This year has thrown some very interesting stuff at us. For the 15% of the population in Ireland that are self employed and all those others that are part self employed it was an interesting time. For some it was a complete shut down. As one person said to me it’s the first time I’ve been paid to have time off and I’m enjoying every minute and for others is was the busiest they have ever been.
It threw up interesting questions for me about how I spend my time and how I can use being self employed to flex my work round my family rather than trying to flex the family round my work.
For the self employed and especially makers there is no separation between work and home. Personal and Business are both you and one doesn’t switch off when the other one starts.
So we need to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves. I found myself with 3 hours a day child free Monday to Friday and initially felt the need to work but soon realised that a day (well 3 hours) off is more important than anything.
The usual things like holidays and visits to family that would normal be time to switch off from work aren’t on the plan at the moment so making sure we plan down time is going to more important than ever.
And we all no doubt spend a lot of energy working on our business and often that involved things that we don’t like to to. We probably spend more energy than we need to procrastinating about the things we don’t like doing like accounts.
So of the 168 hours in the week make sure you plan at least 1 of those for self care. I’ve not included the usual exercise things as we all know that’s good for us and important for our mental health but for me that’s thinking time now downtime. Here’s 5 simple things self care things that are pure indulgence that you can do in an hour without leaving the house!
1.Read a Book
A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. Pick up that book and read a few chapters and get lost in the story and the characters.
2.Listen to a Podcast
I like the The Good Life Project or Happier with Gretchen Rubin. I’d say avoid ones that are about business and improving your business as it’s not letting you switch off.
3. Talk to a Friend
This one is especially nice to do after doing something that you don’t like such as accounts or a stressful call. Talking with someone to catch up will do both of you the power of good especially if you can’t see each other at the moment.
4. Watch TV
It often gets a bad press but a 2011 study by the University of Rochester found that in addition to increasing feelings of generosity and energy, watching TV also contributes to lower blood pressure and stress relief. Catching up on your favourite series or something low intensity like Movies24 or a couple of episodes of Friends will do the job.
5.Journal
Journaling is the practice of writing down your thoughts and feelings you don’t have to be good at writing to benefit and you don’t even have to worry about things like grammar or spelling. It’s a way to express your thoughts and feeling and I find it’s good to read it back and spend a bit of time reflecting. Some people do it religiously but I do it once or twice a week and the benefits are instant.
It’s not hard to plan in a bit of self care, the bigger challenge is letting ourselves.