Latest / Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing / #143| Why You NEED to Practice Self-Care and Self-Compassion to Beat Overwhelm and Increase Productivity
Transcript
- 0:00Michelle Gauthier: Take a second to celebrate if it's three things, or if it's 18 things.
- 0:04Michelle Gauthier: Celebrate the things that you are doing.
- 0:06Michelle Gauthier: Well, you're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less.
- 0:19Michelle Gauthier: I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former Overwhelmed Working Woman and current life coach.
- 0:24Michelle Gauthier: On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's working woman experiences, and in each episode you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease and relaxation to your life.
- 0:35Michelle Gauthier: Hi, friend, thanks for joining today.
- 0:40Michelle Gauthier: A lot of the women who I work with as clients say that they want to improve the way that they're talking to themselves, the way that they self-care, and then you're going to choose one small supportive step to take in the direction of better self-care or self-compassion, depending on which one you personally need more.
- 1:14Michelle Gauthier: A couple reminders before we jump in to start talking about self-care.
- 1:19Michelle Gauthier: One is that, in order to not feel overwhelmed, you have to take time to take care of yourself.
- 1:25Michelle Gauthier: So, as I go through this inventory with you, remember that this is for awareness, not judgment.
- 1:30Michelle Gauthier: So if I'm asking you, across 21 different areas of your life, where are you taking good care of yourself?
- 1:37Michelle Gauthier: And you're doing that on three of them.
- 1:39Michelle Gauthier: Three is better than zero, so try not to use this as further judgment of yourself, but just to assess where you are today.
- 1:48Michelle Gauthier: One note about this lesson, too, is that this exercise is taken directly from the Good Life Group coaching program.
- 1:54Michelle Gauthier: The registration for that is open until tomorrow.
- 1:59Michelle Gauthier: So if you're listening to this on Thursday, it's open until Friday at 1159 pm.
- 2:03Michelle Gauthier: If you've been thinking about joining and you listen to this podcast and you're really interested in this topic, this is part of one of the 12 lessons that we learn in group coaching.
- 2:14Michelle Gauthier: It will just give you a feel for the types of things that we talk about in there.
- 2:17Michelle Gauthier: If you feel inspired, you can sign up, or you can DM me to ask questions or schedule a 15-minute chat.
- 2:24Michelle Gauthier: Okay.
- 2:30Michelle Gauthier: So let's jump into the self-care assessment.
- 2:31Michelle Gauthier: We're going to look at self-care and self-compassion across different areas of your life and, as I'm saying the thing, if you're consistently or even sometimes doing it, I want you to just count it Okay.
- 2:38Michelle Gauthier: So if I say, do you eat healthy foods regularly?
- 2:40Michelle Gauthier: And you do give yourself a one.
- 2:42Michelle Gauthier: If you don't, okay, nothing for that one.
- 2:44Michelle Gauthier: So just keep track, as I'm talking, of what number you get up to and notice which one really sticks out to you, as I'm not doing that, but I really wish I was.
- 2:53Michelle Gauthier: Okay, here we go.
- 2:56Michelle Gauthier: First is physical self-care.
- 2:57Michelle Gauthier: So do you eat healthy foods regularly?
- 3:03Michelle Gauthier: Do you exercise regularly?
- 3:03Michelle Gauthier: Do you wear clothes that make you feel good about yourself?
- 3:05Michelle Gauthier: Do you go to preventative appointments like the doctor, the dentist, the dermatologist and I don't mean for your kids, right, we're always doing the ones for our kids, but do you do those for yourself?
- 3:15Michelle Gauthier: And do you get enough sleep most nights?
- 3:19Michelle Gauthier: Next is emotional self-care.
- 3:21Michelle Gauthier: Do you regularly take time off from work?
- 3:24Michelle Gauthier: So do you take vacation days or do you take breaks throughout your work day?
- 3:29Michelle Gauthier: Do you have hobbies you participate in, even occasionally?
- 3:32Michelle Gauthier: It doesn't have to be something that you do all the time.
- 3:34Michelle Gauthier: A hobby can be a small thing.
- 3:36Michelle Gauthier: I like to keep a little set of colored pencils and paper in my coffee table, and when I'm sitting there watching TV, sometimes I'll draw, and I consider that to be a hobby.
- 3:45Michelle Gauthier: So this doesn't have to be like a bowling league that you go to twice a week or something.
- 3:50Michelle Gauthier: Are you able to express your emotions in a healthy way.
- 3:53Michelle Gauthier: Do you make time for things that bring you comfort?
- 3:57Michelle Gauthier: And then spiritual self-care Do you spend time in nature?
- 4:02Michelle Gauthier: Do you meditate or pray or practice calming rituals, whatever it is that helps you calm down and feel connected to something bigger than yourself?
- 4:11Michelle Gauthier: Do you set aside time for thought and reflection, like journaling or even driving, without anything playing and just being with the silence and noticing your own thoughts?
- 4:22Michelle Gauthier: Do you participate in causes that are important to you?
- 4:26Michelle Gauthier: Do you feel gratitude for the good things in your life?
- 4:30Michelle Gauthier: This doesn't mean that you have to have like a gratitude practice and you're writing it down every day but in general, do you think about how lucky you are and what things are going well for you?
- 4:41Michelle Gauthier: And then the final area is relationship-based self-care.
- 4:44Michelle Gauthier: So do you spend time with the people you love?
- 4:46Michelle Gauthier: Are you able to say no and hold your boundaries in places where you want to say no and where you have a boundary?
- 4:53Michelle Gauthier: Are you able to ask for help when you need it?
- 4:57Michelle Gauthier: Do you make time for social activities that you enjoy?
- 5:01Michelle Gauthier: Do you honor your preferences for alone time?
- 5:04Michelle Gauthier: So some people like and want a lot of alone time and some people don't need that much, but do you honor whatever your preferences are, and then do you honor your preferences for together time?
- 5:15Michelle Gauthier: So that is all of the areas that I'm going to ask you about.
- 5:20Michelle Gauthier: So if you were keeping track along the way, just note what your score is.
- 5:24Michelle Gauthier: Those are the areas where you are doing well right now in self-care, self-compassion, and remember, it's just data.
- 5:32Michelle Gauthier: So, whether it's a 3 or a 21, I would love to know if anyone has a 21.
- 5:37Michelle Gauthier: If so, you are definitely killing it.
- 5:38Michelle Gauthier: My score is pretty high because I've worked really hard on it, but I am definitely not a straight 21 on that for sure.
- 5:44Michelle Gauthier: So take a second to celebrate If it's three things, or if it's 18 things.
- 5:50Michelle Gauthier: Celebrate the things that you are doing well, because every single one of those counts and contributes to how good you feel about yourself and how much good care you take of yourself.
- 6:00Michelle Gauthier: Then the next thing I want you to do is think of one area that stood out to you as something that you want more of.
- 6:06Michelle Gauthier: So, for example, in my last group coaching, I had someone who realized she wanted to eat healthier.
- 6:12Michelle Gauthier: I had somebody else who wanted to spend more time in nature.
- 6:15Michelle Gauthier: I had someone else who really wanted to do more creative activities, and then I had someone else who was really working on a relationship.
- 6:21Michelle Gauthier: So just choose whatever area stood out to you as I don't do that, but I actually wish I did you can only pick one of them and then focus on within that one really small step.
- 6:34Michelle Gauthier: So, for example, if you have a desire to start exercising, a small step is not research gyms, find one and start working out five days a week.
- 6:44Michelle Gauthier: It's text a friend who I know works out and ask her about her gym.
- 6:49Michelle Gauthier: If you feel like you're, if you're really behind on all of your appointments and checkups and dentists and doctors, instead of saying I'm going to call and make all of them and get them all done within the next month, just jot down a list of what needs to be scheduled and then maybe put it on your schedule to make those calls.
- 7:05Michelle Gauthier: If you're desiring more connection, if you're lacking in that relationship area and you want more connection, text someone you miss and just tell them you miss them and suggest that you grab coffee together or whatever works for your schedule.
- 7:18Michelle Gauthier: So remember this isn't a leap from getting a three on this assessment to a 21.
- 7:24Michelle Gauthier: This is just one little step forward on just one of those things.
- 7:30Michelle Gauthier: The reason why I'm always encouraging you to take a small step is because if a step feels too big, we as humans are just not going to do it.
- 7:39Michelle Gauthier: It puts us into overwhelm, we tell ourselves all the reasons why it can't work or it won't work, and then we just don't do it at all.
- 7:46Michelle Gauthier: So one tiny step in the right direction is the way to go when you're trying to create a new habit or change something about yourself.
- 7:54Michelle Gauthier: Today, you took that self-care assessment.
- 7:57Michelle Gauthier: You identified the area that you'd like to improve and you chose your one small step.
- 8:01Michelle Gauthier: My challenge to you is between now and Monday, which is when the next podcast comes out, take that next step and pat yourself on the back for the progress.
- 8:11Michelle Gauthier: This lesson is from the actual Good Life Workbook that we use in group coaching.
- 8:15Michelle Gauthier: It is part of one of 12 lessons that you will learn in the group, and each week we learn a new tool that will help you create a calm and intentional life where you feel much more present.
- 8:28Michelle Gauthier: So if this lesson resonated and group coaching sounds interesting to you, come and join us.
- 8:34Michelle Gauthier: I'd absolutely love to have you.
- 8:35Michelle Gauthier: There's a link in the show notes for you to sign up for group coaching and there's also a link for you to set up a 15 minute session with me If you think it sounds interesting.
- 8:44Michelle Gauthier: But I have some questions.
- 8:46Michelle Gauthier: I'd love to answer your questions for you.
- 8:47Michelle Gauthier: Have a great week.
- 8:49Michelle Gauthier: Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast.
- 8:56Michelle Gauthier: If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthier.
- 9:00Michelle Gauthier: com.
- 9:02Michelle Gauthier: See you next week.