Taking time for yourself: What are your tips for self-care?

Adrian
Adrian HLV Staff Alumni
edited March 2019 in Talk Community #1

Sunny time ahead!


We all (well most of us) dream of lovely time on the sand by the sea for some R &R. The job of a CM is never really done and it can stressful. Carrie Melissa Jone had a great bit about "radcial self-care" in her latest newsletter (You subscribe don't you? If you don't get it here):

Long ago, I gave myself permission for burnout to be okay. If you build communities, you're bound to push yourself a little too hard sometimes. You do it because you care. There is so much good in that. Burnout comes from such a sweet and tender place and, therefore, the only way to care for it is to approach it with that same sweet tenderness. You can't reason your way out of it. 


Over the years, I've found that the more I've treated my feelings of burnout with kindness, the shorter they last — a symptom of burnout that once might have snowballed over weeks now disappates over a day or two.


Now is time for some radical, stop-in-my-tracks-and-put-my-****-first self-care. For me, that looks like a combination of both self-care and community-care, involving: 


~ Getting outside for walks and hikes a few times per week

~ Reading fiction and non-work magazines 

~ Spending time with friends and asking how I can support them and receive support

~ Delegating everything I can to project partners

~ Laughing

~ Listening to upbeat music

~ Being instead of doing


Pruning my to-do list to only the 20% of items that are most likely to bring me energy and move my (or my client's) work forward


After I've rested a bit, I can get back to listening deeply to others, leading, and creating community from a place of abundance. But, this week, I'm practicing radical self-care and focusing on the above. If I give to myself, I can give of myself more powerfully.

What are your tricks for radical self-care? Sharing is caring