Can you feel it? The energy of the new year is building. Things right now can start to feel busy, intense, frantic, and chaotic even.This season of the year is fraught with expectation, and you'd be forgiven for feeling that you are giving your all and more, but yet somehow feel empty rather than full?
With a backlog of events that were postponed through the year suddenly all being squeezed into the space of one month, time for yourself becomes rare. And maybe, you might start to slip into the mindset of sacrificing your own needs for others... just this once. But that is quicksand you just stepped into, and now you've said yes, to everything. The days are full, busy at work. The weeknights are full with overdue catch-ups, and the weekend, well, they are entirely jam-packed, right? And when you look forward into the calendar, the next free weekend is in... March...
So there are two things you can do, you can surrender, and revel in the chaos, love the festivity and have fun. Or you can make changes, not drastic ones, like suddenly declining everything, but small changes. Start redrawing your boundaries and look at your routine; identify space that you can carve out just for yourself.
When you make decisions over the next month, ask yourself; will this deplete or replenish me? If the answer is depleted, consider whether it's absolutely necessary to do it. Could this time be better spent doing something that will replenish you instead?
Then start to look at your routine; where is there space to do the things you love? Could you go for a walk and listen to a podcast on your lunch break? Can you wake up earlier and read your book in bed before starting your day? Could you head to the beach after work and before your evening commitments for a quick refreshing dip?
The biggest takeaway is to be gentle with yourself; this is a busy period, the busiest of the year. So try not to be too hard on yourself.