We often spend lots of time caring for others; our kids, spouses, family members, loved ones. The truth is, you cannot take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first. After my daughter was born at the end of 2020, I felt the need to devote every second of my life to her. That feeling hasn’t changed, but there are definitely conflicts that make that a challenge.
When I was thinking about goals for the New Year, I told myself I needed to take more time for me. To be the best mom, wife, friend, etc., I realized that I needed to find more of a balance between work, motherhood and self-care. Self-care means different things to different people, but here are a few things that I’ve been working on.
- I have been obsessed with the @Peloton app since I started using it. Whether for an indoor cycle, outdoor run/walk or meditation, there are so many options, and I haven’t been bored yet. I am motivated to complete an exercise activity daily and have been adding a 5-10-minute meditation every night before bed.
- Speaking of meditation, I sometimes feel overwhelmed and stressed during the workday, going a million miles a minute. I’ve recently started to be more self-aware and have been using meditation as a way to bring myself more centered and balanced. Even if that means taking 5-minutes during the chaos to just breath.
- Reading books has never been my thing. I’d rather read short articles or highlights than dig into a book. Quite frankly, thinking of reading a book is daunting just because of the time commitment. I am going to make an effort to be more of a reader, but I’ve found more success recently in listening to podcasts. I also downloaded my first @Audible. I know, I know! We have to start somewhere, don’t we?
- At the end of every work day, my husband and I put our daughter in the stroller and go for a good 2-mile walk outside. It gives us time to catch-up on the day, get some fresh air, and includes our little love in the process. (We are super thankful we live in Florida and don’t need to do any bundling of layers this time of year!)
- The one area I haven’t been as good at recently, but will continue to work on, is setting healthy boundaries. I recently read an article that said, “there will always be something or someone needing your time and attention. Revisit or discover the activities that rejuvenate you”.
As part of my goals for the New Year, I plan to review and evaluate these 5 points and will continue to build on them throughout the year. Do you have other tips to help with self-care? Share them by commenting on our LinkedIn post or send me a note at jennaw@idebamarketing.com.
-Jenna Whelan, VP of Research and Consulting
