At the beginning of the year I made the decision to create my monthly self-care challenges around a specific focus for each month. For the first five months the challenges were centered around the five love languages since then I’ve created challenges around emotional, physical, space, and social self-care just to name a few. We are finally at the end of the year and the end of the monthly focus. For the final month in the year, the self-care focus will be work self-care, a concept that I don’t think we talk about enough. Work can be very stressful and it takes up a great deal of our time so it’s really important for us to practice some form of self-care throughout the day. Unless you work from home, the workplace is not the ideal environment for practicing self-care but there are subtle ways and things you can do throughout the day.
During the month I will try to provide self-care ideas that will be conducive for a variety of work situations and environment, but for this week I will cover some basic and simple self-care strategies that you can incorporate throughout your day as you need it. Some of this strategies will be ideas that you can do while you’re in a meeting or when you’re sitting at your desk working. The goal will be to take time out of your busy day to re-center yourself to reduce your stress levels and to hopefully make your day and your experience at work more productive.
TAKE A BREAK this is the basic go to when practicing self-care at work. In fact, most supervisors would probably encourage this. This can be done in so many forms; you can step away from your desk and visit another co-worker in their office/desk, you can go for a short walk, you can head out for coffee, or you can make a quick phone call to a friend or family member.
BOX BREATHING I mentioned box breathing at some point in the past. The process entails inhaling on a count of four, hold it for two counts, and exhale on a count of four. This form of self-care can be done at any time throughout your work day, especially if you’re in a long meeting or any stressful situations.
MUSIC/PODCAST if your work environment is pretty relaxed, then it’s probably okay for you to wear your headphones throughout the day (or at least for a little while). If you’re able to, I encourage you to listen to an inspirational podcast, music, or maybe a book on audible. As long as you’re able to concentrate, you can do this while you’re actually doing your work. Who knows, it might make your day go by much faster.
A STRESS BALL I don’t get much out of this but I have received a few throughout the years from conferences that I kept on my desk at work. If this is your thing, keep one close by and use it when you feel stressed or overwhelmed. One of the great things about this object is, it takes your mind off of what’s going on and allows you to focus on the feel of something in your hand.
A MASSAGE this one is a stretch and it may not apply to any of my readers. With that said, I know that some companies offer this service to their employees. If this applies to you, and you’ve never utilize the service before you should try it out. If the option is available to do this several times throughout the day you can plan your work day around it.
WORKOUT a lot of organizations have an onsite gym. If you don’t have time to workout during your work day, make time to work out before or after work. A workout first thing in the morning energizes you and sets the tone for the day, making a decision to workout after your day ends helps you unwind and reduces stress.
TAKE A HALF DAY if you’re not able to do this the same day, request a half day at some point in the future. Sometimes when we know we don’t have to work a full day it makes us feel good. Try to make sure that if you choose this option, you don’t schedule anything stressful because it defeats the purpose.
Self-Care on the go are essentially bite size versions of my self-care challenges. It’s open to anyone but it’s specifically created for moms and other working women; who may not have time to participate in all (or any) of the challenges that I provide weekly because of their mommy duties or busy work schedule. You can access the infographic HERE. I’ve been posting them every Sunday since the beginning of the year and I really enjoy creating them. If you’re one of my readers who participate in, or enjoy these options because you find them convenient, leave a comment and let me know what you like about them or what you think I should change. Thanks for going on this self-care journey again with me this week.
By the way, if you’re interested, my Newsletter and Self-Care Accountability Worksheet is now available. The worksheet will act as a supplement to my daily self-care challenges. The purpose is to help you stay on track with your daily self-care routines. If you’re interested in receiving these items weekly, email me at tam33ks@yahoo.com. The self-care worksheet is FREE, but will only be available to my Newsletter subscribers. I will NOT spam you, I will only email once per week.
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Self-Care At Forty 