Filling your own cup- it’s a phrase we hear often. Getting depleted from time to time seems to be a fact of human life. Catching it before it goes too far is a good idea! If you catch yourself needing replenishing, you want to stop and take break- maybe a few hours, maybe a day and maybe a week or more, depending upon how you’re feeling.
I found myself needing full on replenishing recently- from all good things, just a lot of them. Setting lots of goals, being on the go, travel near and far, squeezing it all in and so much walking! All things that are good for me, but in big doses. In my life in general, since 2020 and practicing the art of slowing down- or stopping, actually, remember?- I avoid packing my schedule and running around. Besides working with my clients, the fewer things planned to have to be on time for, the better.
That means not scheduling any personal appointments that aren’t truly necessary and definitely not more that 2-3 per week. I learned a lot in 2020, one of which was I enjoy space and operate at my happiest with lots of space in my schedule.
In navigating my August “sabbatical” this year, I packed a lot in. In the previous two years, I still worked more than I planned to. This year, I did well in that regard, but packed a lot onto my list and my schedule. (More on what I did next week.) This isn’t a bad thing, it just now requires replenishment for me to be back at my best.
When I look to replenish myself, I consider all of the things I love most and start there. Reading is at the top of my list- I still have a big stack of summer reading to do, that requires me to sit still, so it is the best activity/non activity for me to do. I am way ahead on my walking goal for the month, so I am intentionally going to cut back my daily mileage and walk a bit slower.
Overall, replenishing looks like a lot of stillness. Watch a movie, sit outside, be in the woods writing, eat cleanly and nutritiously, drink lots of water, and big one here- put my phone away- a lot. I can even get caught up on emails or get back to people who I have not gotten back to. If I go to the gym, I will not look to lift my heaviest weights, but will maintain and maybe twice a week for a few weeks instead of three. One important thing I will do is to reflect on and write down all that I did in the previous month, along with takeaways and insights I am taking. What new ideas are formulating?
I will especially not push myself on anything just for the next 10 days or so. After Labor Day, it is a new season to me. Full with experiences from the previous month, along with the replenishing, I will be ready to ramp up! There is so much good ahead!