Simple Practices to Inspire Superior Self Care for the "Suddenly Working From Home"

Finding your self “suddenly working from home” can cause a great deal of upheaval in your body, mind and spirit not just in the environment that has, up until now, been your safe haven from the world of work. It’s a whole new terrain and an opportunity to begin to become ever more self-responsible and self-reflective.

Along with your sudden shift in working circumstances, you may find yourself starting to awaken to a deeper meaning and purpose for your life and find yourself questioning some things that weren’t on the radar before.

Big questions like:

Why Am I Here? What is my purpose? What Are My Gifts?

How Can I Best Be of Service? How Can I Best Share My Gifts With The World?

Do you notice what’s missing from these big QUESTIONS?

What’s missing?

Often on the path of service, we forget THIS big question:

AM I taking care of MYSELF? ...And how DO I BEST take care of myself, so I can be all I am here to be?

After all, there’s no serving, no sharing, and no fulfilled purpose, if there’s no YOU left.

There are steps though that you can take now to set yourself up for superior self-care as you begin to settle in to the creation of a “new normal” for yourself, your family and your contribution to your work whether it’s with a company or starting out as an entrepreneur. Here are a few useful practices you can initiate to start your self care journey:

Practice #1 - Consistently Create Space/Time to Commit To Your Self Care

This is probably the EASIEST - as well as the HARDEST practice of all. You are encouraged to do your very best to not only set aside specific, regular, significant segments of space/time during each day for yourself but to also HONOR your own agreement with yourself to show up - each day - for yourself. You do not have to DO anything at all. Just set up that consistent, regular, significant segment of space/time - at least 10 minutes 3 times a day - morning, noon and night where you stop the world - check in and focus, concentrate and commit to noticing yourself - getting in touch with where you are at and allow yourself to just be. No need to make decisions, no need to exercise, no need to pay attention to ANYTHING at ALL - other than YOU. It is helpful for you to have a “sacred space” where you can go during this time - it can be a spot out in nature which is ideal - or perhaps you can set up a corner of a room (or even better a WHOLE room) which is dedicated to contemplative pursuits. You can create an altar if you wish or decorate the space with soothing colors, fabrics and sacred or meaningful objects of beauty that inspire and delight or relax and bring you quiet enjoyment.

Practice #2 - Rest

Lets face it if you don’t get adequate rest you are going to be a “grumpy Gus” and if the situation is prolonged serious consequences to your physical health can manifest. Our mental body also needs rest in order to be clear, concise and effective. Rest is more than just sleep - we all need time off - from work - from family responsibilities - from our nearest and dearest relationships to get recharged and to commune with our own Soul. Getting adequate rest as a DAILY practice is what is intended here. Every day - sleeping the right amount of time for YOUR body - is it 7, 8, 10, or 12 hours? You are invited to tune in to the natural rhythms and cycles of your own body and of nature.

Practice #3 - Journal

One of the most powerful ways of expressing what’s going on in the inner world is through the daily practice of writing in a journal. Your journal is a sacred space to capture thoughts, ideas and inspiration AND it can also be a safe place for you to literally pour out your heart. If you are in pain, struggling, challenged, frightened, upset, in turmoil, caught in a drama or trauma, or otherwise stressed in some way - the journal journey lets you get it OUT of you and onto some concrete place where you can then reflect on the turmoil and perhaps discover a way out. Try to keep two journals - one for your “junk” and one for your blessings/gratitudes. The beauty of having two separate journals is that when you are through the storm - if you like - you can BURN your junk journal - letting go - back to Source - all the pent up energy, frustration and emotions that you poured out onto the page. This is an incredibly freeing practice. If you only keep one journal then you end up with the good and the bad and the ugly all mixed in together. The blessings/gratitude journal is your place to go for INSPIRATION and upliftment when you are having one of those days - it’s like your own personal booster rocket to lifting your frequency if you can go back over all the blessings that you have received and all the experiences, people and belongings that you are grateful for. You don’t have to write much - but try to write some every day in at least one of the journals. With two you may find that you move back and forth between them - you may have several days in a row of just YUCK stuff that needs to be released and then lo and behold the light dawns again and you are back to your blessed place.

Practice #4 - Visualize & Create Statements of Values, Power and Intention

This is a practice of leadership, and power. If you get lost in details, feel overwhelmed, fearful, or angry... if you forget who you are and why you’re here... if you lose focus, feel unclear, or get exhausted... you can use this practice to help reel you in, re-center and re-align you with your heart, your purpose, your resources, and all the blessings you’re here to radiate into the world, and receive from the world. In this practice, you reveal for yourself a mythic map--a map of the terrain of your journey through life, of your Soul’s quest--and one that specifically has on it the location of your greatest love, power and wisdom, which is ALL our destinations if we’re on a spiritual quest! No sense looking at a map that doesn’t have your destination on it! This practice helps put that destination on the map, and give us easy cues we can use to remember and reorient to our sacred destination (which is, of course, available to us every moment!).

So... notice where you are in your life. What’s happening for you. After all, a map with the destination but no “you are here” won’t be much help either. Notice what’s happening for you, and look to where you feel weakness, unclarity, or otherwise lost. Now notice where you want to be and how you want to be in the world. This is your vision, intention, guiding light. Now to help you bridge that journey swiftly, get yourself a simple mythic action/reminder to keep you on track. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and find for yourself an I AM statement, an image that holds the energy of your destination, and a body movement that helps you ground this in the physical. An example statement of power would be “I AM practicing Superior Self Care” and a body movement to go along with this might be standing with feet hip width apart and arms up and out in a V shape like a victory stance.

Remember when you care for yourself - you are filling the well that will allow you to bring your blessing to the world in the most powerful way possible. Commit to these practices on a daily basis and let me know what emerges for you!

Anjel B Hartwell is an internationally known speaker, mentor and Top 50 ranked Podcast Host of the Men On Purpose Podcast & the Top 75 Ranked Wickedly Smart Women Podcast. She quit the corner office and has been a “Work From Home” entrepreneur for almost 20 years. She cashes in from her couch primarily using Virtual Speaking to spread her message, make money & mentor her clients worldwide who have collectively generated in excess of $55,000,000 in revenues.

Discover your Speaker MAGIC Archetype and apply to get a free download of her new book, the #1 New Release in 3 Categories on Amazon, Be Heard By Millions & Live Your Destiny – A Creative Age Leader’s Guide to Speak, Sell, Serve & Succeed by taking her new quiz at quiz.beheardbymillions.com