Raise your hand if you could use a little downtime🤚
If I asked a group of people if they could use more downtime, I have a feeling that most everyone would have their hand up (if not both hands!) Even if you love what you do for a living, have a happy home life, have wonderfully supportive friends and resources, and all the other great things that we strive for – we all need downtime.
Of course, there may be a few in the same group who wouldn’t raise their hand. Maybe they’re lucky enough to have just had some downtime and are feeling refreshed. Good for them!
Unfortunately, though, others would keep their hand down because they feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders and are afraid that things would fall apart if they put that weight down – even for a day. They won’t even consider a vacation because they can’t see how it could be realistically possible when they’re responsible for so much.
I’m not talking about being in the middle of a big project at work. I’m talking about those who consistently have way too much on their plate, regardless of why or what. No matter whether it’s life circumstances, never saying no or simply feeling like they can’t or shouldn’t.
I’m talking about those who certainly need a break but who feel selfish taking time for themselves, who feel like they’d be letting others down, and those who feel like it’s not worth all of the extra work and catch up they’d have to do.
Where are you in this? Is your hand up or down? Why?
I still remember a conversation with a client about this. After a career spent entirely in the corporate world, she had decided it was time to leave that world and start her own business. She’d been working relentlessly over the past couple years doing everything involved with starting a business.
After all of that diligent effort, though, she decided that self-employment was not for her. She wanted to return to an office environment. Retirement was also a viable option to consider, but she decided that she had to keep working for at least a few more years in case someone in her family ever needed a little financial help.
She was completely drained from the past couple years, exhausted from everything she had going on, and was then also feeling overwhelmed being back at square one of another job search. She was fried.
She realized that she needed a quiet retreat that catered to her pace and nurtured her peace, not a weekend getaway with girlfriends or visiting her partner’s family. A mental and physical space to decompress and untangle from the past couple years, and for her to rejuvenate, gain clarity, and feel invigorated and fully prepared for the next steps in her career.
However, she fought the idea and decided that she couldn’t because she had too much to do. She was stuck in a habit of go-go-go and needing to feel productive. And stuck in a place of feeling overwhelmed by the next step in her career and afraid of letting people down. A ton of pressure for anyone!
The bottom-line here is that if we’re going to continue to show up for the people, causes and goals we care about – WE ALL NEED DOWNTIME.
If we want to live long, happy, healthy lives and enjoy the journey – WE ALL NEED DOWNTIME.
Period.
Are you getting enough downtime in your life? Or are you feeling overwhelmed or burned out from continuing the go-go-go? Where are you in that cycle?
Being in motion, always thinking and doing, becomes the way of life. It’s easy to think that plopping down on the couch and scrolling through social media qualifies as downtime, but it doesn’t. That stuff just becomes a placeholder for all the other noise when what would be of greatest benefit is to quiet everything and actually hear what’s really going on inside.
A few years ago, I found myself waving both of my hands in the air as if my downtime was driving by and I was trying to flag it down to pick me up. I was feeling like I had the weight of the world on me and I couldn’t see a window of time that was near enough where I’d be able to get away for a few days. The worst part was that I was short with my friends and family. I was in such rough shape that I even lost my love of reading and listening to books.
Even though I knew I needed an out-of-town break, I had so many projects and commitments going on at the same time that I didn’t feel that I could take time off for most of the summer. So until I had that time, I created mini breaks with things like scheduling a massage, forest bathing, going on long walks, and simply closing my computer and actually paying attention to a full movie in the evening. This was the best that I could do until I had more time.
Then it happened! A short window of time suddenly popped up where I could get out of town for a few days for the rejuvenating break I truly needed. Within an hour I had booked a one-way flight to San Diego that boarded in ONLY THREE HOURS! I left in such a hurry that I didn’t even have a place to stay until after I landed.
The sense of urgency wasn’t all about catching a flight, though. The sense of urgency came from knowing how much I needed to step out of my daily life for some serious downtime. I had been pushing my limits and completely ebbed out of balance. I was sacrificing far too many of my needs for longer than was in my best interest. I could no longer realistically continue without a chunk of downtime to myself, physically away from commitments and daily to-dos.
Regardless of where you are, here are a few simple things that you can do to incorporate some downtime into your life daily life:
Start a daily practice of visualizing your day before they even get out of bed. Envision yourself navigating your day, handling things that come your way in a calm manner and actually enjoying your day instead of feeling so stressed.
Spend at least five minutes meditating (this is manageable!)
Spend five minutes journaling and/or setting 2-3 specific manageable goals for the day.
At the end of the day, write down at least five things that you’re grateful for from your day before you go to bed so that you fall asleep with good thoughts.
Remember that it’s entirely okay to simply sit and BE without the need to read a book or make mental lists or anything even remotely productive.
Find deeper clarity on your priorities and goals, so you’re better equipped to say ‘no’ to things that aren’t a priority right now or that you don’t really want to do.
This is YOUR life and you owe it to yourself to give yourself a break regularly. The irony is that when you step away and take a break, you’ll actually come back even stronger, more efficient, and clearer in your thinking than before. A win for everyone.
What are you waiting for? What can you do to give yourself a break? You deserve it.
Enjoy the journey,
Julie
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