Let’s see how to practice self-care at work despite the many demands placed on you.
Why recharging matters
While many people can see work as good for the soul, a mountain to climb, something that gives their life purpose, it’s also true that it can take quite a lot out of you sometimes. Without a period in which to recharge and reconfigure yourself, as well as to deal with the stressors that invariably come with working on anything that matters, it’s easy for us to feel overburdened, and sometimes, to be burned out.
For this reason, caring for yourself despite the demands of a busy job needs to be an essential focus for everyone. The more that we demand time to recharge, fair work/life balances, and work packages that include access to good healthcare as a side benefit, the more these things will become the norm.
But, of course, even with the best working package available to us, it’s true to say that caring for ourselves requires a self-directed effort. That might be even more important than you recognize if your job is demanding. Here are three suggestions for taking care of yourself amidst a busy workweek.
1. Taking work breaks is part of self-care
Taking breaks is an essential part of being able to manage your stress, work productively, and deal with your daily projects without feeling burnt out. This might mean learning how to work at home in a remote setting or breaking up your workday as appropriate.
Perhaps instead you use a middle day of the week to remote work, thanks to the new staff flexibility policy at your job. Sometimes, booking off a mental health day can work too.
2. Manage conditions
If you have a condition to manage, it’s important that you work on it as soon as it’s noticed, and that you go for regular checkups. This way, skin conditions can be protected when sitting at your desk, bacterial vaginosis treatment can be applied in a manner that helps you feel comfortable among people, and you seek treatment for other conditions.
Speaking with the boss or HR department regarding your medical appointments may help them work around you too and place a few concessions down as necessary. Just understanding that conditions come first can help you avoid having to feel vulnerable or like a pain, because you’re not.
3. Self-care at work: Be realistic
It’s important to remain realistic about what you can actually do. Many people find that their health suffers at work for the basic reason that they overpromise and have a hard time delivering on it.
If your workload is much more than you can take on, or if you feel as though your supervisor is not respecting your contract by constantly asking you to come in on days off, or if you feel that you’re pulling too much weight, it’s important to renew your approach to being realistic and measuring yourself appropriately. This allows you to pace your workload effectively instead of trying to spin all the plates at once.
These tips may help you care for yourself despite the demands of a busy job. What are some other ideas?