Practicing Self Care

 How many times have you found yourself taking on more than you can handle? I can personally say that I usually take on way too much most of the time. Between my full time job as a teacher, my after school job nannying, running an Etsy store, and completing a masters degree I'm always busy. In the past year I've found myself becoming exhausted more easily. It's hard not to with all the things that seem to always need to get done throughout the day. Self care is something that has been emphasized recently and the typical response I receive when I acknowledge my stress to others is "Have you tried scheduling self care?" Excuse me while I roll my eyes into the back of my head repeatedly. While this comment is usually made in good faith, it can become annoying, especially if you're someone with a lack of free time. Below I've included some of the things I do to help myself when things get rough. This came from LOTS of trial and error and are things that help me best, so your results may vary.

Here are some of the things I do to practice self care and avoid burnout:

1. Start saying no!! This was impossible for me to do at first, because I am a people pleaser and constantly fear that I'm disappointing people. When I started saying no to unnecessary projects or activities I began to notice that I felt more relaxed and had some more free time than usual. It was a nice change and helped me gain some semblance of control.

2. Go to Trader Joes. This is one of my favorite stores and brings me a sense of familiarity. When I walk into a Trader Joes I know that everything will be organized in a certain way and that the employees provide a cheery atmosphere. I recommend going early in the morning or an hour before they close so you don't have to deal with the larger crowds. To me there is truly no better feeling than pushing a cart down one of their aisles aimlessly, while picking up snacks you saw on instagram. Obviously this is specific to me, but to each their own.

3. Prioritize your tasks. I am a major to-do list person and like to live my life planned out for most things. Every morning I started making a to-do list at work organized into 3 different categories: must do today, must do this week (but not a priority today), and start to look at for this week/month (tbh this one is my random category where I put fun things I want to do/look into but that they aren't a priority)

4. Ask for help. Again this was a struggle for me at first because I do not like to show vulnerability and felt that asking for help was just that. I noticed that when I started asking for help I became more efficient and developed better relationships with my colleagues. 

5. Get a McDonalds coke and drive around listening to a spotify playlist you searched based on your current mood. Okay this is another one that is clearly specific to me, but I have yet for it to not work. McDonalds coke is superior and that is something I'm willing to debate. Also if anyone is looking for a good playlist, comment below because I've curated some solid ones. 

What are some of your ways to practice self care? Comment below to share!