At the end of September, I joined a 5 day self-care challenge hosted by life coach Heather Jones. I wrote a review of her book More than Mom which you can find here. Spoiler alert: I highly recommend.
When Heather posted about the self-care challenge, I was intrigued. I’m the type of person who perks up at the word “challenge.” It’s like when my brother and I were little and we had daily Nintendo Street Fighter and NHL video game fights. Or when Apple Fitness+ says to exercise for a million hours so you can get a shiny virtual badge. Or when my stomach says, “you can’t eat that donut,” and I’m like, “watch me, belly.”
Yeah, that last one kind of backfired.
Hush. Mama’s having some self-care time.
When I think of self-care, things like getting a massage or a mani/pedi come to mind. Or maybe alone time with a jug of wine. Sure, that can be part of it, but that’s just scratching the surface. Those are temporary, instant deals that are great, but don’t address self-care for the long run which is really where we should all get to.
Creatives, I’m Talking to You
Everyone needs self-care, but I’m going to focus on my fellow creatives right now. Many of us share the same routines. We work full time jobs, take care of children, manage a home, volunteer, make time for the spouse, and try to fit [insert your creative passion] in as well. When you’re juggling all these things, it’s inevitable—and probably expected—that these spinning plates (or chainsaws) drop. That leads to disappointment in ourselves, frustration with our schedules, and just an all-around feeling of despair about life.
It sounds dramatic, but that’s how I feel sometimes. That feeling is magnified when I think about how my second book isn’t done yet—something I had hoped to finish at least two years ago.
Most times, it’s self-inflicted.
Is self-care going to miraculously fix this dilemma? Probably not, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. When you take time for some introspection, you are able to identify challenges, obstacles, and other paths and options you may not have seen before.
The Challenge
Here’s how the challenge worked: every day, Heather would email a challenge related to self-care. For example, wake up 30-60 minutes earlier than the rest of your family and do x, y, and z. Each day, you would receive a new challenge and continue building from the first day’s challenge.
Sound daunting? It did to me as well, but here’s the thing: it’s only five days. You can commit (or try your hardest to commit) to just five days. You’ll be surprised by what you can do when you 1) start small and 2) make an effort.
The other part of this challenge is that you get invited to a private Facebook group so you can discuss how you’re doing and see how others are doing as well. I signed up with a small group of women I had never ever met before, and let me tell you—it was amazing.
Heather hosted Zoom calls to facilitate discussion and conduct a pulse check. I wasn’t able to make these, but they were recorded so I could watch and comment later. Everyone was at a different point in their lives and shared their challenges and victories. We supported each other and cheered each other on. It was really empowering. Did I mention we were all strangers?
Overnight Miracles
Journaling is more powerful than you might think!
Overall, the 5-day self-care challenge was a great first step and highlighted the various building blocks available for me to improve myself. Just like anything else, this isn’t meant to be a one-and-done solution. Incorporating new habits takes time and results can take a while to manifest. You have to give yourself time to change and allow yourself grace when you struggle.
While I had already started picking up on mindset changes before I took this challenge, this mini course helped me actually implement practices to reinforce those changes. I still have a lot of work to do, and I know there are a lot more things I can be doing to reduce stress and manage my time more effectively, but this challenge was a great start. If Heather does it again, I highly recommend it!
By the way, if you’re wondering if I wake up super early every day, the answer is no. 😉 But that’s okay.
Cover Photo by Vlada Karpovich