Three years ago, when I had 20 minutes spare for self-care, I was initially excited, ‘Ooo, 20 minutes all to myself’, but that excitement soon turned to feeling lost because I didn’t know what to do in those 20 minutes.
So I spent the time going through my head, wondering what to do. And, it usually ended with me putting a wash on or hoovering up as I didn’t know what to do or what I needed. Great way to spend 20 minutes, Jody 🤨
And, as I write this now, I realise I said ’20 minutes spare’.
‘Spare’: meaning that all my other roles & tasks had been completed, and there was time spare for me.
I came last.
Thank the universe that’s not how it is now.
I’ve stopped putting myself & my needs last because I know self-care is essential to my well-being and to my role as a Mum, Wife, Daughter, Sister…Business Owner.
Without key self-care practices in place, I wouldn’t be able to fulfil my roles.
🙏🏻I know when I practice Reiki in the morning, I have clarity of thought, it creates space in my mind, and I feel calm.
🚶🏻♀️I know when I go for a walk during the day, I feel connected to nature, the blood is pumping, I’m getting exercise, and I feel happy.
🖊️I know when I journal during the day, I can work through my thoughts & feelings, channel messages, reflect on my days or weeks and celebrate my achievements; I feel proud.
You see, it’s all about how you want to feel afterwards and what you want to get from your self-care.
And if you don’t know the answer to that, it can quickly become a block to self-care, and you’ll end up reverting to something you don’t really want to do, like cleaning.
So how do you figure out what to do for self-care?
It’s all about tuning into your body and listening to what it needs.
And you can do this using a simple five-minute exercise which you can access here.
Once you’ve completed the exercise, research things that will give you what you need and do it.
An example would be: ‘connection’; how can you get connection?
Is it through speaking to a friend, going for a walk, dare I say it, but having a look on social media; after all, that was the original intent behind Facebook, to connect people.
If you do this regularly, you’ll soon have a list of all the things you’ve found.
Think of it as your very own personalised self-care toolbox.
And remember, sometimes the best thing we can do is nothing.
Do nothing, just sit down, connect to your breath and let any thoughts flow in and out.
Then, if you think, ‘oh, I need to do that’, make sure you have a pad & pen to write it down – don’t go and do that now, not yet.
This is your time to take some time for You.
If you’d like support in establishing self-care practices, look at my Five Weeks to Self-Care programme. We work together to uncover, unlock, heal and create sustainable self-care for you.