Self-Care At Work

It’s Nicole here to talk about the one place where you arguably can’t control your self-care…work. Work, whatever it looks like for you is what I lovingly refer to as an uncontrollable environment. Whether you work on the floor of a store, in an office or for yourself, there are always elements you can’t control, always something (or someone) that demands your attention, unfortunately, beyond your needs at that moment. Knowing these uncontrollable elements are in effect all the time, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the things you can control. The small aspects of your day that can help you make the hustle feel a little more like a controlled pace maybe even with stops on the way to smell the roses. Now I’ve worked in many different environments but will mainly focus on the office experience. That being said, some of these things can be adapted no matter where you bring your metaphorical briefcase each day.

Be Early

Though not the most revolutionary idea when it comes to the concept of work, I don’t suggest this to make your boss happy (but it’s a nice bonus) but because it can help you feel better. I can’t even tell you the number of times transit has caused my heart to move to my throat in fear of being late to work or an important meeting, so give yourself the micro kindness and do what you need to so you can have at least 10 minutes at work before you have to launch into your emails and chat messages.

Theme Your Days

When it comes to calendars, meetings and online calls it is very easy to get caught up in all the commotion and look up at your clock to realize it’s 4:55 PM and you haven’t touched a single major project or even a quick task. There is truly nothing more heartbreaking than knowing that all the dreams you had for your day were dashed by other people’s timelines. Something I’ve implemented in my work calendar is theme days, where the largest time blocks are within the theme. For example making a theme “Follow Ups” on a Monday, knowing that it is likely to be a high correspondence day, while Fridays could be themed “Major Projects” or “Personal Development” as most people are wrapping up their work-week and are less likely to reach out. Now, this will take some agility on your part to see what themes make the most sense for you and your role but having a bit of guidance can help make things feel less overwhelming.

Block out your BAU (Business As Usual)

Every job, no matter where has daily tasks that have to be done each day or even weekly. For a while I found myself wanting to ignore BAU so I could focus on projects I was more enthusiastic about, but like every young adult in the workforce, I quickly learned that procrastinating on these tasks would only result in heartache as now my quick daily tasks would take twice as long doing them all at once. Since this learning, I’ve taken the time to block out an hour each day to deal with those pesky daily tasks so things feel a little easier.

Take Breaks, Period. 

I know what you’re thinking, “Yeah Nicole, obviously I take my breaks…” but I am going to say it again and let it sink in, take breaks, including your lunch break. If you are working at home, in a hybrid model or in an office, it has been proven many times over that you can’t focus on much past the 90-minute mark so take even just a few minutes to look away from your screen (and that includes your phone) so you can reset before continuing. I am very guilty of wanting to work through my lunch breaks to feel like I’m being responsive and alert to my team but they know you have to take a break and unless you are a doctor, anything they need can wait for at least a few minutes so you can refuel.  I know if you’re working in an environment that is more customer service driven your breaks are standardized and you only get a few of them depending on your shift length, don’t worry I remember this well. One way I would give myself a quick brain break through all the customer socializing was by asking for or giving myself a cleaning task like organizing stock, folding sweaters, or whatever needed to get done. While doing a repetitious task I would zone out even for ten seconds so I could reset my mind for the next few hours. Next time you’re feeling the clouds roll in give it a try and see if you feel a little better afterwards.

Focus On What You Like

Every job has elements in it that we don’t like, even our dream job has accounting, but there’s a reason you are working where you are. Yes you can say it’s because of the paycheck but you could truly get that from any job, so why did you choose this one? There must have been something in that job description that got you excited. When I worked in retail I was honestly just excited to organize stock and talk to people about the products. I still had to take out garbage and mop floors but I tried my best to focus on the part that made me happy. Even now I work with the deficit of necessary items by balancing them out with elements that make me happy. We all have to make a living but being at least 2% excited about going to work in the morning does make the day go by a little easier. Knowing that you’re guaranteed a small spark of joy every day by intentionally focusing on what makes you happy could perhaps be that little spark to the start of something bigger.

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