Happy National Relaxation Day! I don’t know about you but I get a kick out of these random holidays. Sometimes they are a great reminder to indulge in the things that bring you the most joy!
In honor of today’s holiday I am sharing a few tips that help me relax and to be present in an otherwise very busy life of toddlers, relationships, work and practicing self care!
1.) Be thankful for the time you do have.
Raise your hand if you have heard yourself complain that you don’t have enough time! Or the time you get to be by yourself isn’t enough. I AM GUILTY. I have learned that people are late, some schedules are mandatory and things don’t always go your way. If you can sneak in 5 minutes just for yourself be thankful you got those 5 minutes. You will see the more gratitude you throw out there the better you will feel.
For example I knew my day was going be crazy, so I set a timer for five minutes. I threw on some meditation music I found on ITunes, closed my eyes and shut off my mind for 5 minutes. I set my intentions for the day before I jumped in the car and headed to work. That was my me time and if that’s all I got that day and most likely it was. I was content and I relaxed for 5 minutes!
2.) Listen to Audible books.
Find a book you have always wanted to read but you seem to not have time to actually sit down and read. Instead of being annoyed you don’t have time to relax and read a book make it work for your lifestyle. Turn on your book while your getting ready for bed, in the shower in the morning, a lunch break, doing dishes, nap time, or cleaning during nap time. If soaking up knowledge and literature makes you happy make it work for you. Don’t let your busy life get in the way of things that bring you joy. I did this over the last month using the above time slots in my life it took me a month to listen to a 4 hr book but taking short times and not putting pressure on when I needed to finish the book, let me enjoy what I was learning about.
3.) Move your body.
Move, exercise in whatever time frame you have. I am fortunate enough to have a gym at my work and I can sneak time to get my cardio or lifting in during a lunch break. I still have allotted time I can be gone so I have had to learn to workout harder in shorter bursts of time.
I used to have the mindset I had to be able to go to the gym for an hour which turned into two hours and if you have kiddos to bring to childcare it can turn into even longer. If that works for your schedule that is amazing if not movement and exercise in any time frame is better than nothing.
On the weekends while my husband works all day I take longer walks, I put a short youtube video on and I get my son involved. I give him a mat and toys right next to me. Sometimes he thinks it’s fun to imitate me and now he is moving too! Doing this for yourself IS you time even if you have company or if your crunched for time. It goes back up to number one be thankful for the time you have.
4.) Watch your TV shows.
Watch that tv show that you think is wasting time. I just finished binging The Handmaids Tale, it was bad I stayed up way past my bedtime to squeeze in another episode. It is one of those shows I cant multitask in. I can’t fold laundry, order my online groceries I need to focus. I feel guilty when I waste time watching tv but you know what my hour of alone time where I watch my show, my sons in bed, my husband doesn’t like the show so I am completely alone. It brings me so much relaxation, it’s me time! Throw away that guilt of all the other things needing to get done or people that need to be responded too. Let that lazy time on the couch the be the time you look forward too every week. Thursday night is my night heyyyyyyy!!
5.) Pour that glass of wine.
I must say this one I sure do miss since being pregnant. Buy a nicer bottle of wine that you are excited to drink learn about the wine so when you have your glass you savor it and you are intentional about drinking it. Even if your glass of wine is mixed with multitasking making dinner or doing some work after the kids go to bed. If it’s a good glass of wine you are still going enjoy it while your doing other chores. It’s little something special just for you! If you need any wine suggestions you know we are your gals. ONEHOPE Wine is one of our favorite’s!
The bottom line is we are all crunched for time and get overwhelmed with our to do lists and things we have going on but take sometime each week to recharge yourself. As moms, employees, students, entrepreneurs etc. we are always focused on a million things at a time. To take 5 minutes and focus on you. It may possibly be the one thing that gives you the energy to take on your day!
I challenge you to today to write down five things that make you happy and that you feel like you don’t have enough time to do. While you’re writing down your to do list next week put at least one maybe two from your list and squeeze them in! Make your sanity and you a priority!
B: You
Jenn
