This month, I thought I’d write about ‘avoiding burnout’ after realising I needed to pay some serious attention to my life balance.
I feel most of us are currently operating at a level of stress above ‘normal’ all of the time, so it can sometimes only take a minor irritation to induce high levels of anxiety, and this can lead to a feeling that we can’t easily get back into a state of equilibrium.
There has never been a more important time to take regular breaks at work, take a mini-break from family responsibilities, switch off the screens and unwind. It doesn’t need to be some big fancy thing, but a bubble bath, a few moments outside in the fresh air, a short walk, or a ten-minute online workout can help to recharge our batteries, lower our background stress levels and reset.
Having spent three lockdowns living in a second-floor apartment with no balcony, I now really appreciate being able to step outside my kitchen door and deeply breathe in the summer air.
We’ve all been through, and continue to go through, a tremendously demanding and uncertain time. I’m giving myself credit for that daily, and aiming not to be too hard on myself when I’m not quite operating at my usual levels of fabulousness. In fact, I do have days when I feel I am achieving nothing, but that’s never true of any of us. For this reason, I begin each day by making my bed. That way I’ve achieved something before I even start the day. And I have somewhere nice to go for a quiet snooze or a short read when I run out of steam.
Wishing everyone a connected, peaceful, and happy summer making nice memories of simple carefree times.
Clare Honeyfield is a yoga teacher, coach, and entrepreneur based in Stroud and working globally to help women creatives overcome procrastination and achieve greatness through the development of self-belief, self-care, and community.
