The Refresh Button: Fitting Self-Care into a Full Schedule

Ever felt like the constant grind leaves you drained and ready to crash? That's what hit me after wrapping up my latest project, and it led to a revelation about the power of stepping away. In this heart-to-heart episode, I peel back the layers of my own life to reveal how crucial time off is for our mental well-being and overall productivity. From repainting my studio to dealing with the chaos of life's little surprises, I'll share how breaks not only refresh our minds but also bring into focus the neglected corners of our personal lives. 

Join me as we explore ways to weave self-care into the busiest of schedules, proving that even the most packed calendar has room for a breather. Listen as I uncover techniques to make room for what truly matters, without succumbing to the pressure of life's demands. And as always, I'm eager to hear how you're incorporating these strategies into your life. So, let's embark on this journey of transformation together and remember, a well-timed pause might just be the secret to your next big leap forward.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Importance of Self-Care and Time Off
• 9:31 Prioritizing Self-Care and Task Management

Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Boost your Visibility. Thanks so much for being here. Today we're going to talk about the importance of stepping away, giving yourself some breathing room and some space between projects or between seasons so that you can take care of yourself, take care of your house, your family, your business, and then go back better and stronger than ever. This comes from a place of being someone that works in a very seasonal business and it's kind of built in for, like a photographer. Social person, when you have to work so hard in a condensed amount of time, needs a little bit of a break from people just to kind of take a breather and remember what is important to you, because it's so easy to get caught up in the expectations and the day-to-day. So an example for me has been when I complete a contract with a social media coaching client. For me I'm not meant to be with any business for a long length of time. I'm really only meant to come in, teach as much as I possibly can and empower that social media assistant or social media marketing person within a business with all the tools and knowledge possible and then for about three months I'm just basically support. If they have a question, I drop to a much lower level of consulting. But I'm there so that they're not just thrown in and totally on their own and then I kind of fade away, but I'm always here if there's questions, when I complete a contract or complete my cycle with a customer. I've found myself taking a good month of just a mental break to kind of clear my head and be ready for either the next project or to focus on my own business or things that are important to me. Because if you don't run your life, your life will run you and specifically, not on purpose, but other people will run your life. And if you don't take the time just to stop and really think through the wins, the losses, the lessons and what you want to leave behind and never think about again and what you want to take with you as gifts and lessons and learning, you're really just a cog in a wheel, you're really just a technician and we're all so much more than that. So I wanted to honor that for you. If you're feeling either overwhelmed or just disorganized or just can't quite get it all together, I know it's easy to say, take some time off, but if there's some way that you can scale back or give yourself a weekend to yourself completely, just to not think, not be taken all so seriously. I highly recommend it. It truly is a form of self care For me.

Speaker 0: 3:04

The time that I've taken off you noticed the podcast I took a little bit of a reprieve. I repainted my photography studio. I'm doing some projects here and those will be ongoing, but now I have a plan for the year of how I'm going to approach it. This space is more than 15 years old. It looks amazing, but it's time for an update and it was just much needed and you know what. It was so good for my soul just to paint the space myself.

Speaker 0: 3:30

I didn't hire it out. I didn't hire any bit of it out. I did it myself and I don't love that. My knees were killing me by the time I was done, going up and down the ladder 50 times, but I was able to think and breathe and kind of organize my thoughts. I have to believe that there's something neurological about that that when you're away from work or from sets of people that you've worked with for a long time and you just take a break to kind of organize your own thoughts and remember your own priorities, it's so good for your mental health.

Speaker 0: 4:04

There are certain things that I've just needed to take care of over time that I just haven't taken care of myself. Part of it is my health like getting out and walking every day. It's always oh, I just don't have time. Well, you know what? I didn't make the time. My job is really super physical in the warmer months, but in the winter months not so much. So I've really been working on my nutrition and my sleep and trying to build it into my life before I get busy so that when I get busier, I have everything in place that I need in order to maintain that and keep it going. And I am by no means an example. I am not perfect, but, just like you, I'm always learning, and I wanted to give you the same permission that I gave myself that it's okay to not take things so seriously for a couple weeks or a month and just get the work done that you absolutely have to get done. Don't take on any new projects. Just breathe and take care of what you need to take care of.

Speaker 0: 5:07

I've been having car trouble for a while. I have a car that's an 09. I'm looking at it right now out the window and talk about God's plan. Last summer, my car died on East Washington in Madison, which is known to be not super safe. It is sketchy and it is not a place that you want your car to write down, thank goodness. And also how horrible that I was with one of my marketing consulting someone that I'm coaching. We were going out and photographing some homes for a building and remodeling business. So at least I wasn't alone. But then at the same time, it feels so bad that still that she and I were like stranded at a gas station in a yucky neighborhood waiting for my husband to come because my car died. And you know what. We got the car fixed and I knew that it was a bit of a bandaid effect, but I didn't have time to go car shopping or find a replacement for it. You know what, this last month that I'm like I'm taking care of myself, my own business, I'm not worried about anybody's anything except for what myself, my family and my business need in order to have a really great rest of the year. And finally we got things taken care of with my car and I feel such a sense of relief.

Speaker 0: 6:22

I researched for so long that like I feel like I should still be researching what to you know, what kind of car to buy or what to get. But as I was driving last night and I have some driving anxieties and fears with like interstate driving just to share that with you a vulnerable moment. I know many people can relate to that the safety features in this car that I have and I am by no means bragging, because I drove a dinosaur for a good 12 years what self-care it is. I was thinking that as I was driving home, I can see at night and not feel like there's a fog in the windshield. Well, it's because my car was so flipping, old. It seems logical, but I was just so busy and so in the day to day, and I was so busy being everybody's everything that I couldn't take care of something that is critical to everybody's everything, to me being able to come through for everybody else in a responsible, professional whole way where I can be my best self and just feel like I've taken care of what I need to take care of. I hope this is hitting home for you and making some sense and you know, if you can't afford to take time off, I know right now especially, it's really hard to say no to any extra work. That's okay too.

Speaker 0: 7:37

Maybe take like a Sunday afternoon to just make a list of what's important to you, what you haven't gotten to, and start to work your way through, just crossing one thing off at a time, and it can be anything from literal self-care Do you want to start a skincare routine, and that would just make you feel good in your everyday? Or working on your flower bed and it's been neglected for three years because your summers are so busy? Or reorganizing your closet, if that makes you feel like a sense of calm, put all those things on a list and just slowly work your way through it, because there is no one that can do self-care for you but you, and I'm not here to lecture you. I'm here to just give you permission to take that time and really just let your thoughts get organized by taking a mental break from everybody's everything when you can.

Speaker 0: 8:32

I take things like very seriously and I have high expectations of myself and people around me, so I tend to overthink and really try to do the best job all the time and overachiever, I guess, and I've found that I need to care just a little bit less and take things a little less seriously and that's what I've learned in this last month, because everybody else isn't taking it that seriously. Why am I thinking that all of these things need to get done at once, or I need to bring in all these new clients and keep things going, and that's all ego, and the ego isn't going to get me to a happy 85 years old. What's going to get me to a happy 85 years old is doing things that help me to feel safe, secure, calm, happy and like I'm actually bringing something to the table. So let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear where you're at on like.

Speaker 0: 9:31

Are you feeling like you're taking enough time for yourself, or have you kind of let some things go for a long time that you haven't been able to get to? I'm sure that we all on some level feel that way, and I just really hope that this helps you to take a few minutes even if you're taking a drive or going for a walk and listening to this, that you give yourself some permission to carve out some time to make a list of things that you'd really just like to get done for yourself or for your family and see how you can fit that into the little gaps here and there, without overwhelming yourself, but maybe just taking on a little bit less or taking things just a tidge bit less seriously for the next month so that you can take care of your home base. All right, that's it for today's episode. I hope you enjoyed it. I would love some feedback. I'd love to hear from you and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode of Boost your Vis.