Is it a busy fall for you? Maybe you are a wee bit too busy? What are you doing that keeps you busy? What are you doing to fend off burnout and to take care of yourself?

Last weekend I and my husband went away with a friend to a spa resort for R&R. It was lovely!

Many of us turn to self-care when we are busy, but sometimes that is difficult, because it takes time and we are short on time. The attached photo from Positive Psychology can give you ideas to care for yourself when you are short on time. My favorites are

·      Making a coffee or tea

·      Doing a short breathing or scanning exercise

·      Setting a timer and reading from a good novel

·      Taking a walk (with my dog)

What are your favorites – either from the list or ones that are your “go tos”?

You can also use my PPF Model® to stay in the “happier” zone:

What does make you happier?

·      Meaningful work (this we can discuss at a later point)

·      Gratefulness, savoring and expectation of a positive future

·      Genes (50%) and intentional effort for positive attitude/actions (40%)

So, where do we focus, at least for now?  Let’s focus on what can be changed:  on efforts in the direction of gratefulness, savoring, and a positive hopeful future.

Gratefulness:  Ask yourself every evening this:  what am I thankful for now and for today?  I’m grateful for a warm house on a cold day, for my family being home and safe, for time to get out and move…

Savoring:  At every meal, take time to enjoy it and see what you can get out of it.  While baking bread, knitting those socks, reading that book, working in the garden take time to stop and enjoy the work that is being done and the progress you are making.  During your walk outdoors, take time to enjoy the sounds, smells, sights, the way the wind blows on your face.  Savor the purring of your cat and the smile of your dog.  Savor the voice of a friend online, or a spouse at home, and the laughter of children.  Savor it all.  Enjoy your moments, and maybe even write these and what you are grateful for in a COVID-19 journal- for later.

Anticipate a positive future:  What are you looking forward to?  For example, I am looking forward to my supervision exam in May, whether online, or not, I am looking forward to it, and to celebrating success.  I am also looking forward to some things in the summer and early fall, Lord willing they happen.  Finally, I am very much looking forward to an end to this time of isolation and seeing family and friends once again. 

Finally, maybe your would like to have some burnout questions:

Also, you can write me and then I will send you my burnout test- just to make sure. Here are the first two questions:

Do the burnout challenge!

What do you look like from the outside?

Thinking of your family life, social situation and mostly, your work life, consider the following statements. For each one assess where you perceive you are in relation to your working life. Assign to each answer a number from 1 to 5, where 1 is Disagree  & 5 is Agree Strongly 

When answering, please be honest with yourself!

Question

1 You tire easily. You feel fatigued rather than energetic.

2 People annoy you by telling you: ”You don’t look so good lately.”

Finally, here’s a great set of ideas from Positive Psychology: