What can self care in the workplace look like?
Shit, we can’t have facials and long baths and deep juicy massages whilst we plugging away at work so WTF does self care in the workplace look like?
Let’s simplify self care. Self care is not a tick list of things you need to do in order to feel good and live your best life ( no matter what the ‘wellness gurus’ tell you!. For us, it is a case of allowing yourself to consider how you want to feel and then taking some simple steps to move yourself towards embodying that feeling.
If that all sounds a bit woo woo and pie in the sky then let’s break it down into five things you can do to introduce self care into your work day and invite more joy into your life (because that is the overall objective of this beautiful life right??)
Get clear on what you want to feel more of.
You are overstretched and overwhelmed? You want to feel calmer and more spacious.
You are lethargic and exhausted? You want to feel more energised.
You are anxious and overthinking. You want to feel more present.
You are demotivated and disconnected. You want to feel more engaged and connected to your purpose.
This is intention. Your WHY behind the change that you are going to make. Without this we can try a few things out that we’ve been told might make us feel better but these are likely to be the wrong things for YOU if you have not considered how it is YOU want to feel. This is not a one size fits all gang - get clear on your unique intention and how you want to feel.
Not only can you then take conscious, aligned action to support yourself to feel that way, you will also have planted the seed of intention in your subconscious brain so without even trying, you’ll start to do things that move you in the direction of the feeling you are trying to cutivate.
Do not be afraid to ask for help and support.
Ugggggh, nothing riles me more than the culture that makes us feel like asking for help is a weakness. The strongest, most productive and successful people that I know are incredible at asking for support. They don’t take on other people’s shit or the shit that is not essential work. They are ruthless with their time!
If you are overwhelmed by your workload - you are NOT likely to be doing your best work. Not to mention that this way of working is NOT sustainable - you WILL hit a wall at some stage, your mental health will suffer and and there is a high likelihood that you will burn yourself out. Take action now.
Know what your essential work is - prioritise this and commit to giving it your full creative, inspired and energised attention. And then ask for help to lighten your load - can you get support from team members? Can you push back on a client? Shit - does this other work really have to be done?
By taking everything on, you are not doing anyone any favours - you are masking a problem within your organisation - under resourcing, inefficient processes, under functioning colleagues? This will continue unless you speak truthfully about how you feel about your workload.
Set kick arse boundaries to protect your time and energy
So many of our feelings of stress and overwhelm come because we allow other people to encroach upon our precious time and energy. We have to get better at protecting ourselves and standing up for ourselves and our time.
If you have an urgent deadline and you know a piece of work is going to take you two hours to get done - how can you give yourself this time without being interrupted? Work from home and turn off notifications? Set yourself up in a meeting room with a clear signal that you are not to be interrupted? Turn instant messaging off, email notifications off and put your phone on airplane mode?
Imagine how much you could get done in two hours and totally uninterrupted time?
Our energy is depleted because we are trying to spread our efforts over multiple tasks. Decide what is important in that moment and then protect your time like your life depends on it! There is loads of time for collaborative, creative and communicative work but when you need to get your shit done - do not be scared to set boundaries and communicate them to the people that need to know (or are the likely culprits of encroaching on your time).
Rest. Often.
Anyone who says - I do not have time for a 10 minute break needs a bloody week off, never mind a 10 minute break!!
If you want to operate fully charged and in your most productive state, rest is non negotiable. It needs to be part of your career strategy and in my world, my breaks (time away from screens) are the MOST important meetings in my day.
Your brain needs a break. Respect that. Respect your mental health. Respect your long term happiness.
Find moments of joy every day.
Don’t bloody wait until your evenings and weekends to enjoy yourself! Life is precious and short and JOY needs to be a priority. Not just so we can FEEL our best but so we can perform at our best.
It is time to look at your day differently. Instead of powering unconsciously through your day, churning out work on this relentless hamster wheel of efforting and tasks, consider how you can sprinkle your day full of joyful moments.
Use your breaks - not just to move away from your laptop and still THINK about work but to really engage in life. Call a pal that makes you belly laugh. Indulge yourself in the best flat white that your local neighbourhood has to offer and sip it with glee. Play sport on your lunch break and feel those endorphins. Hug a tree. Have a dance break. Buy yourself some flowers to put on your desk. YOU KNOW what makes you feel joyful. Allow yourself to consider that and follow the joy. EVERY. DAMN. DAY. Get off the hamster wheel peeps.
Self care is not always easy but it has been transformative in me inviting more joy and abundance into my life. And life feels unrecognisable to the hustle and stress that once marred my days. If a hyper critical, ambitious, over functioner like me can turn things around, I know you can too. Let me know how you go!
Laura xx
If you need additional support to implement some of these self care initiatives into your workplace and support your colleagues we have a range of workshop packages for you.