5 Tips for the Busiest Babes
Written by Hannah Lozano + Edited by Chelsea DuDeVoire
Being a woman is hard.
Add in being a student, a wife, a mother, a businesswoman, an entrepreneur - the list goes on. We wear so many hats on any given day, and spend so much time catering to other people’s needs that sometimes, we forget to cater to our own.
After graduating from college, I worked an unfulfilling entry-level job, followed by a year and a half of soul searching before settling into a job I'm comfortable with. Additionally, I'm in grad school, and if that's not enough, I'm also working on growing my photography business. Although I love all that I do, it didn't take very long for my current lifestyle to take a toll on my health - both physically and mentally. With so many responsibilities on my plate, I often became anxious, gained a lot of weight, and had trouble sleeping. In short, I wasn’t taking care of myself.
I reached the point where I had to sit down and reevaluate my priorities, and I highly suggest that anyone who is overwhelmed with their schedule should do the same. The following 5 simple tips are what helped me reset and get my health (and sanity) under control the most:
1. Create a schedule.
It sounds silly, but it helps so much. I use Google Calendar to schedule my entire week - it specifically helps to schedule in clients because I am able to see exactly the hours in which I am available on any given day. Having a visualization of all of my obligations makes my to-do list a lot more manageable. I also have notifications set to appear on my phone when it’s time to switch tasks.
2. Keep a planner.
I've learned overtime to write every little thing down. Yes, a lot of what’s written in my planner is also in my Google Calendar, but a planner provides additional space to jot things like homework assignments and grocery lists down. Finding a planner that fits your specific needs will also encourage you to keep up with it.
3. Find a fitness routine.
We all have that one physical activity that we hate the most. For me, it’s running. For a while, I hoped that the more I did it, the easier it would get. But after attempting to train for a 5K, I realized that it just wasn’t going to happen. Rather than quit exercise altogether out of frustration, I spent some time shopping around for something that worked for me. I tried a few different things before finally finding something that I don't dread, but actually look forward to. Regular exercise also helps to release endorphins, which works magic for anxiety levels.
4. Sleep.
Having our hands full can often leave us restless, and regardless of how busy we are, sleep should be our main priority. Without adequate (7+ hours) of sleep, our brain function (moods, metabolism, et cetera) go right out the window. If you’re having trouble falling asleep at night, I'd suggest a small dosage of melatonin: a natural hormone in our brains that helps promote healthy sleep without the habit-forming side effects of sleeping pills or other substances.
5. Give yourself a break.
Even the most organized woman still needs to wind down and have fun. The possibility of burnout is so much higher if every waking hour of every day is filled with work. Weekends exist for a reason, and while I am guilty of filling my weekends with side projects, I try to give myself a few full days off each month to stay socially connected.
Trust me when I say that I realize these things are easier said than done. We get so caught up in being busy that sometimes we even brag about it and it becomes a competition.
After I took the steps to make these few positive adjustments to my daily life and stopped using my busy schedule as a boasting point, I found even my most stressful days to be enjoyable and empowering. And isn’t that what we’re all after? To feel successful, empowered, and strong?
Here’s a secret: you are all of those things already. It’s easy to forget this when your day revolves around others, but with a little self-care, we can all get back to being healthy, fun-loving, hard-working babes who do it all.