THIS is a topic I am not an expert at. . . yet.
After last year, a year with lots of opportunity to pause, reflect, and heal from the many ways cancer kept on giving, I’m now healthier and making certain that I make conscious choices to take time and support myself. This is something I believe is important for everyone but especially those of us providing service to others. So whether you are dealing with health issues, strong & healthy, or somewhere in between here’s my list of ways to stay focused on caring for myself. What’s on your list?
- Use my calendar (I use Outlook) to plan my day/week/month so that there is ample time to work on projects, deal with the unexpected, make follow-up calls, meet with clients, and not feel rushed all day long.
- Schedule in lunch time and real breaks throughout the day to get up and move around. Otherwise I feel glued to my desk chair and/or the phone. I used to work right through lunch – a practice I found was making me cranky and tired by mid-afternoon and not much fun to be around.
- Identify a small group of like-minded, positive-thinking colleagues to stay connected to virtually and in person. I have two specific groups I connect with, one online and one via phone or in person. Both groups provide support, advice and authentic conversation which keeps me grounded.
- Use a personal coach of my own. I am a coach and love it. But sometimes I am in need of an outlet for support or thinking through a project or a work dilemma. This has been a big breakthrough for me to ask for help outside of my family and circle of friends and it has provided huge benefits. Vonda Vaden Bates is the coach I’ve tapped into recently and she’s awesome in person or via Skype.
- Get outside. I love my work and have been known to stay at my desk and on the phone or computer for 6, 8, 10 hours on end. But I am best when I’ve had a break and gotten moving. . . especially if it’s outdoors. Sticky issues dissolve much quicker when I’m walking outside breathing fresh air even if it’s for 10 or 15 minutes in the middle of the day.
- Read. I love to read and learning new things helps me provide more thorough coaching for my clients and my Ignited Online Fundraising Community so I read lots. I actually schedule time in to do this and I make sure I’m reading for both fun and professional development.
- End the day acknowledging what I’ve accomplished that day. This is really key for me. In the past I’ve felt like I didn’t do enough most days. Keeping my “to do” list on Evernote allows me access to my list via my smartphone or any computer. I can go in and cross things off. . . but NOT remove the item until I’m ready. At the end of the day I can see all that I got accomplished and it feels much better than just deleting the item right away.
- Ask myself “What do I WANT to do right now that provides service to others or to me?” Being self-employed, this is a bit easier to do than if I worked in an office with others. But I highly recommend it! I found that consciously asking this question has brought me joy just about every day. It’s also allowed me to do a much better job of identifying which projects, clients, and people are a good fit for my skills rather than saying yes to everyone and feeling scattered and ineffective.
- Laugh out loud. This was a rule I established last year. . . I laugh out loud every day. It’s amazing what a few minutes of laughter can do to shift a stalled idea or just make me feel better. I’ve enlisted others in helping me with this and that’s even more fun. Here’s a great 1 minute laugh break you can take any time with my friend Robin Getman.
