Finding your Calm
Have you ever come home at the end of a long day and had housework and chores staring you in the face? By the time you get your commute over and done with and all the household chores are finished, there’s never much of the day left to enjoy. You’re not the only person who has been there; most adults who have to deal with a long day at work and still have a house to run (family, kids, pets, etc.) never have very much time to just sit and be. The time left over for hobbies and things you might enjoy is then squeezed into the late evening or weekends; and often you’re just too tired to do the things you enjoy anymore because responsibility gets in the way. It’s a hideous reality, and it’s often the reason many adults wish they were children again, or younger at least.
Finding the time for yourself to rediscover what you love about life isn’t easy. It’s far easier to sink into bed and sleep an exhausted sleep instead. However, this isn’t what life is supposed to be about, life is short yall! Life is for living and you should be living to work, not working to live. It’s exactly why you need those hobbies and you need that time to just chill out; how else are you supposed to discover you? How else are you supposed to figure out what makes you calm? Self-care is so underrated and yet so important. You should be taking some time every single day to remind yourself that you have emotions to nurture and you have your own wants and needs outside of the office. Finding your calm is so important so that you can feel balanced and centred throughout your life. I remember when I was still working in the hospital and literally just feeling like I was working my life away. I woke up early, went to work, stayed working late, came home and worked some more, ate, slept, rinse & repeat. I was on call even when I wasn’t (managing a team means always being available) and even got work texts and emails when I would go on vacation (so not okay btw!). This cycle sent me into my huge tumble of self harm and depression – I had no escape and no room to breathe!
So – the first thing that you have to do is get your space at home ready for yourself. Find a room, or even a nook in the house, to make your own. You need somewhere you can go to just relax and recharge away from the hustle and bustle of chores or distractions. Personally my bedroom is my safe haven. I snuggle up with a book, some hot tea, or a movie I’ve been wanting to watch. As a kid I had a ginormous bean bag in my room, I could cuddle up in that thing for hours with a book! Now my Dad has one in my parent’s living room – it’s HUGE. Don’t these giant bean bags look insanely comfy? Next to your bean bag or your bed, wherever you choose to cuddle up, should be something that you enjoy. This could be a Kindle or even a large screen television with a range of films (hello Netflix!) and box sets for you to relax and enjoy. If you have the budget, a small refrigerator wouldn’t go amiss, either – instant snacks, yes please!
The next thing to do is to discover what you enjoy doing. Is it the gym? Painting? Shopping? Allocate yourself some promised time every week to rediscover the things in your life that you enjoy and don’t compromise that time. The cleaning can wait. Overtime at work can definitely wait. You need to remain a calm and confident human being, and you cannot be a functioning human if all your time and effort is spent in the workplace or doing chores. You matter. Your feelings and your emotions matter and you need to make the time in your life to cater to you.
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I needed this reminder as lately all I seem to be doing is working and being tired. You are so right we need to find ways to find some joy in each day and make sure that we are living and not just existing.
Thank you for this reminder!! I often feel like all I do is word, but I so appreciate the reminder that I need to find some time for me and to relax!! Makes me want to go read a book!!
This is a great reminder of how important self care is! Thanks for sharing these great tips. I find painting and going to the gym to be so calming and helps to improve my focus when I’m back at work.
The giant beanbags look so relaxing! This was a great post on reminding each other how important self care is.
I have made a nook in my home into my very own. My husband and I turned it into a gym for me, but I also have a section set aside just for relaxation.
Wow, the first paragraph of this post hit me hard! You pretty much explained my day to day life and how I’ve been feeling. I really like your idea of having a special spot that is just meant for you to relax. It will help me shut off the part of my mind that constantly has a never ending to-do list running through it. Great article!
Making time to do what you love is so important. If you don’t take time to enjoy your hobbies, you won’t be in the right mood to do the stuff you have to do like work and cleaning.
This is so true. I spend so much time and energy taking cares of everyone else, I forget to take care of myself. Then I get so run down, I can’t take care of anyone. It’s so important that we also take care of ourselves and sometimes put ourselves first.
This is exactly what I needed this week! I feel like my mind (and myself) have been going a million miles an hour and I just need to calm down, relax, and enjoy life.
I have one of those giant bean bags and absolutely love them!
Thanks so much for writing this, it was a great reminder! I also entered into the contest! 😀
Self-care is the best medicine and therapy. We need to take time to unwind and relax. These tips are great, and I will put them into practice especially taking a few minutes to enjoy my Kindle list.
Great reminder. We all need time to recharge our own tank, so that we can have enough energy to expend to others later. If we don’t take some time for self-care, we will be so depleted, we will suffer from burnout and exhaustion, something I struggle with sometimes.
Great minds think alike, this is similar to what I wrote today! I’m all for putting aside the cleaning time for a little self care. We’re all at our best when we take care of ourselves first. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow! So timely! I could really use this reminder today! I am going to squeeze in some margin no matter what! Great post!
As someone who is juggling school, an Etsy shop, and volunteering, I really needed this reminder! I often rely on my daily walks with my two dogs as a moment during the day to stop worrying and just enjoy the moment. I’ll need to keep reminding myself of the importance of self-care because it will improve how productive I am once it is time to work!
Thank you for such a great reminder. And what an amazing giveaway! <3
I’m a master at finding my calm and that hasn’t always been the case.
Creating my own calm proves to be quite difficult for me. It is important though to collect yourself and give yourself space to breathe, to simply be. I like to simply close my eyes and deep breathe.
I think everyone can benefit from finding a little calm in their day. My favorite way to wind down is by watching an ASMR video on YouTube. If you haven’t heard of them, check them out!
I love your message in your post. WE should all find our calm, and my is getting a good workout. Thanks for sharing.
There are times that I need to step away from working when I get frustrated and need to take a break. I normally will put my headphones on and listen to some music then go to it then I am okay.
Really love your post and I can totally relate with this. On weekdays I barely have sleep because I have to do a lot of work. Sometimes giving yourself a break and have a sip of a delicious hot coffee can relieve stress. Great post!
Self Care is really important to each of every one. Thanks for sharing this. This is something that I need to remember.
Great idea for a give-away. Finding time for self care is so important with today’s hectic lifestyles. Great post!
So true! Thanks for the reminder. It definitely is important to take care of yourself along with others.
I know exactly how you feel! Weekdays are pretty busy for me with my son’s school work and all, but I try to enjoy the weekends as much as I can by bingeing on Korean dramas, doing the laundry which I find very therapeutic, and doing the groceries by my lonesome (because you know how crazy it is to go to the supermarket with a kid in tow, haha).
great post! Staying calm and zen will make multitasking and getting sh*t done more enjoyable and productive.
When I’m out relaxing, I still can’t get work out of my head! The only times I really don’t think about work is when I play tennis! I think that’s what’s gotten me through many tough times throughout the past 12 years! So yeah, I absolutely agree with you, people need hobbies!
Having your own time and space is so important for staying relaxed! Although it can be difficult when you have busy lives/work
Thanks for sharing your wisdom on finding CALM…you are so right on about self care being over rated. Love your brilliant idea of creating your own nook and the bean bag chairs will serve nicely in getting comfy and in my own space. <3
Very timely topic! I was just talking to my husband about this the other night. I love your idea of creating a physical place for calm. Reminds me of the “mindfulness” rooms we are seeing popping up in workplaces, college campuses and airports. So important!
What a beautiful post on reminding each other how important self-care is. I really need a giant beanbag, it is on my wishlist already.
I definitely struggle with creating a space of my own in a small condo, but love the idea of it. I have great plans for a Kelsi room wherever we move to next 🙂
Awesome post and great giveaway! You are so on point with me time. Everyone, men, women, even children need some time to unwind and be alone with themselves. I have to do these things to keep my anxiety at bay. Other wise I get wound up until I panic.
I totally agree that creating a space at home is so important. We all need to have a respite! 🙂
Great giveaway!
As for being calm.. for me it’s probably the most challenging day to day goal. I easily loose my temper over nothing, that’s why I have always keep it in mind.
This was a really great reminder! Thanks for another fantastic post, Tara! And what a fabulous giveaway.
Ah, I have been feeling hugely overwhelmed lately! Household chores are staring me down everyday and I just do not have the energy to deal with it! This makes me feel a bit better! I know I have to juggle it all and ensure I see up with self-care too!
Water falls makes me feel calm, so I installed this man-made miniature water falls that I’ve got from the mall. The sound of water is very relaxing 🙂
I am constantly working on find my calm and it is a hard thing to learn. Thank you for sharing this honey.
xoxo
Sharka
http://www.thechicvibe.com
What a good article and yes it is super important to have time for ourselves. I do it as well 🙂 xoxo