Taking care of you

Feeling slow and tired, limping along through the days just to get to the weekend - symptoms that indicate that maybe you're not taking the best care of yourself.  But how do we combat that?

Start by being good to yourself.  Don't hold your past against yourself; don't pass blame for your life on other people; and speak kindly of and to yourself.  This means that you need to accept that you made decisions based on the best information at the time and did the best you could.  If it's time for change, you need to make it - not others.  And stop talking negatively to yourself because that has never accomplished anything.

What you should do is consider some of the following steps:

• Make realistic goals, with deadlines;

• Be realistic;

• Don't always expect the "worst case" scenario;

• Take a 10 minute break outside or meditating;

• Tidy your desk/work area;

• Actually take your vacation; and

• Don't check your work device if it's an hour or less until bed.

Some of these are hard things to do - especially since the new office conditions us to some of these behaviours.  Perhaps, like me, you have a job that requires near constant availability and you've become addicted to your work device and need to break the habit to start on this process.

Let's be clear.  Taking time for yourself where you give yourself time to relax; unwind; and find some happiness or peace is important and plays a huge role in bettering your future.