If you’ve ever seen Jamie Oliver cook, you know that he’s famous for cooking amazing meals quickly so he can get back to what looks like his fun-filled life.
There’s a lot of him giggling and improvising as he cooks. Every meal looks amazing even though he’s pulled back the curtain to allow you to see all the details of how it’s done and even the mistakes he made along the way.
Taking care of yourself is a lot like cooking with Jamie. At the start of every 30 Minutes Meal episode, he sets the scene: it’s been a long day at work and now you know you have a less than an hour to feed your family before the night starts to fall apart.
Then, he tells you get your “A” game going by gathering everything you’ll need like the blender, pre-heating the oven, boiling water, etc. This way when you start cooking, you won’t lose your momentum by having to stop to go find the mixer attachment which may be buried in the garage cupboard or the way back corner of the lazy suzan.
Self care works in the same way. You have a ton of things you need to get done in a short amount of time like resting, eating healthy, hitting the gym, fixing that project spreadsheet or making those calls.
And you need to do all of it quickly. And you want those things to be done well, right?
The Solution?
Plan, schedule and prepare. As a human in this world, you need to take care of your needs so you can dive in and fight a good battle, whether it’s sending out a blog post, running a fundraiser or scheduling that massage.
Otherwise you become burned out and every little thing on your to-do list becomes a mountain and seems to take forever. Each thing you do becomes frustrating and stressful. Can you relate?
And even though the final result of whatever project you’re working on may be great, it feels yucky because the process of making it wasn’t fun.
In addition to gathering your supplies for whatever it is you have on tap, I also mean that you, yourself, are taken care of. -You’re mentally and physically ready to take on the world.
What does that mean?
Did you have your coffee?
Did you get a shower because you know that’s how you wake you up?
Did you go to your dentist appointment?
Did you get enough sleep last night? Or this week?
Did you do something fun or something restful? …something that recharges your batteries?
Instead of feeling exhausted and at your wit’s end, I want you to end every week feeling good about what you did and how you did it. I want you to feel on top of the world.
The key to doing that is to take care of yourself so you’re mentally, physically and emotionally prepared to take on the day, week or month.
Some things I do for myself…
Each morning after the kiddos get on the bus, I quickly pick up the house and watch the first 15 minutes of Good Morning America (I might doze back off to sleep for a few, that’s okay! I give myself permission to do so as long as I’m up and at em’ by 8am). This feels good and allows me to start the day off how I want to.
I also know that in order to have a mind clear of clutter while I work, I take care of the bigger household chores before starting my day. I then no longer have to think about them and know they are complete!
It rids the thoughts of the dishes yelling “wash me”, the laundry shouting “fold me”. You get it!
When I take lunch, I prep for dinner. Such a great feeling to know that most of dinner is complete before it’s time to actually start making it.
I’ve also discovered within myself that I’m more productive during the first part of my day. So it’s important for me to tackle bigger projects/tasks during that time.
When I skip these things that I know matter to me, I pay for it.
It causes me to not be as focused as I’d like to be and possibly a bit crabby at the end of the day when I realize all the things I still need to do or that need to be done. Then that serves no one!
What is your self care routine?
What do you need to be part of your routine that’s not currently part of it?
What happens when you skip parts of it?
Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear how you’re taking care of yourself. -It may inspire the rest of us to make our self care routine even better.
With much love and gratitude,
P.S. With the cooking season in full swing, here’s a link to a Jamie Oliver’s Get Ahead Gravy that’s a lot of fun. It’s perfect way to ease your mind if you can feel your holiday schedule sneaking up on you too quickly.
