Schedule Your Self-Care Now.

We are t-minus 2 weeks until Thanksgiving here in the United States.  We all know that there is this weird snowball thing that happens the day after Thanksgiving—which started to take hold of consumers in the 1990s as ‘the’ day to get the best deals on things for their loved ones’ Christmas stockings.  Black Friday.

Now, some 30 years later, this day seems to be the day when we are covered with activity snow and pushed down a large hill—picking up steam as we go, until Christmas day happens.  Parties, shopping, events, theater, musical performances, you name it.  We pack so much into those few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas that it is almost dizzying. 

 So today our self-care blog is about now.  The time before things get crazy.  The time when you can really sit down, look at your schedule, and pad in some time for yourself.  And this isn’t a luxury, it is a necessity.

Start with your CARE lists.

If you are a regular reader of the blog, you might already have lists prepared for things that feel good for your own self-care.   But if not, go back and snag this blog here that covers this in detail.  Essentially, we want you to figure out the things you do for yourself that make you feel good.  That makes you feel like you are nourishing and caring for yourself in the same way you nourish and care for other people. 

 There are different time variations, so what you might have on your list that takes 10 minutes will be different than a list of things that can take 30+ minutes.  But once you have things you like doing for self-care, I need to you really sit down and think about which activities on your list are “scheduling worthy”.  These are things that might include an appointment or a bit of time off during the afternoon.  It might be a hike to your favorite spot, but that means checking the weather and making sure you are prepped for the adventure. 

So start with a couple of lists, and then find the things that are worthy of a schedule. 

Plan Your Heart Out

But, be realistic.

So let’s say you have your list narrowed down to your favorite activities, now I want you to slide those onto your schedule right now.  If it requires a ticket, go get it.  If you need to plan for the time, do so now.  But slide three to four self-care activities onto your calendar now, before the snowball picks up speed on the holiday season. 

One of the reasons so many of us love this time of year is because we get to connect with friends and family whom we don’t see with regularity throughout the year.  However, those of us who also have some introverted traits really need to plan some time for ourselves to counterbalance that.  I sometimes call this time “dark closet time”, because after a whole day of interacting and being “on” for folks whom I genuinely like to see, I feel like I need to sit in a dark closet. 

So I will either plan for a nap or a trip to the movie theater.  I can sit and be entertained all by myself in a circumstance where it is understood that we don’t interact with each other.  Perfect.  So if you are one of my fellow introverts, make sure those moments are on the schedule for you too.

Macro and Micro

During the thick of holiday happenings, it might feel impossible to schedule an entire afternoon away, or take a trip to your favorite spot—so make that something you plan for in January, after the holiday time is done with.  Think of this as the “macro” of this technique. 

The macro is the big picture that overall the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s are usually so swamped that it will be difficult to add one more big thing during that time.  But, you also know that you will need that big rest time schedule for after the holidays, so go ahead and do that now.  Think big picture, and know that come the first week of January taking a trip to wander in your favorite forest might be exactly what is needed for an overstimulated brain.

 Then add micro moments during those weeks.  Micro-moments are small bits of time you schedule just for yourself in order to make sure you can sustain the pace you need to during this season.  The 10-minute cuddle with your cat, the 20-minute foot bath, the pause to stare out the window at the beautiful trees.  Those moments can sustain you during busy seasons of life, so make sure you are prepped to take them as needed.

This year will feel different.

After so many years of us feeling as if “this must be the year it gets better” while fighting a global pandemic and things not quite hitting that mark I think the transition from 2023 to 2024 will feel especially unique.  Whether things feel great or stressful for you right now, this new season of starting again will allow us the opportunity to more fully build the future that we want to embrace for ourselves.  And if you know anything about Sunlight, you know that we believe that includes skillful self-care and rest.

Want to join us for a weekend of self-care workshops the first week of January? 

Grab the bundle ticket here, and the price goes up on December 1st.