Worth repeating: Putting yourself first

14 March 2016

I wrote this post in November 2014 and stumbled upon it today. It echoed words I’d relayed to a speaking audience this weekend. I think it’s really important to block time out for your self-care on your calendar. I thought these sentiments were worth repeating today.

Many of us in helping professions have a tendency to put the needs of those we help before our own. It’s so easy to do.

But, as I’ve discovered recently (yet again), it’s really important to make sure that you are taking care of yourself, so that you can, in fact, take care of others.

I absolutely love the work I do leading organizing teams to create fast, significant change for my clients. I love it, but it drains me. By the end of a session, I am physically and mentally exhausted.

I learned earlier this year that two successive days of leading organizing teams is my healthy maximum. Yesterday, I completed a third day in a row of team organizing. (It was the fourth team job I’d led in five days.)

When I got home, I sat in my recliner with my laptop and finished writing the number of the words I needed to meet my daily quota for my novel. My husband was making a delicious dinner and by the time it was ready I’d rested enough to be able to get out of the recliner and come to the table. During my resting time, I renewed my resolve to not work more than two days in a row leading teams.

The trouble, of course, is that people want help and there are only so many days in a week. But I reminded myself that good self care means putting myself first on my schedule. I have marked days on my calendar with the label “No clients” so that I don’t try to please someone by making an appointment at the expense of my own physical and mental health.

What about you? Are you putting yourself first in your schedule? If not, perhaps you can mark out days on your calendar for yourself or let go of some volunteer commitments. Maybe you can delegate some responsibilities. Whatever you need to do, please take care of yourself first so that you have the energy and resiliency to help others.

Peaceful photo by Hilary Perkins via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License

Tagged with: self-care, worth repeating