Take care of yourself
With all of the news surrounding Covid 19 and other goings-on, now is a good time for a reminder to take care of ourselves. While it may feel like work is never-ending, we need to remember to take breaks and recharge.
In 2013, Jane Keep, in her Ph.D. thesis, wrote about self-care at work and how little attention we give it. She described how ingrained it is in us to yield our energy to our teams, our customers, and our bosses, before focusing on ourselves.
Somehow, self-care at work is taboo and considered self-centered. But, as she points out, if we aren’t healthy, how do we take care of those around us?
And, it turns out, self-care at work improves our performance.
Questions for self-care
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jane developed an inquiry-based framework to help us learn how to bring self-care to our work. Here are a handful of items she suggests we ask ourselves:
- How am I feeling during my working days and weeks?
- How do I feel when I work and I am feeling under par?
- How well do I listen to my physical body?
- How self-observant and self-aware am I?
- What self-care support do I offer myself regularly?
- Do I allow myself to acknowledge the things that work well?
- How often do I fail to say no, even when the task feels wrong for me?
- Am I a positive role model for others to take care of themselves?
(I highly suggest you check out the full text, starting at the bottom of page 176.)
One day at a time
Please remember to take care of yourself, one day at a time, and set a good example for your team members. Self-care needs to become a requirement at work, and your willingness to participate is the first step.
Here’s to leading with kindness, empathy, and compassion.
