Being a good friend to yourself
Do you feel like you're on the go from the moment you wake up til the moment you go to bed? Struggle to find time to unwind in your average working day / week?
Here’s something I wanted to share with you:
I'm often running on full steam, charging from one class, task or meeting to the next, cramming in work in breaks, working through my lunch break and generally burning the candle at both ends. Doing all the stuff I love - yoga, socialising, my marketing job, but finding it tricky not to burn out.
I discovered this was leading to:
- a lack of focus
- poor decision making
- energy levels and mood dropping off a cliff by 3pm...
- poor food choices (office cake for breakfast AND lunch anyone?!)
- becoming forgetful, no head space at all
What have I changed?
So the past few weeks I've been working on being a good friend to myself - particularly by taking time out for myself by:
- scheduling my lunch breaks in my diary and STICKING to them (to make myself accountable, I’ve just shared this with all of my work friends so they can pull me up on it if they catch me eating over my keyboard!)
- taking a restorative break (not necessarily going for a run or spin session which was only adding to my feelings of being on the go), but something that would allow me to unwind, be in nature (well, a green square in London is as close as it gets), or discovering something new
- not waiting until I have a holiday / yoga retreat / the weekend before I let myself relax - taking a mini-break for myself even if it's in 10/15 mins
The past few weeks I've been to the park, an art gallery (where I admittedly I passed on the chance to be a culture vulture, and just used the cafe to eat and read), a 15 min stroll round a museum, the library, lunch with friends, and to the gym - but only to use to steam room and gaze at the twinkly lights!
The message here really is to remember to recharge your energy levels, and value yourself enough to spend time on YOU.
I've been coming back to my desk with:
- renewed energy (and happiness!)
- clarity over what I needed to get done
- a sense of re-connecting with myself, others, and my environment
Whether you have 5/10 minutes, or a little longer, if any of this resonates with you, can you take some action to find a little bit of calm? Would love to hear from you - drop me a message at info@yogajayne.com and you can keep an eye on my lunchtime adventures on my Facebook page! (feel free to share yours wtih me and the group too!)
Love and downward dogs,
Jayne x
