It’s been a crazy end of the year. I struggled through the holidays but came out better for it. I know in my head that when I am struggling with something or when it’s hard that I’m learning something from the process. It doesn’t make it any easier in the moment but I keep bringing myself back to the reminder.

From all the energy I’ve been putting out lately and with some health related stuff that I’ve been dealing with I’ve started to realize that I’m not making time for myself first. I’m putting out all this energy but I’m not giving myself the time to recharge.

I have started to mediate more often – I’m working myself up to every day but if I miss a day it’s okay and I’m not going to beat myself up about it.

I need to organize my work priorities so I don’t feel so overwhelmed by it which is how I feel right now. I know part of that is that my right hand is out on maternity leave and I don’t have someone to bounce ideas off of but I can manage this without her.

I need to rededicate myself to my yoga and work out practice. I’ve been seriously slacking on it. When I used to exercise daily its become at most 1x a week. I need to make this part of my morning routine, even if I have to get up earlier to do it. I felt better and my day flowed smoother. I’d also like to do more yoga. So while I prefer live classes (not necessarily in person but live) I would like to work myself up to at least 2x a week. I think this will help with my meditation practice and will also count toward that time as well since most of my classes end in a short meditation.

I am a crazy avid reader but I think last year and even the beginning of this year I have taken on more than I can actively enjoy. It’s starting to become work and I don’t want something I love so much to turn into something I feel obligated to do. So I cut back on how many books I plan on reading for the year, and I won’t be taking on as many requests for book reviews as I did at the beginning of this year (I committed myself to 13 in January alone! What was I thinking! luckily I’m only 4 away from being caught up and the rest of the year is so far more evenly spaced!)

So what’s my take on all this. I think so many of us get caught up in doing for others we forget that we need to make time for ourselves. It’s not selfish or taking anything away from your family. In fact it’s probably going to give back because you won’t be as overwhelmed and irritated, not to mention more able to focus on the present moment when spending time with them.