Last week I talked about investing in yourself, part of that has to do with self-care.
Self care can mean a lot of things for different people, but one type of self care I want to talk about, is your time. Time is money and money is time. Time is valuable and something, once used, you cannot get back. No matter who you are, your time is worth something. Don’t allow others to waste it. Friend who always texts you for favors, but accidentally threw their phone in a river every time you text them for something? They’re wasting your time. Practice self-care and stop doing favors. Have you spent 3 hours in bed knowing you have an assignment due soon? (I should just @ myself for this one) You’re wasting your time. Practice self-care and get your work done. Your resume isn’t in shape and you want an internship/job, but you don’t spend any of your free time doing things that will build your resume? You’re wasting your time. Practice self-care and seek out career building opportunities. You’ve been working non-stop around the clock, at all times (finals week or not), only stopping to sleep and eat? You’re not managing your time wisely. Practice self-care by pausing, reevaluating your duties, and force yourself to incorporate a healthy amount of down time. The last one may seem a bit backwards. We are constantly told “Work hard!” and “Do well in school!” and “Make sure you’re dedicating a good chunk of your time to studying/working/career building/networking!!”. There’s that old saying, “You can rest when you’re dead.” This is somewhat true, but you aren’t dead. Truth be told, all work and no play leaves Jack a drained and depressed person. You have to schedule time for yourself that has nothing to do with your career, your schoolwork, your network, or anything that you are already dedicating a massive amount of time to. You need “me time”. I know for me, it often feels like I don’t “deserve” me time. I’ll look at all the work I’ve done and I’ll think, “You don’t deserve a break yet. You can take one later.” And do you know what often happens when I think that? When I skip my break? I end up feeling exhausted a day or so later and I “steal” three hours of me time in one day. I feel guilty and stressed throughout the time and when I finally do get back up (because you already know I’m in bed), I feel like I’ve wasted the entire day. This could be avoided if I just regularly scheduled in me time. And you should too. Whether it’s a hobby, watching one (or three) episodes of your favorite show, or just take a guilt-free nap, practice self-care and manage your time properly. Take care of yourself and you will always be able to give your absolute best.
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AuthorESSeSWomen of the African Diaspora writing for the empowerment of the next generation. Archives
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