There must be one. At this point in time, the 21st century, when cars are about to be run on batteries, the weekly shop can be done off your phone, and Marty McFly’s self-tying shoes are a thing, someone must have written the rule book on this game we call life.
We all have those friends, the ones who have it all sussed. The ones who have children, work, are members of the PTA, volunteer at the local community hall, run a book club, and still find the time for weekly mani-pedi’s, coffee morning catch-ups, and look gorgeous while doing it all. But how? How do they pull this off? What is the secret?
I’m 100% certainly not one of those friends. Looking at my life, and my daily routine, I cannot fathom how others who work, have children, run a house, pay the bills and take responsibility for all of life’s other chores, and have time to do anything remotely selfish bar shower, use the bathroom and eat. Admittedly, I’m a workaholic, and certainly now the children are slightly older and more independent, I have found myself of late being more focussed on work and concentrating on my future career plans, than I have spending time with the kids, and have certainly been taking advantage of the fact that Daddy has the same mind set as the little ones, and is way more fun! But it shouldn’t be this way.
There are currently very blurred lines between my work and home life, and whilst working from home is great for school runs, after school clubs and parent’s evenings, it can be difficult when you’re operating from the same room that you should be relaxing in of an evening. I’m currently transfixed on making more money, not for the materialistic things I grew out of collecting when the kids came along, but to allow us to move home, to get us out of the town we reside in, away from the life we currently find ourselves not living.
It’s very difficult to strategically juggle the 300 jobs you have to do daily, and remember which hat you should be wearing at which point in the day, but what can you do to make all of this easier? Well, I’ve learnt a few things that have helped me recently.
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Exercise:
Taking a daily morning run has definitely helped! Up at 6am isn’t ideal but blowing away the cobwebs before the chaos of a full on working day hits (especially during school holidays!), is definitely beneficial if you can make it happen. They say exercise has been proven to help with stress and mental health, and that it opens your mind and creates positive vibes, but what it does for me is it structures my day, it gives me time to think about what needs doing, and powers me up for the day ahead.
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Diet:
An obvious one really but looking at what you consume and how it effects your mood is something I was surprised to learn more on. Not being a great eater myself, not by means of eating bad food, just not by eating enough of anything, I was reminded about how not fuelling your body correctly with the right foods, and right amounts of them, has a massive effect on your mood, your energy, metabolism, and of course your overall health. I don’t eat breakfast, haven’t for some time and have considered going back to doing so, however for me, the biggest thing was setting times for my meals, rather than sporadically grabbing a rice cake, and also to plan ahead what I was going to eat and ensure the ingredients / food is included in the weekly shop, so I’m not searching for a wrap filler!
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Breathing:
I have suffered with my chest for a while, not being able to take a deep breath very often, and is something I’m going to the clinic for later this month. Breathing is a natural activity granted, but you’d be surprised how many people have suffered with anxiety, stress, insomnia and other illnesses, which have all been linked to their breathing patterns. Taking the time to breath correctly is a must. None of us were taught how to breath, so you’d think the correct way would come natural however over-breathing, holding our breath and/or shallow breathing all put stress on the body and lead to a shortage of oxygen and energy, which in turns effects our moods, sleep patterns and even our nervous system! Yikes! Situations that have us feeling tense also lead to stressed breathing, which then leads to a lack of oxygen which in turn makes the body and brain even more stressed. Vicious circle. So, the plan? Experts say to simply breath deeply in through your nose, all the way down to your belly and take your time exhaling, plus don’t rush your next breath, and try to breathe rhythmically. Meditation is also good, and if like me, you’re addicted to your Fit Bit, the relax setting on there is a daily must before the kids get up! Focus your mind on the place you feel more relaxed (beach for me) and follow the breathing plan.
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Sleep:
An easy one for me, I must admit. Due to the crazy day of work.kids.sleep that always is, I nod off as soon as I hit the pillow! But if you don’t, the above steps will all help mend and relax your body and mind and should in turn, help you to rest better. Sleep is of course a massively important part of our lives, and if, like me, you need to be 100mph everyday, you will need a fully performing body and brain to get you through until you can rest again.
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So maybe that’s it. Maybe the play book of life consists of exercise, eating well and sleeping. Sounds simple, and maybe it should be. A little bit of ‘me’ time thrown in sounds good but maybe I should strip it all back, work 8 hours and no more, spend time with the kids being silly, goofy, laughing and smiling, and work on my world domination plans after bedtime.
And as for breathing, lets let travelling, crazy adventures and creating memories take our breath away, not the stress of the 9-5.
Rhian
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#workkidssleep