Stop Spending 5 Days A Week Looking Forward to ONLY 2
“The tragedy of our time is people spending five days a week looking forward to two.” – James Sexton
Hello Everybody!
We are all guilty of doing this especially if we are having a challenging week. But, if we can use the daily small yet seemingly non-existent pockets of time we have for ourselves, we can begin to look forward to each day we have as opposed to just getting through them.
Self-care is a hot topic right now and rightfully so, we need to start prioritizing ourselves! However, most people think of self-care as a weekend thing because they have more time. Time to sleep in, hangout with friends, get nails done, read, workout, take an extra long shower or even a bath! Basically, you just have more time to do things that help you focus on you and recharge. But, who decided that self care is only for weekends???? Let’s start putting self care into our lives every day. It doesn’t have to take hours but incorporating some small intentional moments for yourself will help you look forward to your days and give yourself that needed self love.
Here are 5 things you can try for those 5 days to help you break your current mindset of self care and to look forward to each day by finding daily moments to focus on you and recharge.
- Quick Yet Intentional Pampering
It’s not always about the amount of time we have to pamper but the mindset we have while we take time for ourselves. So, take a few extra min to make your mundane hygienic tasks become more relaxing and for you!
Before you take your routine 10 min shower stop and say I’m going to take 1 extra min in this shower just for myself. Or, take a 30 min Bath (Not a 2 hour)! Do these things on Monday or Wednesday!
Don’t deprive yourself of relaxation! Don’t turn something that is relaxing like a hot shower or bath into just another thing to get done in the day. Be intentional with it! Put that facial mask on before you hop into your shower or your short bath and make these necessary moments in your day intentionally purposed to focus on YOURSELF!
- Disconnect from the Grind
Turn on airplane mode on your devices and take a walk during your lunch break or chill in your car. Disconnection is so important in a world where we are pressured to be “on” all the time. Take at least 1 min in a day to JUST BE!
My favorite time to do this is after I drive up to my house after work. It’s quiet and it’s a moment of transition because I’m not at work and I haven’t gone inside yet to be a dog mom and wife. Nothing is required of me yet. I’m just there with myself so I take my minute and turn off the car to just breathe. It’s amazing and really helps me transition from work to home. You can do the same minute car breathing before you start work too!
- Eat and Feel Good About It
Food is good. It keeps our bodies moving, gives us energy, and down right makes you feel good. We should all want to have positive relationships with food, but I know it can be difficult when you’re trying to be healthier. However, I think a good thing to do in the week is eat something that is your favorite. So, this could be something small like your favorite coffee to making your favorite dish or meeting up with someone after work for dinner.
- Do Something You Actually Enjoy
Space out the things you enjoy doing in the week with your activities. At the end of your day, instead of going straight home and turning on the tv maybe you make a 30 min pit stop and go your favorite store to just walk around. I love walking around stores even if I don’t buy anything because it inspires me. Some will relate to this and some definitely won’t haha. You could also stop and hit a small bucket of golf balls at the range or take a yoga class.
These activities could also be small like asking your spouse or roomie to play a card game or you could start a puzzle and work on it throughout the week. You can read a few pages a night (doesn’t have to be a chapter each night).
Another favorite of mine is dancing and you could put on your music and dance like a fiend as you cook dinner or wash dishes! Point is to find something you enjoy doing and do it for a bit of time in your week.
- Respect YOUR Time
It’s easy to shortchange yourself when it comes to self-care. It happens, no doubt, but if you really feel like you have ZERO time to focus on yourself and actively do something for your self-care THAT IS OKAY! You don’t always need to do anything. Self-care is the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well being and happiness in particular during periods of stress (Oxford Languages). SOOOO, having an intentional mindset that your time is in fact YOURS is key.
If when you get home you are bombarded by kids, work calls, spouses hovering over you, dogs asking you to play, and feeling like you are pulled 500 different ways, take back and respect YOUR time. YOUR TIME is as simple as going to the bathroom. We all have to do it so be intentional about it and say to yourself, “THIS IS MY TIME!” As you are doing your business, don’t think about what is to come after you get up or dwell on what happened before you sat down. Just Be in the moment for yourself.
Remember that just being, doing nothing, or doing something for yourself is not inherently selfish. It’s needed.
-Dr. N
Sources:
- The language data is provided by Oxford Languages, part of Oxford University Press
