Avoid Burn Out with 15 Simple Self-Care Routines
You’re stressed. Anxious. Irritable. Impatient. Worried. Distracted. Procrastinating. Unfocused. Forgetful. Tired. Annoyed. Zoning out. Less productive. Lacking motivation. Snapping at your coworkers, kids, husband, SO, family, or closest friends…
YUP, sister, you’re on your way to your breaking point and getting burned out.
“We don’t have to wait until we reach the end of our rope to finally realize we need a tiMEout (ME time).”
Let’s be honest, it happens to the best of us, even if we try to avoid it. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to wait until we reach the end of our rope to finally realize we need a tiMEout (ME time).
And no, it’s not necessarily easy to build in a tiMEout, whether you’ve got a full-time job, you’re a wife and/or mom, you’re a student, or you spend time volunteering, BUT it is completely worth the effort to make it happen.
First things first, avoid that breakdown. You know the one where you call your mom or best friend stressed out crying over something really trivial like a failed recipe, when you’re actually just on the verge of losing it because you need a break. Yeah, we’ve all been there. Instead, be proactive.
Schedule in your tiMEouts. This is different for everyone, depending on the season of life you’re in, your schedule, your routine, your circumstances. For some, it means an hour a week of ME time… for others, it means 30 minutes a day. Whatever it looks like for you, put it in your planner/family schedule like you would anything else and refuse to cancel on yourself.
“Self-care will look different at every stage or season of your life.”
15 Simple & Inexpensive Self-Care Ideas:
1. Go for a walk
2. Call a friend to catch up or share what’s on your heart
3. Go for a drive with your favorite tunes or podcast
4. Meet up for coffee (or wine- you do you) with a friend
5. Schedule a massage/facial/mani/pedi
6. Get your favorite takeout
7. Grab a pen and journal and write
8. Go to a favorite workout class
9. Read a book for FUN
10. Shut off your phone/email/technology
11. Try a yoga video on YouTube
12. Get creative with a lettering/calligraphy/coloring book
13. Take a shower (or bath) and get ready
14. Bake your favorite treat
15. Try a free meditation app
There are SO many easy ways to give yourself a breather before you get back in the game. It doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, life-changing, or take up all of your time. But it should be something that YOU enjoy that you do for YOU.
Self-care will look different at every stage or season of life. Your schedule, circumstances, role, career, budget, and routines will change as you do. For me, post-college, when I was teaching and coaching two sports full-time, volunteering as a Young Life leader, single and living with two roommates, self-care meant every Saturday we took a stroll through Target and enjoyed a meal together at our favorite restaurant. It was easy, unplanned, and self-care wasn’t even a thing then.
Fast forward to my life now, with a full-time career, side hustle, husband, daughter, and baby on the way, self-care is a bit different. It usually means scheduling a girls night once a month, taking 30 minutes every day to read, walk or journal by myself. It’s not glamorous, glitzy, expensive, or extraordinary. It’s simple, effective, restful, and inexpensive.
Sister, you’ve got a million things going on, and I’m not telling you anything you haven’t heard before. But I am reminding you that it doesn’t have to be complicated or hard.
Keep it simple. Schedule in your tiMEout, and make a plan. Having something to look forward to will shape your perspective and give you hope when you might feel like you’re stuck in a never-ending cycle of your to-do list.
You’re worth it.
