Prioritizing Self-Care

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Remember how I said I was dreading this weekend? That I had to work all-day Saturday and was planning to spend Sunday doing homework? Well, Saturday went as planned (work is work) but Sunday was different. Different in the most marvelous way.

Marvelous in my Monday

After a very long Saturday I came back to my apartment and crashed. When I woke up in the morning I randomly decided to ignore my to-do list. (Side note: I’m starting to hate those words. I don’t really have a “to-do list.” Just sh*t that must get done soon.) I was exhausted from a stressful first week back and, quite frankly, did not feel like staring at a computer screen doing homework or being stuck inside cleaning my room.

So I made Sunday a “me day.” I prioritized self-care. I didn’t do one productive thing. It was glorious.

Before you start thinking “aw, good for her for treating herself,” you should know that this is not new for me. I’ve become very aware of when it’s time for me to ditch my to-do list. I know when I need a break and I don’t feel guilty for taking it. So this happens a lot, but I just don’t blog about it every single time (sometimes I do) because a) I don’t need support that I “did the right thing” and b) I think it’s something a lot of people in the “real world” do.

I hate the glorification of busy (that’s a whole post in itself), and I feel like a lot of people/bloggers say they are always “busy.” Duh, everyone’s busy. Whether you’re a student, a stay-at-home-parent, a working parent, etc., we all have full plates. Even when we aren’t actually busy we tend to say we are because it seems like the cool thing to do. That’s not a club I want to be apart of.

This was my scene until noon.

Prioritizing self-care

I had a leisurely breakfast, caught up on some magazines and watched Netflix. Later, I went to the gym, saw my friend perform in a play on-campus, went shopping and actually spent money (I’m a perpetual “saver” so it’s rare for me to spend money on something other than food). I even got a massage. Thank you, gift card.

I cooked a delicious dinner, watched some March Madness (my bracket is ruined) and finished with some light yoga.

No homework. No cleaning. No schedule. Just how weekend’s should be, right?!

Prioritizing self-care

My usual (and favorite) dinner.

Full disclosure, I knew I didn’t have anything important due tomorrow in class so I was just “slacking” on the rest of the week’s assignments.

I think prioritizing self-care is extremely important and whether it involves spending time outside, walking, exercise, shopping, cooking, sleeping or Netflix-binging, it needs to happen sometimes. Also, I don’t think we should wait until we explode from our full schedules to have this type of day. I think they should be a regular thing. Ok, maybe not a shopping spree every week, but an occasional splurge, monetary or not, shouldn’t be a big deal.

Just don’t go into debt and blame it on me.

How do you treat yourself? Massages and leisurely walks are two of my favorite ways.
Do you live by to-do lists?

Relaxing My Mind & Body

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I didn’t take many pictures this weekend because, frankly, I didn’t do anything picture-worthy.

Actually, I didn’t do anything. It was perfect.

Linking up to MIMM. Thanks for always starting the week off on a positive note, Katie!

Relaxing My Mind & Body | myhealthyishlife.com

Lots of slow walks out here. Too beautiful.

When I come home, for any length of time, I snap into “relaxation” mode pretty quickly. Not that I’m not relaxed in Miami, but there’s something about being home that relieves any pressure and expectations. Pressure to be productive, to workout and to eat healthy. There’s no structure at home, other than my mandatory naps, and it’s been freeing.

I often feel the need to justify my choices, particularly those that involve being lazy on the couch, because I feel guilty. Everyone else in the (blog) world is working, working out, raising a family and contributing to society, so they have the right to downtime when they choose. What gives me the right to do nothing? Then I start listing all the things I’ve done and it becomes another comparison tirade.

Not cool. Not fair. Not worth my time.

To be honest, after my first lazy day on Friday I was both embarrassed and concerned over how tired I was. I couldn’t (and still can’t) pinpoint exactly what caused this wave of exhaustion because my exercise has been very light and school hasn’t been super crazy. But I was definitely feeling burned out. It felt good to finally admit and accept it.

I’ve slept the best I have since winter break and I’ve taken multiple naps during the day. I’ve also been eating to my heart’s/stomach’s content with more snacks than normal, larger portions and different foods, all while ignoring the clock. If I wanted a second lunch at 3 p.m., I ate it. A heavier mid-morning snack, why not? Sure, part of this is because I have access to more food at home, but this change is due, in part, to relaxation.

My nap partner says hi

My nap partner says hi

I have some activities planned for the week but I’m going to ride this train as long as I can. Some people may get antsy if they aren’t productive, but I’ve learned that if I let myself get bored now I will come back more energized, passionate and excited later. I think after this week at home that I will feel refreshed in all aspects of my life.

The same thing goes for workouts/training schedules. We can’t always be training for a race, so taking a break longer than 2 or 3 days (in a row…gasp) shouldn’t be seen as a setback. It’s sometimes what we need to come back stronger, mentally and physically.

Here’s to a marvelous week of fully decompressing and thinking longterm. (Side note: I’m not sure what blogging will look like, but I’ll probably post a few days). One week away from routine won’t kill you. In fact, it might be just what you (and I) need.

What do you do to fully relax?
College students: what are your spring break plans?

Motivation, Discipline + Balance

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From exercising and studying to cleaning the toilets and folding fitted sheets, we do hard things during our day. Well, while the actual task may not be hard, motivating yourself to do it is hard. For many people, myself included, we sometimes need a pep talk to get started. I often hear people say they don’t have the motivation to do xyz. They need something to not only get them going, but keep them going.

*Thanks to Amanda for letting me ramble Think Out Loud!*

Motivation can only get you so far. Discipline is what keeps you going. Essentially, you need both for success. You know that saying we hear all the time but kind of dismiss? It’s spot on.

Great, now we are motivated and disciplined. We are heading straight for success. Right?

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Here’s the problem, there’s such a thing as too much discipline. It’s what happens when you start doing things out of a compulsive habit instead of acting mindfully.

Some days I struggle to find the motivation to workout… or do homework… or do laundry… or whatever the task may be. But, for better or worse, I’ve always been disciplined. That’s the Type-A in me. I know what to do to feel better or make a change, so I do it. But sometimes, I have to focus that discipline on not being disciplined. Does that make sense?

It’s hard to imagine that something some people work so hard to get (discipline) can actually be a negative thing. “Too much of a good thing can be bad,” applies here. Whether it’s eating healthy, exercising, doing your homework or cleaning, what may start as motivation to change can lead to an obsession. One we don’t know we even have! It becomes so ingrained into our daily life that we become focused on reaching a certain mileage, steps, or reps.

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My “plan” of having no plan has challenged me to loosen some of my disciplined tendencies and just let go. Easier said than done, for me at least, but it’s freeing to not always have a quantifiable goal. Sure, there are times when I’m a crazy list maker and need to accomplish everything, but I’m working to balance those with this relaxed approach.

Like most things, there is a season for everything. A season for setting goal, after goal, after goal and a season for just going with the flow. A season for eating super clean and a season for enjoying your all time favorite foods, whatever they may be. A season for working really hard in school/at work and a season for not always stressing and taking things so seriously. We can’t be “on” 24/7 and finding that balance seems to be the everlasting quest.

No questions. Just thoughts and opinions today. 

No Need For Justification

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Why do we feel the need to always justify our choices?

When we don’t exercise we tell people it’s because we worked out 5 days in a row and deserve a rest day.
When we eat an extra serving at dinner we explain that we ate a small lunch so we deserve more food.
When we sit on the couch for more than 20 minutes we feel the need to tell everyone HOW BUSY we are and that we deserve a little break.

For all of those things, and more, we don’t need to explain our actions. More than that, we shouldn’t feel guilty for them. 

A rest day doesn’t need explanation.
Eating more at dinner doesn’t need an explanation.
Sitting on the couch and being lazy (gasp!) doesn’t need an explanation.

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We think everyone else is always go-go-go (or in my case, study-study-study), that if we aren’t following in suit, we’re doing something wrong. Especially during the holiday season when everyone is “OMG so busy,” we find the need to explain why we had a lazy or quiet weekend. Who the heck cares that we chose to sit on the couch for most of Sunday? Being busy doesn’t get you a gold star, so we shouldn’t feel guilty for taking some time to ourselves. 

Life isn’t a competition of who is most productive or who ate the healthiest. I’m very guilty of feeling the need to justify my actions (just check previous workout posts and you can see that I explain my rest days). Especially with blogging, explaining why I do or don’t do things seems like part of the “story telling” process. But it doesn’t always have to be. Sure some days justification is natural and necessary, but for most of our “healthy living” based actions, we shouldn’t need to defend ourselves. We should just remain accountable for our actions.

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This is something I’m working on in all aspects of my life. Not feeling the need to justify to my roommate why I was still in sweats at noon on a Saturday, or why I was eating straight out of a jar of peanut butter. Not feeling the need to justify to MYSELF why I didn’t run or workout one day…or two days…or three days. I can take a rest day just because I feel like it. That is enough explanation.

We seek the approval of people around us for our choices, when really, our opinion is the only one that matters. Being busy doesn’t make you a better or more productive person. Working out every day doesn’t make you superior. Be confident in your actions and live YOUR life.

Do you explain your choices to people? In the blog world and/or real life?