Jobs, plans, families, fur babies, schedules… life can get crazy. If you’re not careful you can burn yourself out pretty fast just trying to get through the work week. Sometimes we can become so busy that we forget what it feels like just let ourselves relax.
Here at Ponderlily, we believe in helping you put yourself, your dreams, and appointments on your agenda. We created space for you to recharge and stay connected to who you are, so when you take on the day, tomorrow you’re ready to put your best foot forward again.
Here are a few tips that can help you take a moment to yourself and recharge in the midst of the busy season.
Plan a tech-free day or weekend - Technology is an amazing tool. There probably hasn’t been an hour in a typical day where I haven’t used it in some way. However, it can be draining: e-mails coming in constantly, projects waiting on your desktop, endless phone calls and bottomless messages. Sometimes I just need to take a day to myself, turn off my phone/laptop, and spend time doing something with my family or myself that doesn’t involve screens and schedules.
Avoid using your phone 1-hour before bed - Most people have heard this one, but there’s a reason for that. It really makes a difference in how well you sleep at night! Even if you are just scrolling through social media, the light from your phone is enough to keep you awake longer as it emits a blue light radiation that can mess up your body’s sleep schedule. It can also remind you of things that you need to do and stress you out so that falling asleep seems impossible.
Plan for activities that will allow you to recharge, make you feel like yourself again - Sometimes a busy lifestyle can make you forget what you like to do because it has been so long since you had time to do it. Whatever it is that makes you feel like yourself again whether it’s hiking, drawing, dressing up and going out or a self-care spa night, take time out of your day to do it. This will make you happier and significantly more productive when it comes time to get back to work.
Read - Reading is one of the best ways to relax while also doing wonders for your brain and enhancing your conversational and writing skills. There are articles after articles online that go in depth encouraging how good reading is for you. We all need to be doing more of it, but reading is honestly just the best way to get refreshed by taking some time to be quiet and leave your world behind for a few moments.
Journal - Similarly to reading, this will help you get some time to yourself and your own thoughts. Journaling is also a great way to process through current emotions or situations that you might be dealing with mentally that can be exhausting. This is a small habit that is easy to squeeze into a busy day. Just set aside 10-15 minutes and start writing, I truly believe that you will see incredible results.
Call a friend - It is easy to get so wrapped up in the day to day that it becomes increasingly more difficult to reach out to friends. However, getting outside of yourself for a moment and talking to a friend about your lives and your past memories together. This can remind you of how you got where you are today, why you’re doing what you’re doing and the passion that you have for the life that you’ve built. It can give you an overhead perspective on life when you talk it out with someone who knows and cares about you. Not to mention that it’s just fun!
Our planners have a ‘recharge’ section for a reason. So take a second to decide which one of these de-stress activities you can incorporate into your schedule. You may choose to try just one or all six tips here - just be sure to make yourself a priority and recharge this week!
