When I’m busy or stressed, I can fall into a routine where I’m not taking very good care of myself. It might start with skipping a workout (and then two, and then…), but progress to include things like:
- Not drinking enough water
- Skipping or eating a bad lunch
- Avoiding plans and structure
- Neglecting friends and family
- Poor sleep and nighttime routine
I rarely deprioritize work—as if I must pick one or the other—but it’s not actually a tradeoff. Take better care of yourself, and you tend to do better work (or at least that’s true for me)—but it can be hard to remember.
Today, I took the time to eat a proper lunch, make a coffee, and sit in the garden at lunch time. Whilst I was out there, I wrote my morning pages, reflecting on self-care (how meta) and creative environments.
It was such a small act, but it completely reset my day. I started to feel more relaxed; more creative. My headache eased and then disappeared. I felt as though I was starting the day all over again from a better place.
Before I headed inside, I did a three minute guided meditation. Three minutes! You can spend longer getting distracted by your phone when you just wanted to grab a two-factor authentication code.
Those three minutes were so powerful. They allowed me to—just for a moment—pull my mind away from all the stuff and start afresh when I opened my eyes. Another tiny act of self-care that didn’t cost much.
I’m writing this as a reminder to future-me (and any of you) that small acts of self-care are important; that you do better work and become a better friend, partner etc. by first taking care of yourself.