Sound familiar?
Rushing to the bathroom between back-to-back conference calls. Staring at a long list of unfinished to-dos at the end of the week. Venting to a friend about my annoying boss/coworker.
Where did my peace go?
I’ve been employed for a year now, after 4 years of being my own boss. It’s such a common experience, the rushed life of American careerism. But having experienced periods of sustained peace and joy while working for myself, I can’t settle for it!
Last Friday, I was Slacking my coworker Emmanuel, a young software engineer. When I mentioned my elevated stress levels, he sent me this:
I calculated my score immediately: ✅ ✅ 🛑 ⚠️ 🛑
That weekend, I checked off the others. (St. Paddy’s Day party with neighbors, long cold walk with a long-time friend, 4 intense hours of trail clearing at our SE Nebraska property)
And Monday? Sprinkle a little intentional morning planning on top, and I had one of those days that sparkled like they used to! (Most) meetings were fun. I made time for a walk. When overwhelmed on a call, I turned off my video and took a few deep breaths instead of powering through.
Now, Tuesday, let’s be real—I had a headache by 5, most likely from forgetting to drink water and breathe normally as I bounced between meetings. 🙃 But I noticed, and I feel more capable of course-correcting.
How do you score on Emmanuel’s List of Five?
- Good sleep
- Eating relatively healthy while eating food you enjoy
- Exercise 3+ times a week
- 30+ mins of sunlight (cloudy counts!) outside daily
- Socialize at least once a week
Now, stop with the automatic self-attack. Pobody’s nerfect. 🤪
Which of these self-care routines do you most want to treat yourself with today? How could it be easy?
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Photo by chepté cormani