Self Care In a Pandemic
I worked 70 hours this week and well overdue for a spa day, vacation, something…anything! I’ve been dreaming about a professional massage for months now. With Ms. Rona hanging around it’s still not worth the risk to me. I wanted to share some self care tips I used to make it through this week.
1. A candlelit shower. This one inspired this post. I lit two candles, turned off the bathroom lights. Between the aroma therapy, sound and warmth of the water, the level of relaxation was top notch. I slowed down on everything, the shower, lotion, skincare application. It was amazing! Try this ASAP! No really, try it tonight!
2. Much more practical, I asked for the support I would need ahead of time since I knew my job would be very demanding this week. I set the expectation with my husband that I would have limited capacity and asked him about his ability to pick up the slack. Like me, he’s working from home, but his schedule is a little more flexible than mine. He insisted he had it, but I asked my parents to meet me halfway on an otherwise four hour drive to get my youngest brother (13). He was able to give John a few breaks by taking Harlem for walks or just play in general. And of course, I jumped in when I could.
3. Meal planning and prep. This was also a team effort. I came up with a strategy for us to get the most meals with the least amount of effort. For the one night we fell short, we picked up fast food. It was fine.
4. I checked in with myself and prioritized rest when my body started sending me signs. I mean my eye hasn’t twitched from stress since my mid-20s, back when I cared about corporate America. I definitely heard my body say, girl take a break, all of that can wait until morning. Or as my husband likes to say, “you’re not curing cancer”. This perspective definitely helped me to stress less.
5. I have said this before, but creating a list of the things I’m trying to keep track of in my head really helps me unload my anxiety about missing something. For work, I maintained a list throughout the day to ensure I wasn’t missing anything. For home, I maintained my list on my Notes app.
And I’ll just add that I welcomed the distractions from my husband and son. They actually relieved my stress. I took them both in as much as I could before diving back into work. Anyway, I hope you found something helpful here. Don’t forget to try a candlelit shower, its really amazing. Oh and share some of your pandemic-friendly self care practices below.