when you are in need of rest or sleep. Pushing through when your body is telling you otherwise, is not looking after yourself. Taking that time to give your body what it needs is showing yourself the care and love you need. It is well known the negative effects of stress on the body, so listening to your body is vital in staying physically and mentally healthy.
These are just 7 tips that I am trying to practise to ensure I am making myself a priority. These are simple small steps you can also take especially during this lockdown to make sure you are taking time to make yourself a priority. You cannot look after others if you are not looking after yourself.
I need to speak kindly to myself and starT a gratitude journal, I am a firm believer those around us are inspired and respond to how we treat ourselves. Thank you for some great suggestions, planning a switch off!
Sarah
http://Www.simplysarahjayneloves.com
The gratitude journal is such a great idea. I hope it helps you to speak kindly to yourself
Thanks for sharing, I think just taking sometimes to relax and stop worrying about things is a good idea for making a priority of ourselves 🙂
Definitely!
Great tips and ideas Lauren. I need time for breaks – yoga, long walks and the odd game of golf. Cheers,
I have been working on scheduling in ‘me time’ and convincing myself that I deserve to take that time off. That being said, I find that this current lockdown situation has brought out a culture that makes it far more difficult. There are too many messages circulating social media right now telling us that we aren’t ‘doing it right’ if we aren’t taking this time to take classes, improve ourselves, etc. That fails to acknowledge the huge toll that a situation like this can take on a person mentally and emotionally. Honestly, there are days that the best I can do is to get up and get dressed before moving to the couch to binge Netflix and cuddle puppies, and that’s okay! As you said, we need to make ourselves a priority!
Definitely making yourself a priority, so doing whatever your body needs that day. It doesn’t mean you have to be productive and busy all the time.
Can you link your blog. X
Excellent post! We could all do with taking more time for ourselves. But it’s not easy to get into that way of thinking when you’re so used to putting everyone else first.
Definitely looking after yourself is so important 😊
Excellent tips. I think we sometimes get so distracted by taking care of others and other tasks, that we forget about taking care of ourselves. Setting time aside for yourself is a big one, without that, we really can’t prioritize ourselves. I do struggle with asking for help sometimes but it is something I am working on.
I don’t like asking for help either, but sometimes it is so important.
I love the idea of a regular rest day (and the sticker in the photo that just says “NOPE!”) I’m guilty of wanting to be busy all the time, too, Usuually I only end up resting when I have a mental or physical meltdown and just *have* to rest to recover – but I know that’s not good and I should be trying to build rest into ordinary days so I don’t get so drained. Thanks for the ideas and prompts! ♥
I can’t remember the last time I had a total me day. There is always something to do for someone else. Why is it So hard to take care of yourself? Maybe because people consider that to be selfish? To me it’s the least selfish thing to do.
Thanks for the great tips!
I know tell me about it, it’s hard to switch off completely x
I love how person-centered these are! I think you’re so right that you need to be kind to yourself but you also need to surround yourself with people who make you the best version of who you are. And encourage you to look after yourself as well.
Love this, I’m definitely guilty of not taking time to switch off or feeling guilty if I do take some time away from blogging or work but I’m trying to work on it in 2021!
Tash – A Girl with a View
Speaking kindly to myself is definitely something that I need to do more of. I’m so bad at it!
Kayleigh x
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This is so important. You’ve made some really amazing points. I’m definitely guilty of feeling like bad for having one-time. It’s so important to look after yourself for sure x
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