“Me Day”
I’ve had discussions about this “self-made holiday” on Facebook, I’ve mentioned this in the newsletters and I recently spoke about it on a radio show, but I realized I never composed a blog about it!
See, at the end of December 2012, I started to think about “resolutions” and all of those things we tend to do at the end of the year…. memories from the past year and hopes for the New Year… and I’ll be honest, I was not happy with what was going on. I had been dealing with metabolic damage and adrenal fatigue for the better part of two years, and I had started to make some GREAT headway, and then, POW I lost it!
How did I lose it?
STRESS.
I started staying up late again, I started taking on more projects than I could handle, I started putting myself last and others first… you know the deal.
I realized that the THINGS I was doing to feel better, ie. taking care of me, getting to bed early, meditating, relaxing, eating regular meals, taking my supplements, etc.
I had completely stopped….and I was feeling terrible.
In fact, I told my husband, I just want to rent a car and go stay in a hotel ALONE for a few days. (ok maybe a week!)
He was obviously hurt… but that’s how I felt!
I felt as if I was being pulled in a million directions and I needed an escape… NOW!!
So that is where the “Me Day” idea came from.
I decided that for 2013 ONE DAY out of every month, was a day for ME.
RULES INCLUDE:
- no phone
- no computer
- no alarm clock
- I can do whatever makes ME feel good– massage, reading, napping, eating
- no “shoulds” or “have tos”
- no work
and so, I took out my phone and blocked out the last Sunday of every month for my year long experiment.
Well, January, something came up, the Dani Johnson First Steps to Success seminar was on “MY WEEKEND” so, I just rescheduled for the next weekend! I took my Sunday (it was Super Bowl Sunday) and got myself a massage, read a book and took a nap. I can’t say that I didn’t get on the computer or ditch the phone.. but it was a start.
So my February day came and my husband knew it was my day, but he needed me for a few things, and I have to say it was kind of ruined. He apologized and it was no biggie… who knew this would be so hard?!! I thought, “maybe this will be better on a week day!”
March came and went, I traveled to 3 states in 3 weeks and there was no time for me, again and here we are, mid April. I have a day scheduled THIS weekend. Hubby’s out of town and I’m disappearing!! For the rest of the year, I moved my “Me Day” to a Friday. Its easier when hubby is at work to BE ALONE.
The moral is: be flexible, be adaptable, but put it in the books.
I’m not perfect. I don’t have children, however, I have a very busy life because I give a lot and a lot of people depend on me. I understand how hard it is to have a day for you. BUT its still SO important. I urge EVERYONE..
I CHALLENGE YOU—-> DO IT NOW.
Schedule your “Me Days” for the REST of 2013 (there’s still 8 months left!!)
Then CLICK TO TWEET IT: I’m taking a day just for me!! #meday #becauseImworthit @SweatyBetties
even if its a “Me Half-Day” — take 4 hours for YOU. I promise you will be less bitter about the things you “have to do”.
Don’t tell me that you can’t, that you don’t have time, or can’t find a sitter…
Don’t be a b!tch.
Lets just DO THIS…. and then come back and tell me what you plan on doing. Here are some ideas:
- sit at the park
- read a book
- have coffee with a friend
- sleep in… late
- watch a movie marathon in your pajamas
- get a massage
- get a mani/pedi
- hang out at Whole Foods
- Sun bathe
- sit in a car alone for 4 hours (I’ve totally done this)
- go on a hike (but please tell someone where you’re going)
- take a bath
- take a yoga class
- eat a healthy meal
- do an “at-home” spa day- paint your nails, do a face mask, etc.
Comments
comments
Oh no! I hope you didn’t become too stressed and have been able to get things back on track! Are you still working with your naturopath? How are you doing now?
I am doing better… but I had a major slip back in the winter.. I really had to get back to stress management and rest!
Before I recently moved, I volunteered at a sexual assault crisis center for a few years (I worked their crisis line and also was a patient advocate at the hospital), and during that time period I really learned the value of self-care, which is similar to your “me” day.
Every time I’d get off of a shift, I’d have to check in with my supervisor and at the end of the check-in all volunteers were required to say something that they were going to do for self-care that day or in the next few days. It really held me accountable to actually plan an activity that would rejuvenate me afterwards.
I learned not to cheat out of my self-care because the volunteering itself was extremely emotionally draining. That’s how I got into the habit of doing a “me” recharge at least once a week, and I’ve slowly adopted it into a regular thing that I now do 2x a week, even though I’m not volunteering at this point.
I’m actually looking at this break from volunteering as a form of self-care, even though I can’t wait to start the volunteering up again after I get trained to volunteer at the local center this summer (I moved and each center has their own training period that you have to pass). The center where I used to volunteer really encouraged volunteers to take time off as a form of self-care if they felt like they had had needed it, so it really wasn’t a big jump for me to look at this break in volunteering in a positive light.
wow.. that is really cool. Thanks for sharing!
This is great! We get so caught up thinking that busy-busy-busy is a good thing, when it can be so counterproductive to our health, especially those of us dealing with pesky adrenal issues.