Guest Post by Liz Montigny:
Are you craving self-care or are you intentional and scheduling it? You’ve heard the phrase: you can’t pour from an empty cup. In other words, how can we expect to give our best to our family and career if we can’t even give the best to ourselves? Here are two important steps I took to build self-care into my day, which helped me level up my mindset, health, and, yes, my work.
To Shower or Not Shower…
I remember chatting with a group of moms not too long ago and most of them said they didn’t take time to wash their face daily. If you’re a mom, especially of littles, you’re probably nodding your head “yes” right now. Taking care of my skin is now an important part of my day, it rejuvenates me and boosts my confidence, but when our boys were babes I felt I was lucky if I got to take a shower. Should we really be lucky to take a shower?
If you can’t find a little bit of time to take shower, then, please, sit down with a pen and paper and write a timeline of your day. This is a great recommendation from Marie Forleo’s book, Everything is Figureoutable. Yup, actually write down how long it takes you to do what you normally do… including scrolling on social media – eye-opener! My guess is you’ll find some things you can cut out completely, cut back on, or, dare I say it, ask for help with…
You’ve found the time, now what?
Now that you’ve found more time, take a closer look at batch working. It is NOT multitasking, which is for computers, not us. Doesn’t it make sense that you’d be more productive if you followed through on a task to its completion before moving on to the next? If you want to know more about it, listen to Jenna Kutcher’s Goal Digger Podcast on this topic. Batch working has helped me organize my week. I have power hours four times a week and themes for each day so that if the unexpected comes up or the boys need more attention, I know to pick up where I left off.
Let’s assume you have trimmed down your daily routine and laid out your batch working schedule. What will you do with this precious time you’ve discovered? (Mamas, resist the urge to empty the dishwasher – don’t be afraid to delegate, again, more time!) Is there a goal on your list that you’re not taking action on because you keep telling yourself there is no time? Time to take action. Do you want to travel but you have no idea how much your dream trip will cost or when it will happen? Time to make a plan and stick to it. Or is it just a good time to sit and sip tea in the sun? (Yup, I love that.) Hey, even Jesus created alone time (Mark 1:35)!
How do I start?
Self-care is your fuel so schedule it into your day. If you’re like me, you’ll find that you’re better at all the roles in your life because you’re fueling yourself up first. Now it’s time to take action. First, figure out that ideal day. Go old school and get a piece of paper and a pen and make two columns – 1 – your typical day, 2- your ideal day. Seeing your daily tasks in front of you instead of it all swirling around in your head will make it easier to figure out what to rearrange, delegate, or delete. Second, get out your planner and block some “white space”. Time just for you to simply be or to work on that goal you keep pushing to the bottom of this list because you thought you didn’t have time… Be sure to tell your spouse or older children that you’re carving out you time and why you’re doing it. Remember what they tell you on an airplane, put your oxygen mask on first, then help the person next to you.
Meet the Author: Liz Montigny, Personal Coach
Liz has covered a lot of ground from commuting to a cubicle every day to diving into entrepreneurship. As a personal coach, she empowers women to go from daily chaos to simplicity so they can love life. Liz is proud to be a licensed Ziglar Choose to Win Coach and a homeschooling boymom. Tea, big earrings, and living a nontoxic lifestyle are a few of her loves… You can find her on the usual social sites @lizmontignycoaching and grab some free downloads on her website lizmontignycoaching.com.