The Pressure Of Needing To Do Everything
Its National Work Life week! So who of you have a good work-life balance? It’s certainly something I used to struggle with greatly. There was never enough time to do everything, all of those things that needed doing by me! Where is self-care on your list of things to do?
Lets think about it for a second, how many roles do you play? Partner? Mother? Daughter? Sister? Colleague? Manager? Etc. etc. You get the drift, and how many of those roles have things to do, tasks and actions to complete. All of them? You’ve got bills to pay right, so you can’t ditch the job to take some of the load off, and also may not be the best idea to ditch the family either… so what do you do? Your Stuck between a rock and a hard place. You have needs too though, but they are at the bottom of the pile, because you don’t have time for you, and if you do put you first then it’s a bit selfish. Right?
Only You
But I invite you to think about things in a different way for a second. There is only so much time that you have, you need to still fit in the tasks that require attention. So take a step back from all the crazy chaos and just look at it all. Perhaps you could write down a list of all of the routine stuff you have to do (there will always be things that come up out of the blue, but you also have things you do week in week out). Out of those things, assess what can only be done by you, and only you. Those other things, who is around you to delegate or share the load depending on your situation.
Ask yourself if you can carve out a bit of time to look at the list properly and see what can be prioritised so you always achieve the most important thing on your list.
Adding in – There’s no FOMO here
You do need to add in things to get more work life balance. I say Add in, because as soon as someone says you have to stop doing this, or you can’t have that, then you want it more, no?
So add in some time that recharges your batteries, let me give you some examples:
- Add in that walk at lunch time to get out of your car or away from the desk.
- Add in your home time – finish work when you are supposed to finish, leave work at work.
- Add in that hairdresser appointment that you cancelled because you ‘didn’t have time’
- Add in that hot bath at the end of the day
- Add in whatever it is you have been missing out on!
Selfish Self-Care
Let me ask you how good would it be if you burn out or break down? What would happen? Think of your job, your family, your home, your car… What would happen if you could not work? I’m not saying that to try and upset you, but seriously, if you couldn’t work and you had the benefit of hindsight, would you still think that self-care was selfish. If you had the power to stop all of those things from happening, would you do it?
That’s what self-care is, Its preserving you. Energising you and refuelling you so that you can continue with life and everything that it has to throw at you.
Your Most Efficient Self
You see, if you can add in and release the guilt and belief about self-care then you can be your most efficient self. When you are recharged and on your game you are more efficient and you work smarter not harder or longer. You have more energy for the things you need and want to do.
Treat yourself to some down time
Add in some mindful relaxation to feel better, get better sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. GO on and get yourself a freebie, and enjoy. Add in these 10 minutes. It’s my gift to you.
You can find out more about National Work Life Week 2019 by clicking here