It’s time for a self-care check in

We have a new moon. Well actually we are moving into an "eclipse season" with a super moon amongst many other moon-like changes and astrology happenings over the next few months. An eclipse season is a culmination of some energy changes, and for those who follow along with astrology know that this is possibly a time for taking inventory about how we have dealt with things.

So, it’s a perfect time to do a self-care check in. I know I’m ready for this. One of the biggest things I am doing that I think you will love as well is re-evaluating some repeated patterns that are not serving me anymore. I’ve identified three:

Email as a dominant feature of my daily work hours (and actually post) has crept back in and it is hindering me to do my deep thinking (especially required for writing and research). Action required: changing the value of email in my daily schedule. I’m moving back to honouring a calm inbox (where I check my email once in the AM and once in the PM). I’m also connecting into learnings from Cal Newport and the book A World Without Email...the case study presented about not having more than 40 minutes deep thinking time per day due to interruptions driven by email and constantly being in contact blew my mind. And scared me.
2. I am going to stop wearing others' emotional battles with themself that are then transferred across to me directly or indirectly. ACTION: My boundaries are being tested and I am aware of this. My empathetic ways often are overused. At the moment some baggage of others has been dumped on me, and well it’s weighing me down and it’s causing me some angst. I’m not liking it so much. So a refresh of what my boundaries are and how I'm consistently applying them is required - involving a reconnection to putting them into place including guiding those who are overstepping the boundary to know that they have done so. My boundary setting is both about helping me as it is for others. In this way I see boundaries as:
- Being about the person setting them
- Ways to demonstrate to others how to care for and love yourself
- As a way to bring others together and closer
- Essential and required for both us individually and for others
- A proactive action that helps us identify personal needs and our limits
- To be respected, guarded and nurtured.

On a side note: Boundaries are not a way to manipulate others, to make people feel wrong, an excuse to begin communicating now (that should be ongoing), a way to control others, nor should they stay the same (there are always adjustments and tweaks to be made, some big and some tiny).

3. Celebrate wins, no matter how small. ACTION: I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed. Pulled in a bit too many ways recently and have found myself just moving on to the next task with no pause, appreciation for completion of one, reflection on learnings and celebration of something achieved. And I’m talking about tasks here that may be considered small right up to large such as submitting a grant, editing a book, pitching a new pedagogical model to a group of leaders. Celebrations required.Celebration now being added into my everyday life and most definitely for the tasks I’ve been working on.

What about you?

What is your new moon inspired self-care check in going to look like?

What needs some tweaking?

What needs to be removed?

And how are you going to honour a pause for you as you do this?