Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
– Winston Churchill
Is the glass half-full? Is it half-empty? Does it even matter?
Absolutely.
In my journey with burnout, I learned the relationship between optimism and health. Early on, I suffered from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and burnout. I experienced every challenging emotion on the spectrum – loneliness, frustration, anger – and felt very much like a pessimist.
And I stayed that way for a while… Bedridden and isolated from the world.
Until I realized: I was choosing to feel this way. I was choosing to feel sorry for myself. I was choosing to stay stuck.
I didn’t want to feel that way anymore. I wanted to feel empowered again. Now, I choose to look at the glass half-full. Sure, my situation sucked. But positive change depended on ME taking action and having a positive outlook.
And it worked. Through optimism and taking action, I healed from burnout and fibromyalgia.
Optimism saved me and it can rescue you from signs of burnout, as well.
What is Optimism?
Optimism is about staying hopeful and positive about your present and future.
But it’s more than a mindset shift. It’s a lifestyle change. Optimism can have a profound impact on your life satisfaction, how you make decisions, and what types of goals you embark on.
However, many pessimists and realists are skeptical of the benefits of optimism. They believe that optimists suffer from the Pollyanna Principle or positivity bias — an unhealthy fixation on the positive while avoiding the negative. They prefer to feel happy instead of taking action and facing reality.
Sounds more like delusion and wishful thinking, right?
After all, how can optimism pay your bills? Or pick up the kids from school? Or restore peace to your chronic anxiety?
I felt that way until I discovered firsthand how life-changing optimism can be.
What Can Optimism Do For You?
Optimism benefits both your mental and physical well-being. Studies show that those who are more optimistic are at less risk of coronary heart disease. Another study shows that greater optimism can reduce the effects of chronic disease.
That’s right.
Optimism has a healing effect on your body!
By replacing my victim mentality with optimism, I was able to take charge of my burnout and fibromyalgia symptoms. This is because my new positive outlook changed the way I related to these symptoms and empowered me to take action through self-care.
When you embody positivity and optimism, you tend to live longer, you’re more likely to build healthy habits, and you cultivate greater resilience during hardships.
Are you ready to welcome more optimism into your life? Here’s how you can do it.
4 Tips On How to Be More Optimistic
#1 Practice Gratitude
When was the last time you sat in silence, appreciating the blessings that touch your life?
It may have been a while.
Your life often gets hectic. Your calendar is overbooked. You have obligations to fulfill and deadlines to meet.
In the hustle and bustle, you forget to simply appreciate.
Take a moment to do that right now. Ask yourself:
What are three positive things that happened today?
Make answering this question a daily habit. This simple activity will train your brain to actively seek out what’s right in your life, instead of dwelling on what’s wrong.
#2 Surround Yourself with Positive People
Jim Rohn said that you are the average of the five people you surround yourself with. If the people around you are constantly complaining, negative, and pessimistic, then you are more likely to exude those same characteristics.
Instead, set yourself up for success and wellness by associating with people who:
- Set goals and take action
- Choose optimism over pessimism
- Encourage and uplift you
- Cultivate a growth mindset
- Build healthy habits
The friends and family you keep close to you can influence your daily habits and your overall well-being.
#3 Use Inspiring Affirmations
Pessimism affects more than how you perceive the people and world around you. It can also distort how you see yourself.
You put a magnifying glass over your flaws. You catalog your faults. You doubt your skills and potential.
Daily affirmations help you replace these pessimistic thoughts with more optimistic beliefs, by giving voice to reminders of your strength and worth.
Every morning when you wake up and every evening before you go to sleep, look at yourself in the mirror and say:
I love myself. I respect myself. I accept myself.
I am worthy of love and abundance.
I exude optimism, confidence, and self-compassion.
You might not believe the words at first, but they will eventually manifest into your reality. Over time, you will believe that you are worthy, valuable, and powerful.
Optimism isn’t about overnight change. It’s about being open to positive change, even when your current situation is less than ideal.
#4 Be Solution-Oriented
Think about the last time something didn’t work out the way you wanted. It sucked, right? You might have felt discouraged. Perhaps you blamed the world for this setback.
It’s okay to process your emotions before taking action. Just keep in mind that the worst thing you can do in adversity is nothing.
Optimism is more than looking on the bright side. It also encourages you to take real action to effect positive change in your life.
Don’t let your temporary setbacks limit you. Instead, take back your power.
When you’re struggling with something, approach it as a challenge to solve. This perspective shift will keep you focused not on what happened to you, but rather what can you do about it?
Think about a setback you recently experienced. What action steps can you take to solve it?
Optimism and Health Begins With Self-Love
The choice to be optimistic is an act of kindness we show ourselves.
Each time you express optimism, you’re choosing the glass half-full over half-empty. Choosing to keep going over giving up. Choosing positivity over cynicism.
Optimism also inspires you to make more empowering choices, even in hardship: choosing self-compassion and self-love over despair.
When you practice optimism and self-love, you welcome so many benefits into your life. That’s why I encourage you to claim my free gift, “From Burnout To Balance: A Simple 10-Minute Daily Self-Care Practice.”
This practice has been shown to:
- Increase mindfulness, well-being, self-confidence, and personal power
- Increase your ability to concentrate
- Cultivate a greater resilience to stress, a positive mindset, and a sense of hopefulness and calm
- Decrease stress and stress-related symptoms like frustration, mood swings, feelings of overwhelm or lack of control, anxiety, depression, low energy, headaches, body aches and pains, muscle tension, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, insomnia, and frequent colds and infections
- Reduce or even stop worrying
Click here now to download your “From Burnout To Balance: A Simple 10-Minute Daily Self-Care Practice.”
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
Self-care is a trending topic right now. Articles, videos, and books flood the market, revealing so many ways for women to prioritize themselves.
It’s wonderful!
We’re increasing awareness of the relationship between self-care and burning out. That is, if you neglect taking care of yourself, you increase the risks of experiencing signs of burnout.
However, there are also some self-care misconceptions out there. Some companies and media outlets are actually missing the mark — reducing self-care to a pore-shrinking face mask or an excuse to treat yourself to a new outfit.
Self-care runs much deeper than that.
In this article, we’re debunking some self-care misconceptions and embracing the essence behind taking genuine care of yourself.
First Off, What is Self-Care?
Quite literally, self-care is taking care of yourself — your mind, body, spirit, and emotions. In an overworked culture where 96% of employees are burned out, self-care is especially critical to your well-being.
And self-care looks different for every woman.
For me, self-care is being mindful of how I care for myself daily, starting with a morning routine that grounds me and sets the tone for each day. I also take periodic breaks throughout the day to re-vitalize myself.
What does self-care look like for you? Let me know in the comments below!
Whatever activity you enjoy, self-care is how you recharge your batteries. It helps you enjoy your life. It builds your resilience during hardship. And it strengthens your physical and mental well-being.
More importantly, self-care is necessary for a happy and fulfilling life.
But what happens when self-care is misinterpreted?
What are the consequences when today’s trends skew your perception of self-care?
When Self-Care Gets Problematic for Women…
While contemporary culture has increased the popularity of self-care, it has also distorted it.
Women are often fed unrealistic or idealized versions of what taking care of yourself looks like. And some women use self-care as an excuse or escape from certain aspects of their lives.
My goal is to debunk these self-care myths. Also, I advocate that self-care is both essential and accessible to all women.
Coming up are five scenarios where self-care is actually misinterpreted and done wrong.
5 Self-Care Misconceptions to Watch Out For
#1 You Do It For Others
The popularity of social media makes it tempting to share everything you do with your followers.
Online influencers flood the self-improvement industry with their morning routines, diet regimens, workout routines, and more.
From a self-care perspective, this may have a hidden consequence…
You obsess over likes and comments and lose sight of what’s truly important: your health and well-being.
Remember: you practice self-care because you love and take care of yourself — not for the likes and comments.
#2 Self-Care Conflicts With Your Goals
You may not realize it, but you might be sabotaging your goals with self-care “treats.”
Let’s say your goal is to lose weight. After two weeks of dedicated diet and exercise, it’s tempting to reward yourself with a decadent (but calorie-rich and sugary) slice of cake. Your internal dialogue may eventually convince you that you deserve it.
However, indulging your appetite is at odds with what you’re hoping to achieve: a healthier you.
Let’s use another example: you want more time for yourself because you’re often over-extended. Then you hear your friends are volunteering for a fundraiser event this weekend. Sounds like it’ll be fun and it’s for a good cause, right? You decide you’ll join.
But even that goes against your goal to recharge by taking away your “me” time.
Self-care is important. However, it must also align with your goals and lifestyle.
Is your “self-care” moving you toward or away from your goals?
#3 You Put a Clever Disguise on Procrastination
If you meditated, recited your affirmations, and soaked in a bubble bath, that’s wonderful! You must be feeling great.
If you did all of that but neglected your responsibilities, then that’s not so wonderful.
Self-care can often be a pretty disguise for procrastination.
Are you practicing self-care to relax and recharge? Or is it a convenient excuse to postpone your responsibilities?
Be honest with yourself about when it’s time to work and time to relax.
#4 You Make It Your Go-To Avoidance Tactic
Sometimes, we use self-care as a way to avoid something uncomfortable.
For example, if you struggle with socializing, you might be tempted to isolate yourself all weekend and call it “me time” and “self-care.”
If you make this behavior a habit, you may be using “self-care” to mask your fear of social interaction.
When this happens, you close opportunities to challenge yourself.
Self-care isn’t strictly rest and relaxation. It can also be an opportunity for personal growth. In this scenario, self-care might actually look like scheduling coffee with a close friend to slowly overcome your social anxiety.
#5 You Attach a Price Tag
Businesses are capitalizing on the self-care trends you see on social media. That’s why industries, like skincare and fashion, are booming. Businesses want women to look and feel great when buying their products.
However, you don’t need to spend buckets of money to take care of yourself.
Self-care doesn’t have to be an expensive retreat to a tropical climate. It doesn’t have to be a luxurious day at the spa either.
Self-care can be as simple as enjoying ten minutes of silence. Or improving your sleep quality by heading to bed an hour earlier. Even going for a walk outside can be considered self-care!
Taking care of yourself can be both nourishing AND free.
What free or low-cost self-care activities do you practice? I’d love to know!
When Self-Care is Done Right…
When you make self-care a top priority, you’ll notice a positive shift in your life.
Your mood lifts. You’re more resilient. You find fulfillment in life. Your overall well-being improves.
That’s the power of self-care.
And I want to help you achieve those amazing benefits with my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge
During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout and I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and enjoying your life (again).
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
“You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”
~ Timber Hawkeye
Overwhelm can feel like weathering a storm with your endless responsibilities swirling around you.
You have emails to answer. Dinner to put on the table. Children to pick up. People to please.
Where do you even begin?
The stress is enough to make you want to retreat under the bed covers and escape the world, even for a moment.
Fortunately, there’s no need to run away. You can learn how to manage overwhelm so you don’t burn out with a few tips you can start being in action with today.
Are you ready to calm the raging storm?
Let’s get started.
What Are the Symptoms of Overwhelm?
Symptoms of overwhelm often manifest during busy or difficult stages of your life. It can affect your mind and body in the following ways:
- Anxiety
- Muscle tension or bracing
- Shortness of breath
- Brain fog
- Irritability
- Forgetfulness
- Cluttered mind
- Difficulty sleeping
It’s normal to experience these symptoms every once in a while. However, if these symptoms are the “new norm” for you, then there’s an underlying cause you might need to address.
Why Do You Feel Overwhelmed All the Time?
Overwhelm often happens when you’re faced with more than you can handle.
You might be feeling overwhelmed at work when you set unrealistic expectations for yourself. Or maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed with life in general because you give away too much of your time and energy.
Another reason for your overwhelm is because self-care is optional for you. You neglect your mind, body, and spirit as you work through the stress. Your mind goes into overdrive and your body buckles under the pressure and stress.
If you’re not careful and do this for too long, you’ll eventually suffer from signs of burnout.
What is Overwhelm Really?
Overwhelm is a temporary state of being, often affected by how you manage your time and energy.
In life, you transition between stages of busy periods and rest periods. However, poor actions and habits that stem from poor planning can make those busy periods more stressful than necessary.
The secret to avoiding and recovering from overwhelm is to introduce new habits that improve your productivity, resilience to stress, and self-esteem.
How to Manage Overwhelm
Here are a few tips to help you conquer overwhelm and reclaim your life.
#1 Maintain an Evening Routine
Mornings are often the busiest and most stressful part of the day.
You’re rushing to get ready for work, dress the children for school, pack lunches, and make it out the door in time. The clock is ticking.
Instead of rushing through a stressful morning, ease into it by following an evening routine. By doing the following tasks the evening before, you can kickstart your mornings:
- School and work lunches
- Lay out your clothes
- Create an agenda for the next day’s schedule
- Quickly tidy up around the house
- Meditate to calm your busy mind
- Review your goals
- Set a bedtime to improve your sleep
Avoid burning out by beginning each day rested, prepared, and ready to go.
#2 Say No
Reduce overwhelm by screening the people and tasks that enter your life.
To do this, start with identifying your priorities and values.
My top three priorities are self-care, family, and helping my clients thrive. When somebody asks me to do something that doesn’t align with my priorities and values, I give myself permission to say “no.” Doing this helps me set healthy boundaries and avoid unnecessary obligations that can lead to burnout.
What priorities do you carry in your life? Is what you’re doing and how you’re living aligning with those priorities?
#3 Outsource What You Can
Trying to do everything yourself puts you on the fast track to burnout.
Accept that sometimes you can’t do it all and that’s okay.
If you need a helping hand, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Also, if you have the means, you can outsource some of your responsibilities.
For example, you can save time by getting your groceries delivered to you each week. Or you can hire a nanny to offload some of your caretaking responsibilities.
If you’re a business owner, you can delegate administrative tasks like handling emails and data entry to a virtual assistant.
List your own work and personal responsibilities. What tasks can you outsource to make your life easier or more efficient?
#4 Take a Walk in the Park
At work, you think about your unanswered emails and looming deadlines. At home, you focus on cooking dinner, washing laundry, and cleaning.
You feel guilty about taking a break because you know that there’s always something that needs doing. This is because your environment is a visual reminder of the work that awaits you.
To help clear your mind, try introducing a change of scenery. Leave your phone at home and go for a 30-minute walk in the park. Enjoy the warm sunshine on your face and savor the fresh air filling your lungs.
Changing your physical location can ease your overwhelm and lift your mood. And taking regular walks in the park can improve your health and protect you from burnout.
Overcome Overwhelm with Self-Love
Overwhelm can sometimes feel like a raging storm that will never end. Instead of “escaping” the storm, learn how to weather it and do better next time.
However, this requires you to forgive and love yourself when you make mistakes. And that’s often difficult to do — especially when you have a world of responsibilities weighing on your shoulders.
That’s why I want you to sign up for my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge.
During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout and I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and enjoying your life (again).
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
Do you work from home? If so, you’re not alone. A study from the US Census shows that nearly eight million people work from home. Technology is making it easier for people to do everything traditionally done in the office from the comfort of their homes.
Working from home gives you the added perk of saving time spent doing your hair and makeup, commuting and chatting with your co-workers at the water cooler.
However, there’s a downside to remote working: burnout.
In this article, I’ll be sharing some challenges of remote working and tips for improving your work/life balance when working from home.
Work/Life Balance: Working from Home vs. Working at the Office
Modern women are expanding their roles from traditional caregivers to doctors, CEOs, and more. However, this role expansion can expose you to signs of burnout, as you struggle to balance your work life with your personal life AND self-care.
Working from home, especially, can present the following obstacles when maintaining a healthy work/life balance:
- You’re exposed to more distractions at home in the form of unopened mail, clutter, ringing doorbells, and children playing outside
- Separating your home life and work life is difficult when both share the same space
- You can start feeling isolated if you work from home with limited social interactions
- A combination of these challenges and more can lead to burnout
Do you work from home and struggle with something else? Let me know in the comments below.
My Work/Life Balance System
Here are systems I personally use that you can apply in your own life to stay burnout-free.
Ease Into the Morning
Before I begin my workday, I give myself an hour to center myself and engage in my spiritual practices:
- Diffusing essential oils
- Meditating
- Reciting affirmation cards
- Journaling
These practices help me to greet the day at my own pace. Instead of rushing, I enjoy the morning silence with calm intention. This is why I rarely schedule early morning appointments with my clients. Before I give my time away to others, I first give time to myself.
Even Though I Work at Home, I Still Have Work Hours
My secret to staying productive is sticking to a set work schedule.
Imagine working only when you felt like it?
I don’t think I’d ever leave my warm cozy bed! Sticking to a work schedule helps you “leave home” to start the workday.
If you’re wondering how to structure your day working from home, here’s what a typical workday looks like for me…
> 8:30 AM- Work begins with answering emails, handling urgent tasks, and taking client appointments
> 12:00 PM – Take a lunch break
> 1:00 PM – Continue working
> 3:30 PM – Exercise and get my heart pumping
> 4:30 PM – Continue working
> 6:30 PM – Dinner and relax with my husband and cat
Structuring your day helps you stay intentional when it’s time to work, be with family, and wind down. Having a plan for navigating your day helps you create more balance and protect yourself from burnout.
What does your work from home schedule look like? Are you an early bird or do you prefer to work from the afternoon into the evening?
A DO NOT DISTURB Sign Keeps Me Focused (when I use it)
My biggest distraction is my husband, who likes to visit me while I’m working (and when he’s not traveling). When I’m on the phone with a client, I have to signal to him that I can’t talk right now.
If your spouse or small children are at home while you’re working, consider putting a sign on your office door that says DO NOT DISTURB.
This small tip can make a huge difference. It reminds your family that even though they’re home and relaxing, you’re still “working at the office.”
I Set Alarms to Keep My Day Flowing
Working from home, you don’t have somebody to tell you when to work on something else or to take your breaks. You’re responsible for that.
And when you’re deeply focused on work, it’s easy to forget!
That’s why I set alarms for everything — when to take breaks, respond to emails, prepare for a client call, and when to end the workday.
This little alarm helps me fend off burnout by helping me balance work, self-care, and relaxation.
Set a Strict Cut-off Time for Work
Striking a healthy work/life balance can be difficult when your home and work share a space. This makes it easy to sacrifice relaxation to sneak in a few email responses or get a headstart on tomorrow’s workload.
That’s why I set a strict cut-off time for work. I know that whatever tasks come in during the evening can wait until the morning. Until then, I dedicate my time and energy to quality time with my husband and cat.
If you’re still having trouble “leaving work,” try going outside for a walk. When you step outside, imagine you’re leaving the office and when you return, imagine that you’ve arrived at home. Also, creating a designated work area that you physically leave makes separating work from home easier. These extra steps can help prime your mind and body for relaxation.
Do you have any other tips to share with your fellow home-workers to help them achieve better work/life balance? Leave them in the comments below!
Self-Love is Critical to a Healthy Work/Life Balance, Especially When Working from Home
Working from home can save you tons of time that would otherwise be spent on commuting and engaging in office gossip.
If you’re a workaholic and recovering perfectionist, like me, then it’s easy to use that time and dive into more and more work.
However, devoting too much of your time to work can tip your life out of balance. Instead, give that time to the other areas of your life — family, relationships, health, and most importantly self-care.
Caring and loving your body is the catalyst that sparks positive change in your life. That’s why I want to share a special challenge with you: my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge.
During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout and I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and enjoying your life (again).
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
Do you ever feel like your life is spiraling out of balance?
When you experience success in one area of your life, you may neglect other areas of your life if you’re not mindful.
For example, spending too much time in the office can reduce the time you can spend at home with your spouse and children.
Or perhaps you’re making strides in your career and relationships but compromising your mental and physical well-being in the process.
Women are finding it more challenging to find meaningful balance in their lives, and you can probably relate. In fact, one study shows that working women struggle with balancing work and family due to “excessive work pressure, too little time for themselves and the need to fulfill others’ expectations of them.”
If that study discourages you, don’t worry. I have some tips to help you thrive in both your work and personal lives.
That’s right.
You can create the work/life balance you’ve always dreamed of.
What is Work/Life Balance?
Having a healthy work-life balance means working on your career and goals, while also creating time to enjoy life.
What is your idea of work/life balance?
What are the different roles you fulfill as a modern woman?
It might be a career woman, a mother, a wife, a caregiver, a businesswoman and more.
Creating a healthy work/life balance is about fulfilling all of your responsibilities without neglecting one area of your life for too long. This balance is especially useful for keeping you burnout-free.
Why Work-Life Balance is Important for Preventing Burnout
Traditionally, women were homemakers and men were the primary breadwinners. These traditional roles are being challenged, as dual-income households are becoming the norm.
However, this creates a challenge unique to women because society often expects them to fulfill two full-time jobs as a career woman and a homemaker.
As you struggle to do it all, you begin feeling stressed, exhausted, and irritable — all signs of burnout.
My hope is that this article reminds you to pause, reflect on your life, and ask whether you’re creating a healthy work/life balance in your life.
The Benefits of Work-Life Balance
When you create a meaningful balance between your different roles and responsibilities, you introduce some amazing benefits into your life:
Experience Less Burnout
Sacrificing your well-being and relationships to pursue your career can quickly lead to job burnout. You may experience exhaustion, disinterest with your job, and isolation.
Cultivating a balance will help you rely on your relationships for emotional support and practice a self-care routine that rejuvenates you when exhausted.
Increased Productivity
Doing less work so that you can practice more self-care can actually increase your productivity.
It’s difficult to progress in your career and personal goals when you’re running on fumes. Do this long enough, and you’ll experience more than stress — you’ll burn out.
Balance work with relaxation. When you’re rested, you can better focus and perform more effectively.
Stronger Relationships
If work dominates your life, your personal relationships can suffer.
You miss your friends’ birthday parties. You and your partner go on fewer dates. You can’t take off work to make it to your daughter’s piano recital.
Striking the right work/balance can help you avoid this. You can learn how to cultivate your close relationships while pursuing your career and personal goals.
Tips for Achieving Work/Life Balance
Before we dive into tips on achieving a better work/life balance, remember to click here to sign up for my email list to receive additional advice on managing and preventing burnout.
#1 Negotiate With Your Employer
If possible, negotiate some changes with your employer to help you achieve a better work/life balance.
Ask if it’s possible to work from home a few days out of the week. This will reduce your weekly commute time and give you more opportunities to be at home with your children.
Some employers are also flexible with their benefit packages. See if it’s possible to accrue more vacation or personal time. This allows you to schedule more mini-vacations throughout the year, helping you keep burnout at bay.
#2 Use Calendar Blocking
The key to achieving a better work/life balance is time management. Calendar blocking can help you maximize the limited hours you have in a day.
When calendar blocking, you are scheduling time in your calendar to accomplish a specific task. For example, you can block off 6:00 to 7:00 in the evenings for house chores and then 9:00 to 10:00 for your nightly relaxation ritual.
Calendar blocking encourages you to be more intentional with how you spend your time. It reduces procrastination and helps you make time for your priorities — and that includes self-care. Self-care is non-negotiable in leading a healthy work/life balance and calendar blocking ensures that you make time for it in your schedule.
#3 Maintain a Morning Routine
Drawing on the previous tip, consider calendar blocking a morning routine to kickstart your day. A morning routine can encourage more balance in your life while protecting you from burnout.
Mindfulness activities, like meditation and yoga, help you practice deep breathing. Deep breathing has been shown to reduce stress, lower heart rate, and improve mood.
Exercise is also a great addition to your morning routine. You can build your strength, stamina, and endurance, which increases your energy levels — all helpful when tackling the stressful day ahead of you.
If you’re starting out, don’t add too much to your morning routine. Add a couple of activities, build the habit, and then add more if you’d like.
#4 Ditch the Perfection
A perfect work/life balance is a fairytale. There is little chance that your workweek and home life will go exactly as you would like it to.
Work may get busy and will require you to work overtime. The next week, your children may get sick, and you need to stay home to care for them.
Since you can’t be perfect, you can only do your best and stay organized. Striving for perfection can lead to burnout, as you overwork your mind and body.
Instead, accept that your priorities will shift throughout the year. The trick to a healthy work/life balance is to stay adaptable and continue to practice self-care as you juggle your changing responsibilities.
Work/Life Balance for Women Starts With Caring for Yourself
Good organization and time management will be your superpowers when achieving a healthy work/life balance.
You know what else is an important superpower to develop in order to experience work/life balance?
Self-love.
Join me for my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge and get my support with caring for yourself.
During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout, and I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and enjoying your life (again).
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
If you’ve undergone any type of home renovation, you know what it looks, sounds, and feels like.
Blankets of sawdust everywhere.
The banging and buzzing of hammers and heavy machinery.
Your patience thinning with each unreturned call to the contractor.
Money draining from your bank account for those unexpected expenses that pop up.
The endless list of factors to deal with and decisions to make is enough to trigger severe signs of burnout.
I get it! I’ve been dealing with home renovations and restorations for seven months now. Here’s my story and the strategies I’ve been using to avoid burnout and maintain my sanity throughout the process.
The Renovation Saga
This saga starts in June 2019 when we were installing hurricane impact windows and replacing our window treatments. We thought that was all until…
July 2019 greeted me with not one, but TWO separate leaks that rained down on our laundry room, hallway, and master bathroom, bedroom, and closet. The plumber fixed the leaks, but the cabinets and carpet were so waterlogged and moldy, they needed replacing.
But guess what happened when I told the insurance company I was falling ill from the mold?
They didn’t believe me!
Instead, I had to hire a mold inspector out of pocket to prove my case, and the insurance company finally approved our claim.
Great! We can finally get this moldy carpet out of here and install brand new hardwood floors.
Then our project manager GHOSTED me.
He was supposed to get back to me with quotes and a plan of action. But after constant requests for updates, I didn’t hear back from him for over a week.
I reached a boiling point. Enough is enough, I thought. I felt I had no choice but to assert myself with an email outlining my demands and expectations with a 24 hour deadline or they would lose my business.
I was reminded that standing up for yourself is the best course of action. I received an immediate response from our project manager, and the renovations were set to start in December 2019.
While we were excited about our new hardwood floors, more stress and inconvenience awaited us.
Our project manager informed us that it would take less than three days to finish the installation. During this time, my husband, my cat, and I stayed in a hotel.
But there were delays. The finish date was postponed three times.
Our three-night stay in a hotel turned into an entire week. But they still were not finished by the end of the week.
Even so, it was time to return home and attempt to live my life alongside the noisy renovations. (Yet our hardwood floors are now complete!)
If you’re going through a renovation similar to mine that makes you feel like the world is turning upside down, I empathize with you. When you’re feeling lost or helpless, use the self-care tips I’m about to share to strengthen and empower yourself.
How to Prevent Renovation Burnout (Or For Whenever Circumstances Feel Beyond Your Control)
#1 Stay Empowered With a Morning Routine
During a renovation, you can often feel at the mercy of the chaos and construction around you.
This renovation disrupted my daily life — I was displaced from my home, negotiated with insurance adjusters and contractors, and my home was transformed into a construction zone.
At times, I admit, I felt helpless.
To stay empowered, I maintained my morning routine.
A morning routine helps to center you. It prepares you for the busy day ahead.
Here are some morning rituals I practiced, even when I was staying in a hotel:
Visualization
Before I have a chance to feel bombarded with the upcoming day’s responsibilities, I go to my happy place.
Every morning, I visualize myself at my beachside house. The waves gently lap at the seashore. The tropical flora dances gently in the ocean breeze. I sway peacefully in a cozy hammock tied between two palm trees. Everything is tranquil.
I’m home.
Even when your home is a cluttered and dusty renovation site, you can still retreat to your inner sanctuary through visualization.
Practice gratitude
When your patience is thin, and your endurance is low, close your eyes and remember what you’re grateful for.
If I ever felt like renovation fatigue was about to kick in, I thought about how supportive my husband has been for me. I genuinely believe this difficult, but shared experience has brought us closer together.
When renovation burnout creeps up on you, take a moment to practice gratitude. It may help to remember that having a home that is undergoing improvements is a blessing and a privilege. While the process may be stressful, know that you’re creating a better home for you and your family.
Massage on essential oils
It’s often difficult to carve self-care into your daily schedule, especially during a renovation.
That’s why I recommend applying your favorite essential oils during your morning routine. Aromatherapy can trigger your body’s relaxation response — your mind and body calm down, your heart rate slows, and your cortisol levels reduce.
Also, sensory self-care is a great way to kickstart your morning. Massaging essential oils on yourself directly targets your senses of smell and touch, telling your body that it’s time to wake up and start the day.
When you face the rest of your day from this mode of calm groundedness, you’re better protected against stress and burning out.
#2 Call to Your Higher Power
The fastest path to burnout is doing everything yourself. You can feel empowered and independent, but you’re not invincible or immune to burnout.
That’s why those who desire perfection and control falter during a home renovation. You might even feel stripped of power within your own home.
Strangers are tearing down walls or hammering new floor panels into place.
Contractors don’t respond to your calls or emails.
Or you’re forced to move out of your home for a few days.
When this happens, try handing the situation over to your higher power — even for a few moments.
Liberate yourself from the stress, anxiety, and exhaustion of a long-term renovation by praying or reading your favorite texts.
Know that you need not endure this trying time alone. Your higher power is always there, watching over you, empowering you, and supporting you.
#3 Ask Yourself What Adversity Can Do For You
This renovation has tested my patience and resilience.
While my morning routine certainly helped, it sometimes wasn’t enough.
I had to dig deeper.
I needed to shift my perspective towards this renovation.
If I had asked myself what this renovation was doing to me, my response might be that it was stressing me out. It was inconveniencing me. It was interfering with my holidays.
However, my thoughts change when I ask myself a different question.
What was this renovation doing for me?
This renovation offered endless opportunities to practice patience and gratitude. It allowed my husband and me to bond over this experience. It also revealed my mental toughness and resilience when I thrived during this renovation nightmare. And I got new hardwood floors!
So, the next time adversity happens in your life, ask yourself what is it doing for you?
It’s challenging at first. But stick with it, and you’ll discover strengths and benefits you didn’t realize earlier.
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What’s Next
We installed our new windows in June 2019. It’s been seven months since then, and my home is still undergoing renovations and new surprises.
Our hardwood floors are finally installed, and they look great!
However, we’re still navigating through the aftermath — decluttering, organizing our belongings, and cleaning the thick layers of dust throughout our home.
Even so, I continue to practice my morning routine to empower my spirit, sharpen my focus, and protect me from burning out.
Renovations can be stressful, and self-care is often the first thing you sacrifice when you’re trying to get everything done. However, you could quickly burn out when the renovations chip away at your resolve and patience.
That’s why I want to remind you to love and care for yourself, especially during a long-term renovation. Instead of succumbing to burnout, care for yourself with my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge.
During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout and I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and enjoying your life (again).
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
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