Taking a Personal Time Out: Tips to Rejuvenate

Work Wednesday 

I am busy.  Often supporting others, including my clients and coworkers, my husband (a doctoral student), and my growing daughter.   I love it all, but it can be a demanding role.  I mentioned in a previous post the importance of working smarter and the concept, and importance, of renewal.  It's important to not only better your working self, but also to take a personal time out to rejuvanate your inner self.

Take steps to rejuvenate:

Make space to breathe.   It's time to meditate.  Nothing fancy, just simply allow yourself time to sit on your favorite chair, in your bed, or outside on a park bench.  For five minutes each day, create time and space to sit, breathe, and simply be.  I know it can be hard to find that space (let alone quiet time), but you can.   It's there.  Get up five minutes earlier, go to bed five minutes later, or make it a lunch time routine.  No matter when in the day you do it, you'll reap the benefits.  You'll be energized, more aware, and atuned to your day.

Develop a personal practice.  Mine is yoga.  It's not an everyday practice, but one I partake in several times during the week.  This is my time.  It's just me.  I use it to clear my head, better my body, calm my soul, and restore my ability to focus on my life responsibilities in a much more nourished way.  Your practice doesn't have to be yoga.  Your personal practice could be found by reading a book before bed, by taking a walk in your neighborhood, having a cup of tea with a friend, or writing a letter.  Find a practice that nourishes you, beyond your roles and responsibilities, one that enables you to escape and reconnect with yourself.

Allow yourself to say no. I firmly believe that being able to say no is very powerful.  Being able to know your own capacity for commitments stems from self awareness.   Awareness of what you need to succeed, to better yourself, and to support those around you.   It's not easy to say no, and requires diligence to execute.  It requires you to look at your responsibilities objectively and remove the items that don't fit there.   If a commitment, action, or responsibility doesn't better you, your profession, your life ambitions, or family, then it might not be a good fit.  If all it does is add to your to do list and offers nothing of substance in return, then it's time to let it go, and move your focus forward.

You support many people during the course of the day, week, and life.  It's now time to take time for yourself.  Give yourself space to reflect, accept your accomplishments, rejuvanate, and reenergize yourself in order to start anew.

How do you make time for yourself?  How do you better yourself so you can boost your own productivity, patience, and joy regardless of your busy life and work schedule?

Image by Kevin Labianco via Flickr

Comments

[Katherine]

Vanessa, this post came just when I needed it. Last night I couldn't unwind and fall asleep until 1 am and then when my daughter woke at 5:30 am, I couldn't fall back to sleep at all!! I definitely need more rejuvenation and am considering either yoga or meditation.

Although, I took a zumba class for the first time last weekend, and I loved it. Could that possibly become a practice that centers and restores me?? I mean, with all the music and the hip action?

[Vanessa]

I think you can find rejuvenation and personal restoration in even a high energy class like Zumba. The mental time out and personal practice comes in doing something for you - something that you enjoy, allows you to let go of the day, temporarily forget your to do lists, and nourish yourself. For some people a mellow, quiet activity fosters this for others it's something with more movement, and pep! I hope that Zumba becomes a regular part of your weekly practice and it helps with the unwinding. I also keep notebook next to my bed that I jot down ideas, anxieties, lists, etc. before I go to bed. Sometimes tucking away the things that keep me up at night help me drift off with ease.

[Karen]

Saying "no" is one of the most important things we can learn how to do. With a busy client base, being active in my synagogue and my children's THREE different schools which all want a piece of me is a challenge. Add to that that, with my children a bit older, I am pursuing my life-long dream of writing a book (and blogging!), and there is very little of me to go around. I had to learn early on in my children's lives that I had to say "no" to most things that people asked me to do. I have to develop a very fine filter to figure out which extra things I can take on that will benefit me, my family and the world. Just last week, I was asked to join a board of an organization I really admire and I would really like to be giving back in that way (plus it would be great networking for my work) but I still have to say no for the moment. I wouldn't be able to do it justice.

Now, however, I'm really interested in hearing more about this Zumba thing ... Kakki - what is it?

[Karen]

Ugh - I'm so busy I can't even type properly. The second sentence should read "A busy client base, a synagogue that needs volunteers and my children's THREE different schools all want a piece of me - and it's a challenge to respond to all the requests."

[stacy]

Vanessa,

I was confused when I saw your post because I knew that I didn't blog yesterday but I was actually in the middle of taking time out to rejuvenate. Mine wasn't as healthy as yoga, but it was as restorative. I took a day off from work and took the train to Philadelphia to meet up with my cousin, who lives in New York. We talked, walked, shopped, saw art, ate, and drank and just caught up. I feel like a new person today!