Let's be honest here for a second. It seems like these last couple of years have been tough on many of us (myself included!). It's just like Smash Mouth - "the years start coming and they don't stop coming" - and I don't know about you, but I feel like a lot of the time, my brain and my body are not on the same page. Sometimes my body wants to keep going when my brain says "hey, maybe let's take a breather". Sometimes it's the complete opposite - my brain says "you've got so much to do!", whereas my body decides that enough is enough.
May is Mental Health Awareness month, and there's no better time for me to share with you my favorite ways to take care of my body - and my mind.
1. Get a move on. Since the pandemic, the landscape of 9-5 jobs has changed a bit; many of us were forced to go remote, to find new ways to communicate with our team mates, and more. One thing has remained consistent, however - most 9-5 jobs are more sedentary than not. We spend a lot of our working hours sitting at a desk or a table, taking small breaks when necessary, but it can mostly feel like we're chained to our work space. Try to find time throughout the day to get away. Walk to a farther trash can to throw your trash away. Take a small lap outside (Vitamin D, anyone?!). Even standing up to stretch your legs and back out can make a world of difference.
2. Separate your work space from your relax space. I cannot stress this one enough. Being primarily a work-from-home-er, I do the majority of my job sitting at my kitchen table. Sometimes, depending on how I'm feeling, I'll move to another area - a chair, the couch, etc - but I always find that once it's time to quit for the day, I have a much harder time relaxing if the place I was just sitting for work is the place I'm choosing to veg out. Be intentional with where you work, and where you chill.
3. Make sure your "self care" habits are actually allowing you to care for yourself. We see self care items almost everywhere, from bath bombs, to aromatherapy candles, to foot massagers. Those things are all great for what they are, and I do love a bath bomb, but I want to take this time to point out some OTHER forms of self care that we may not think about. Things like deciding that 5PM today and 9AM tomorrow aren't that far apart, and a taxing task can absolutely wait until the next day. Taking the time today to prepare for tomorrow, so that you don't have to feel as stressed out coming into a new day. Sometimes even a *slams laptop shut until Monday* move is warranted, and valid!
Thanks for sticking with me - and I hope you found something to take away from this post! Remember, things can get hard, but you're not alone.