It’s October! Time for hoodies, football, warm drinks and… packed schedules. It’s true, between work, a new school year, holidays and many social events, this time of year can be an extremely busy one.
But it can also be a restful time of year as well. Cooler months encourage many of us to stay home and cozy up next to the fireplace with a good book or binge watching our favorite series. We tend to bake and cook more, experimenting with new recipes to impress loved ones during the holidays.
So, what time of year will this be for you? On-the-go or nice and slow? If you want to slow things down and get a reprieve from a busy schedule, here are four tips you can use to get started.
Go Inward
What’s your relationship with stress? Take time to reflect on your habits. How many of them help you manage your stress and which ones add stress to your life? When we take the time to think about our routines, often we know what our ‘stress triggers’ are. When you are aware of how you’re introduced to stress and your default way of dealing with it, you can take steps to develop a healthier relationship with those things and become more mindful of how to protect your peace.
Breathe
When was the last time you took a deep breath? The type of deep breath that you close your eyes and hold for 10 seconds before exhaling. The type of deep breath that forces you to relax your shoulders and be in the moment. If it’s been a while for you, then use this as a reminder to take deep breaths more frequently. Breathing serves as a reminder to pause and release the tension in our bodies. When we are conscious and intentional about our breathwork, it can help us better manage moments when we’re feeling overwhelmed.
Don’t say ‘yes’ to everything
What energizes you and what drains you? How can you maximize the amount of time you spend doing what energizes you and minimize your time doing what drains you? There are certainly tasks and responsibilities we must do every day that we don’t enjoy but there are also many small things we say ‘yes’ to everyday that we really shouldn’t to preserve our happiness and mental health. Be intentional about your time, after all you can’t get it back.
Make time for you
Put YOU on your calendar and don’t compromise on that time. Whether it’s a hair appointment, nail appointment, lunch date, bubble bath, or time for meditation – make time every week to do something just for you. You can’t love others if you don’t love yourself first.
