Take Care of Yourself First

Posted on by Regine Albrecht

Self-care, the key to thriving not just surviving

Self Care in scrabble tiles by Tiny Tribes from Pixabay

In order to stay grounded, calm and patient in times when everything around us is crumbling or in upheaval, the first rule to follow is take care of yourself. I’m not just referring to a pandemic, but any situation that impacts you and your life. This could be an illness of a loved one, financial problems because a major project doesn’t materialize, problems with your partner or spouse, unexpected expenses because your car broke down. The unfortunate reality is, especially in stressful situations, we tend to “forget” how important it is to stay strong. There are so many things that seem far more important to think about, or to tackle… and we put self-care on the backburner.

I’m not thinking about vacations or hours of meditation, or whatever helps you relax and recharge. I’m thinking of a daily practice. It is far better to incorporate small bursts of self-care during the day to stay grounded and keep a clear head. It will help you process what’s going on no matter what life throws at you. It’s the first step to finding an answer, developing a solution, or determining your next move.  

What is Self-care

Let’s have a look at what self-care actually means. Skip this part if you’re more interested in some ideas of how to practice self-care and move to the headline “Practice Self-care.”  

Self-care is the deliberate choice of taking care of your own needs on a daily basis, regardless of commitments, responsibilities, expectations from others.

As the bare minimum we need enough sleep and nourishment for our bodies. But that would only ensure our physical survival. In order to protect our wellbeing, physically, psychologically and emotionally, there are more things to consider.

It means knowing who you are, what you like and don’t like, what gives you joy, what you aspire to, what you value, how to set limits, how to deal with difficult situations, how to relax and decompress after a stressful or demanding day.

“Self-care is something that energizes and refuels us, rather than takes from us. […] It is the key to living a balanced life.” It helps us be patient, when patience is needed, show empathy when empathy is needed, and have a clear head, when decisions have to be made.

It means taking the time to reflect on yourself and your day. What are you proud of? What would you like to do better? Are there any changes you would like to make? If so, how will you make these changes happen? What steps can you take?

Practicing Self-care

Woman reading

What recharges us or allows us to let go of the day is different for everyone. Some prefer sweating and working it out, others prefer quiet and writing it down. It can also depend on your mood, the weather, or the people you are with. In summer, you may prefer walking in nature, in winter you may prefer sitting down with a glass of wine and a good book.

Do you know what helps you decompress after a stressful or demanding day? What can you do on the spot to feel grounded or keep a clear head?

Here are some ideas in case you need a little reminder or quick start:

  • Take 10 deep breaths
  • Leave the room for a moment
  • Close your eyes and feel what’s going on in your body
  • Walk around the block
  • Get a cup of coffee or tea
  • Practice your favorite sport
  • Play with your children
  • Listen to music
  • Meditate or pray
  • Go for a walk at the beach, in the woods, in the fields, in your town
  • Have a glass of wine and reflect on your day
  • Read a book or listen to one
  • Light a candle and write in your journal
  • Do a craft (sewing, quilting, crocheting, coloring, painting,…)
  • Work in your yard
  • Sit and allow the day to pass by in front of your inner eye
  • Take a hot bath or shower
  • Prepare a meal and eat with your family or friends

There are so many things you can do; be creative and give yourself the gift of time to find out. What helps you to feel grounded? What helps you to decompress? And then, most importantly, do it. You will be a happier mom, spouse, parent, you name it, for it.  

I can’t wait to hear from you. Until next time,
Regine

The Myth of Multitasking

Posted on by Regine Albrecht

Want to get more done? Stop Multitasking. Want to do better work? Stop Multitasking.

Person texting while driving - dangers of multitasking
Mutitasking – Texting while driving
Photo by Roman Pohorecki from Pexels

Do you struggle with too many tasks and projects and don’t know how on earth you’ll ever get everything done? My advice: Stop multitasking!

Except for routine tasks, we humans are not capable of it, at least the overwhelming majority of us. In fact, multitasking is a misnomer. The word suggests that we do two tasks at the same time, when in fact our brain switches back and forth between two tasks. We just don’t notice it because it happens so darn fast.

You could argue that it doesn’t matter as long as you get your work done. But that is exactly where multitasking or the perception of multitasking turns into a problem. Our brain only has a limited capacity for processing data. The more complex a task, the more data needs to get processed, the more difficult it is for the brain to switch, the more time it takes.

If you imagine your brain as a multi-laned highway, all lanes are occupied with data that is needed to tackle the one task at hand, let’s say writing an email. If you add a second task, for example answering the phone, you split the data highway into two. Some lanes are occupied with data to write the email, but some lanes are now used to speak on the phone. Your attention is divided, your brain switches back and forth between the two tasks, and that has consequences.

The obvious result is that you may lose track of what the caller is saying because your brain was more engaged with the email. You may find that you made mistakes in your email because …. you get the idea.

Multitasking for most of us is only an illusion that impacts our performance, quality of work, and quite often also the quality of our lives. Instead of getting done more our brain is forced to switch back and forth between the two tasks, which essentially slows us down. An article of the American Psychological Association describes several experiments on task-switching. The goal was to determine the cost in time for switching tasks, and to assess how complexity or familiarity of tasks would impact the time of switching and productivity.

“Although switch costs may be relatively small, sometimes just a few tenths of a second per switch, they can add up to large amounts when people switch repeatedly back and forth between tasks.”

What is even more important is the fact that […] “multitasking may seem efficient on the surface but may actually take more time in the end and involve more error” and it can cause mental blocks that […] “cost as much as 40 percent of someone’s productive time.”

In short, the mind and brain are not designed for heavy-duty multitasking because it negatively impacts our mental processing ability.

Remember those moments when you were immersed in your work, the phone rang, you picked up and… the great idea that you just had disappeared? You may not even have started talking, but by switching from one task to another, you lost it. And starting where you left off usually takes some time. You need to connect the dots again in order to continue.

What could this mean for you and your work? If you have something simple to do like putting dishes into the dishwasher, loading your washing machine, and at the same time talking with a friend on the phone – keep on doing it. I don’t think it will either impact your conversation nor the outcome of the laundry or dishes. But if you are working on something complex like writing a blog, doing some research, or writing a proposal, you may want to reconsider. Focusing on one task and finishing it not only gets stuff off your To-Do-list, but it also gives you a feeling of accomplishment.

Especially if you feel overwhelmed with the amount of work you have to do, take some time to plan. Write down what you have to do and then decide when you will do it. I know, it may sound more like additional work instead of helping you to get stuff off of your To-Do-list. But the benefit of this exercise is that you can use quiet and undisturbed time for the really heavy-lifting and do the easy stuff when you have to expect or deal with distractions.

Give it a try. For the next couple of days focus on one task at a time. Pick a time that will allow you to concentrate 100 percent on it. How does it make you feel? Did you get the task done quicker? Did you enjoy this uninterrupted focus time? How did it feel getting it completely done? Something like this?

Two women jumping with joy
Photo by Jill Wellington from Pexels

I can’t wait to hear from you. Until next time,
Regine

F.A.I.L. – E.N.D. – N.O.

Posted on by Regine Albrecht

As solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, small business owners, or…, we have to accept the fact that not all we do will go as planned and be successful. Especially if it is our first attempt in entrepreneurship or running a business. We navigate uncharted territory and it is more than likely that we will make mistakes, fail, get a “no” to a proposal. Everybody will agree with this statement. It only turns into a problem when it happens. Mistakes happen to others, not to us. Wouldn’t that be nice. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works. In fact, I know it is crucial that we make mistakes, fail once in a while, hear a “no” to our brilliant idea or proposal. What’s even more important is how we deal with these situations.  

I’m definitely not a master in always seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I need time to digest what has happened, turn it around in my head until I find the silver lining. Throwing a pity-party is so much easier. Blaming the world for what went wrong. I can do that too and admit I have done it in the past. The sad part about it is, it doesn’t change a thing. It doesn’t make the situation any better or go away quicker. Quite the opposite is the case.

It’s far better to get back on your feet, dust yourself off, and think about what to do to get out of this pickle, fix the problem. Think of the very next step you can take. It’s the best medicine you can take.

Yes, you do want to take a moment and figure out what went wrong and why it went wrong. This way you learn and won’t repeat the mistake. I know, it’s never fun digging through a mess or unpleasant situation. Allow me to be blunt, it sucks, but it’s soooo important. Think of it as growing pains, business growing pains. When you come out on the other side you’ve trained one of the most valuable and important character muscles: resilience. By the way, it’s also extremely useful outside of the business world.

This is why I find the three “acronyms” FAIL – END – NO so inspiring.

Acronyms by Dr. A.P.J. Kalam, past President of India

I hope you’ll find the meaning also encouraging and inspiring. Don’t let a roadblock stop you. Think of a way how to either circumvent or get over it.

In case you had a less than brilliant day and need a little pep talk, keep the meaning of these three words in your heart. If you know someone who could use a little encouragement, share them. They reminded me more than once that giving up is not an option.

See you in two weeks,
Regine