I am the first to admit that I am really good at over scheduling myself. 99% of the time I function better when my schedule is full and I’m busy. But every once in awhile it all gets to me. This week that happened. There was door slamming, I wanted to cry but I was too angry, I couldn’t sleep, and I ended up with a killer headache (on the verge of a migraine). Not my best day.
I get upset when I have these days for many reasons. I don’t WANT to be that crying, door slamming person. I want to take things in stride and sit down to calmly work through whatever is bothering me. But sometimes that just isn’t how it goes. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me.
At the end of this crappy day I thankfully had a nail appointment scheduled. I thought I was going to be late (I wasn’t), so that just added to my irritation and crappy mood. But on the way to the salon I had enough time to calm down. When I got there I was handed a glass of wine (thank you Lord) and told that one of my friends had an appointment at the same time as me. Apparently someone was looking out for me right? So I spent the next two hours enjoying my wine, getting my nails down, and visiting with my friend. It was just what I needed.
Unfortunately when I got home that all went out the window. My house is currently a mess because I haven’t been home lately and that drives me nuts. But I was too worn out to do anything about it. I watched some TV and went to bed. Please note that I said “went to bed” and not “went to sleep.” Sleep was just not happening. And you know what happens when I don’t sleep? I get stressed out. Which leads to migraines. Fan-tastic.
The next morning I was up with the alarm and dreading work. I was super tired and my head was killing me. The idea of going into work had me on the verge of tears again. So I did something I don’t often do and took a personal/sick day. I HATE using my time off (it is all one PTO/vacation/sick time bucket for us) when I don’t have anything planned, but I needed it. I needed a day to myself. So I called in, took some meds, and went back to sleep. I restarted my day a couple hours later. What did I do first? I cleaned up my house.
I know it might sound silly, but the disorganized state of my house was a huge trigger when it came to my mood. I like things clean and organized so this was my main task. After my house was clean so was my mind. I was free to do whatever… write a blog post, eat some junk food, watch TV, or even take a nap. It was totally up to me!
“Me time” is whatever you make it. The whole point of taking a day for yourself is TAKING A DAY FOR YOURSELF. Doing whatever YOU need to do to get back to your happy place. For me it was cleaning (just call me Monica). For you it might be yoga, or watching a romantic comedy, taking a nap, or going bungee jumping. You just need to take the time to recenter yourself, get over whatever has put you in a mood, and move on.
So what was the point of all this you ask? Just to remind you that we aren’t perfect and that is okay. That it is okay to take a break sometimes. That it is okay to take a “me day.” I know not everyone has the ability or luxury of taking a day, so maybe it is just some “me time.” Just remember that if you are going to continue to be a busy bee you need to take time to take care of yourself. You don’t do ANYONE any good if you are stressed/unhappy/angry/etc.
