It’s not easy. I’m no pro. I’m far from it. Today I made myself shut down on the earlier side for some yoga this evening. By stopping the other things you’re doing for a bit and focusing on one thing to mix it up, you give yourself the balance you need to be effective during your day job and with all of the millions of other things people depend on you to do daily. These are three ways I’ve found to strike this balance along the way, and the struggle to mix these into the week is persistent – but it’s worth fighting the good fight.
Pause for the cause. Disconnect in some form or fashion. At least for a 30 minute to an hour window once a week. Maybe it’s walking to the subway without your headphones in for once – instead taking time to smell the fresh warm bagels mingled with brewing pots of coffee in the morning. Maybe it’s waking up early to spend a bit of uninterrupted time writing (I’m a big fan of The Artist’s Way and fabulous writing prompts like NaNoWriMo).
Schedule “frivolous downtime” for yourself (and don’t feel bad about doing it). Maybe it’s a silly TV show you like to watch that you know is ridiculous, but you just love (I’m looking at you, Bachelor/Bachelorette). Perhaps it’s a blog connected to a fan group of which you’re a part of (like stats/strategies for your fantasy football team). Whatever it is, it’s about something that’s destressing that you enjoy for you.
Read something. We’re talking long-form, here (headlines on Twitter and Facebook, or summaries via blog readers don’t count!). This is my stash, gearing up for cooler temps and more time hanging indoors. There are so many new great books to read this fall. If you don’t want to spend the money, you can now even “check out” e-books via the public library in many cities. It’s so easy – there’s no excuse! Switch off the phone for a bit, and dive in.
How else do you recharge?
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