Today’s blog post is good advice any time of the year, but I was inspired to write it during the current pandemic, as it’s especially useful now. We are all looking out for one another, maintaining social distancing, and listening to local guidelines to help navigate our world right now. While it’s wonderful seeing everyone come together, it’s a good time to take a step back, take in a deep breath, and remember to also take care of yourself! 

There are a lot of ways to take care of yourself and make sure you are watching out for number 1. I’m not attempting to write a health article telling you to run 30 miles a week, eat your veggies, and meditate daily (although I wouldn’t dissuade you from it!) Rather, I want to encourage you to find things that you enjoy that help make you feel better, whether it’s physically or mentally (and hopefully a little bit of both!) Below, see what I am personally doing to watch out for myself when I have the time. I hope they inspire you to come up with a few of your own 🙂

That’s me before a run in April!

Running

Ah, of course he leads with running. And he just said he wasn’t going to tell us to run an insane amount of miles!

While I am kicking this off with a fitness related idea, it’s not so much for the physical benefit. Really, I’ve been running a bunch during the past two months and it does help keep my body in check somewhat (I have also had a lot of pizza the last two months…) For me, the most valuable benefit has been mental. One of the toughest parts of the Stay at Home order has been not being able to escape when I’m having a bad day. Whether it’s work related or just the prolonged negative feelings of being cooped up inside, I’ve had plenty of days where they just drag.

However, I started using running to my advantage. I would wait until I hit a point in the day where I could tell I was starting to slump. I’d finish up what I was doing, then head outside to log some miles. Literally 20 or 30 minutes is all it takes to get my endorphins flowing. Once back, I feel reenergized and can tackle whatever else the day brings! 

Takeaway:

– Find an activity you can do that helps you re-energize or recharge

– If you can, implement it during your workday to help break things up

– While running is great, find anything that gets your heart rate up and allows you to temporarily escape

Run and sun works wonders for the mind.

Cooking

It’s no secret that I love food. However, although I always enjoy cooking at home, I haven’t always been the best cook. Earlier this winter, I made it a point to start cooking more and trying new recipes. Even if they don’t turn out well, I had some fun trying to follow it, and it usually comes out safe to eat. 

The cooking idea isn’t new or novel. However, I look at it as something I can do every day and also helps me segue from work to not-work. At home, it’s so easy to blur the line of when does the work day end and when does my time off begin. Turning on some tunes in the kitchen, prepping the ingredients, and getting things on the stove signals to me that work is done!

I know some people hate cooking, and that’s A-OK. Find something you can do each day that helps conclude your workday. Make sure you enjoy it, too. Taking the trash out each day at 5PM is necessary. Do you love it? Likely not. But, reading a book outside in the sun, brewing a cup of tea, going on a walk with the family, all those are enjoyable and can be done to signal it’s the end of your day!

Takeaway:

– Pinpoint something that you can do each day 

– Be sure it’s enjoyable

– Bonus points if it helps divide the end of the work day and the start of your free time

I don’t have a lot of food photos, but this is a simple lean steak with roasted veggies. Yum!

Future Travel

If you’ve listened to our podcast or read pretty much any of our blog posts, you know we travel a lot for work and for fun. That’s all been put on hiatus for the time being, which is pretty crushing, but also now just a reality as we wait for the pandemic to slow. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t get on my phone and research where I want to go once travel restrictions settle a bit more and we can begin exploring our world once again! 

While I get a ton of pleasure from traveling, I also truly love the research aspect of it. Where will I go? When? What can we do once there? All those things are so exciting and add to the overall trip well before it ever happens! 

The point here is that it really helps provide a glimpse into the future. Knowing that someday I can book a flight and hotel somewhere provides some hope for the future. It makes the Stay at Home not seem like it’s forever. And that is a very healthy thought 🙂 

Takeaway:

– What can you do that will excite you for the future?

– Have fun doing the research and planning portion of it while you’re stuck inside

– Relish the thought that you’ll be able to do whatever it is, and hopefully sooner rather than later

Cold brew, laptop, and future travel planning on a warm spring afternoon.

The ideas I outlined are not groundbreaking. But, it’s easy to forget that you matter and you should always remember to take care of yourself. Once we are all on the other side of this, we want to come out as healthy as possible, which is more than just eating your fruits and veggies. Find out ways to stay energized, nourish your mind, and keep a positive outlook for what’s to come. There’s a lot of good in this world, and I’m ready for it!