Long lie in’s, fresh coffee, roast dinners, long walks, time spent with friends and loved ones, Sunday’s are unknowingly filled with all of those things that make us feel good, making them the perfect day to practice self care without even trying!
Taking time for ourselves is becoming increasingly important, as our lives become busier by the day, the levels of stress increase and therefore we have to make sure we are managing these levels so that is doesn’t have a negative impact upon our mental health.
Self care covers every aspect of our lives and how we feel; from our mental health to our physical health, therefore, if we are not operating on all cylinders, then we are likely to feel sluggish and generally more negative.
If one element is feeling off balance, it has the power to impact upon your entire day, it’s like carrying a cloud around your head, and when you are in HR, you come into contact with a lot of people throughout the day, so I am always conscious of how those feelings affect how I present myself to others. I am not saying that I wear a mask for those occasions, far from it, if I am having an “off day” those around me tend to know, and when you work in a close team it is hard to hide these things, so I find that by being open and honest shows courage, not weakness.
One of my favourite things to do on a Sunday is to have a nice coffee whilst listening to Fleetwood Mac in the kitchen! That gives me some time to reflect on the past week and look forward to the week ahead. I also like going for a walk with my husband and our French Bulldog, Bron. We always have a nice dinner together, and maybe watch a bit of tv in the afternoon. I also often speak with my family too as they live away from me, it’s nice to hear about their week and what they have been up to.
The important thing about self care is that it is entirely up to you as it is an individual ritual, we see lots of magazines with amazing routines, or “follow this person’s Instagram for self care”. Generating awareness of self care is fantastic; social media helps us with that, but just do what feels good to you, don’t follow relentless routines or think you should be doing this that and the other like the magazines suggest or what the influencers say.
A lot of people reading this may say that they simply don’t have the time for self care when they have a busy week ahead, but the benefits of self care can really help with a fresh and positive outlook for the week, plus the next Sunday has something to look forward to; more time for you!
So no matter what you get up to this Sunday, I hope you have a wonderful day that is filled with all your favourite things!
Natalie Ellis HR 