Rush here, dash there, stress over thirty-seven thousand other things, and don’t miss that deadline!
Yeah. I’m exhausted just reading that line.
And that says nothing about the news, which I’m limiting my exposure to right now. The same with social media. I’m not burying my head in the sand, but I am trying to protect my sanity, which also affects my physical health.
Bottom line: I’m taking care of myself as best I can, which means limiting the number of stress factors I deal with daily.
It’s not a cure-all. Far from it. But since my ability to work—AKA support myself and pay the bills—goes down the tubes when I’m bombarded by too many stressors at once, I’ve learned the hard way that downtime is critical. I’ve also learned that downtime comes in many forms.
So, find your place to make a stand and join me in reclaiming some downtime (and sanity!) in your daily life. You don’t need to tell me about it. You don’t need to tell anyone. You only need to start…then keep doing whatever works for you.
Maybe you say no to staying late at work or an outing.
Maybe you skip that family gathering when a toxic relative is invited.
Perhaps you curl up with a good book instead of doom-scrolling.
Or maybe you treat yourself to something that makes you feel good. It doesn’t have to be big, time-consuming, or pricy. It only needs to say, “I’m taking care of me, and that’s okay.”
Because if you don’t take care of you, who will?
I’m off to listen to the Eagles since Take It Easy is stuck in my head. Hey, it’s music as downtime. Who am I to argue? 😉