Thinking about ways to find time to reset and refresh is hard for many of us because the constant juggle we experience everyday, can take so much of our energy. And our common way of finding time to reset and refresh, often only comes, when we finally get on a holiday once or twice per year.
The secret to feeling energised every day and building your own self-care, is often found in the moments
where you'd least expect it to be - and that's in the spaces. In those tiny moments between all the other moments, where you're doing all of the things you need to do! Or put another way, in the spaces between the activities you're already doing.
So how can you find these pockets of time and use them more effectively?
Here are 3 little tips:
1. Notice the spaces - Allow yourself some time to think about your day and now think about the little spaces between your activities. Is there a way that you can use the tiny pockets of time here to take micro-care of yourself? For example take 3 deep breaths, spend 5 minutes outside, play some music and dance or laugh with a friend of colleague.
2. Focus on parts of your body - If you're on your feet a lot during the day, focus on the soles of your feet while you're standing, this can help bring your attention to the moment and activate stillness. It also helps to take deep breaths and adjust your posture so that you're able to stretch your body through the day. Minor adjustments to your physical body helps to create space internally and is a helpful way of reminding you to create space around yourself too.
3. Change the way you think about breaks - Replace the word break with space or pause or rest, and spend some time each week speckling your calendar with it and then protect that time. It can be as little as 5mins to start with if that's all you've got. Breaking is more about the momentum of the task, pausing and finding space is different and more about actively and intentionally about taking care of yourself. It's subtle, but it works.
Finding ways to relieve stress in these small micro-moments has a profound and cumulative effect over time, and suddenly, even during your busy days, you've found time for yourself to reset and refresh.