Recently, I had been feeling so exhausted that as soon as I sat down on my couch I was falling asleep, even though I didn’t mean to. Things that didn’t normally drain me were totally draining me and every day I was left with crumbs to recharge and refuel myself.
As I started to think about why I was so exhausted, I realized that I was neglecting myself. I was running without resting, going to bed late and waking up early. When I felt tired, I reached for more coffee instead of getting more rest. I ran so hard, keeping up with schedules, kids activities, and work, and it got to the point where I was running and I didn’t know how to walk or rest anymore.
A few months ago, I realized I needed to recharge. I decided it was time for a massage, so I purchased a Groupon massage deal for $50. (It happened to be during a sale when there was an extra 20% off of new Groupon purchases.) After I purchased my Groupon, I forgot I bought it, but an email reminder brought it back to my memory. I’m grateful for the reminder and redeemed it about a week before the Groupon expired. That massage was much needed!
During my massage, I was tempted to think about my to-do list and everything that needed to be done that wasn’t getting done because I was taking some much-needed me-time. However, about halfway through the massage I finally decided to just relax, clear my mind, and focus on renewal.
One of the lessons that I learned from this experience is: self-care is necessary, but it won’t happen without planning. Self-care has to be a part of your schedule. It can’t be a part of the leftovers after you finish caring for everyone else and doing everything. When you treat self-care as a leftover, it won’t happen.
Therefore, be intentional about scheduling time for yourself. It doesn’t have to be something big or grand. It can be as simple as going to bed early or sitting quietly for 15 minutes while drinking coffee. Self-care will look different for different people (BTW, I have a great podcast episode named “Self Care For the Busy Mom” on the Phenomenal Moms with Aisha Taylor Podcast that discusses forms of self-care, what it looks like, and how to make time for it).
During back-to-school season, we can quickly find ourselves with schedule and busy overload. However, scheduling time for ourselves shouldn’t be something else on our to-do list. It is essential to avoiding burnout and exhaustion. Leave a comment to share how you plan to schedule in your self-care.
