We all have many (different) responsibilities. Some of them are not sexy or glamorous. And some of them we ‘must do’. Last year, 2022 I realigned myself with some ‘me’ practices. I am sharing a few things that I have done and practiced. These are my top ten. Enjoy and I hope this empowers and helps you to start to think of yourself.
- Schedule your doctor’s visits. That’s right plan them out. Well-check visits are important for everyone all the time. Put them on your calendar and put in the time on your work calendar. Until I started Ph.D. school (smile), I kept and maintained all appointments for our kids. Last year, I gave it up and my husband is now the appointment person. Between moving, starting school, unpacking, and getting us settled (still); I realized that I had scheduled all appointments but my own. I rediscovered that I didn’t and could not do more.
- Schedule time off once a month at least…to do nothing around your home. Take advantage of those long weekends too.
- Speaking of personal holidays…do you have one? I am famous for announcing “ Landria day” and I do all things I like and love. Landria days have consisted of long tries to beach locations when I lived near beaches (still sad about this). And you know what, I encourage this for the people around me including children.
- Do you follow great restaurants or food bloggers in your area or a particular state? Make plans to visit that restaurant. Get it on the calendar.
- Set a cutoff time for work and start committing to it. This is really important during the times when you bring work home or when you are working from home. There was a time, I could pull an all-nighter. I.CANNOT.DO.THIS. anymore…nor do I want to. I don’t do anything past 7:30.
- Turn off notifications for work-related tasks, email, and social media. Ask yourself how connected do you want to be. How many notifications do you need?
- Speaking of connections, how are you connecting consistently with the people that matter most? What are their love languages? Do you know yours?
- Health is wealth. What does rest look like for you when you think of your schedule? Have you baked in time to just sit and relax
- Connect to mentors and people who will lift you. Make quarterly appointments to sit with people who will pour into your dreams and goals for yourself.
- Get what you need. There are sacrifices I make so that I can have some conveniences. While I am fortunate to have married someone who likes to do laundry (haha), being tired and pushing through doesn’t work. So, a babysitter to watch your kid(s) while you are home relaxing and napping should be a norm…and so should people to clean your home. These days, I schedule weekly massages
Remember life is to be enjoyed not endured. (wise words from my father).
Happy 2023!
~Landria Seals Green
Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash