I’m the worst at taking care of myself. It’s a really bad habit of mine, and self-care is always on my list of “to dos.” You’ll find it right there in the #1 position: “remember to take care of yourself.” But somehow as the days and weeks go by, it slips from position one to position fifteen, until it eventually drops off the list. Then I put it right back at the top of the list at the beginning of the next month.
Unfortunately, I’m so busy with work, making time for friends and family, as well as trying to squeeze in some time to eat and sleep, that self-care rituals get pushed back. This can be anything from reading a book that’s been sitting on my shelf, to getting enough exercise, to my skincare routine.
Pushing these self-care rituals to the bottom of my to-do-list is not healthy. My current motto is, “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” and it’s absolutely true. Taking care of yourself is vital to a healthy work/life balance, and is particularly good at keeping you out of burnout’s nasty clutches.
If you don’t put yourself first sometimes, you may find yourself feeling stressed all the time, burned out, overly tired, or you may completely crash at the end of the week.