Mindful Self-Care

Reading Time : 4 minutes

Day 23/30.

If you were wondering where I was for Day 21 and 22, fret not 😉, I didn’t give up on the challenge so close to the finish line. In fact, I did something crazy - I started a YouTube Channel and posted an amazing Grilled Cheese recipe and about a day in my life preparing for my summer internship. If you haven’t seen any of them yet, here is a link for my channel. You might find them interesting whether or not you are in tech / looking for an internship, so please check them out?

Today is Saturday, May 23 - I only have a week to go - that amazes me! When I started this challenge, I was super motivated but I did not think I had it in me to be consistent for 23 days straight. My content has not been the best content out there, I can do so much better and know that about myself, but it was a good point to get me started. It is a long weekend here in the United States and now that we are all trying to be socially distant, the charm that a long weekend had no longer exists. Every day is a part of an extremely long weekend, and we don’t know until when. Usually, we would start planning a few weeks in advance for the weekend, maybe a drive, maybe a small vacation somewhere close - now its a staycation all day everyday. 🙅🏻‍♀️ This made me question my last few weeks - I was so busy being “productive” and filling out to-do lists and trying to check things off those lists that I completely forgot to take care of myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love being productive as much as the next girl does, but I also like having my “day off” so I can unwind and relax, not stare at my laptop all morning trying to pump out content or finish an online course.

So of course, I decided to take the day off. I was trying to detox myself off Netflix the last few weeks, and was pretty successful. So today, I saw the new season of one of the trashiest shows ever - Selling Sunset. Judge me if you will, but it is my guilty pleasure - watching nonsensical shows I don’t have to use my mind for. If you have seen this show before, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t please go see the trailer - either you will end up binge watching the show while trash-talking every scene in every episode, or you will trash talk my choice - take your pick. I have also not read anything for pleasure - most of my reading has been composed of books teaching me something, whether a memoir or self-development non-fiction, or something about cancer (I am trying to educate myself on that topic, no biggie.) Today, I decided to start reading a book that has been on my TBR list for a while - Untamed by Glennon Doyle. I haven’t finished it but I will get back to it right after I finish this post. For the last few weeks, I have also been trying too maintain a healthy-ish lifestyle : I watch what I eat and exercise 4-5 times a week. Today, I decided to treat myself - cause why not? I ate my favorite chocolate, some Mango Mochi ice cream, sweet rice cakes with some home-made chocolate ganache 🤣 And I have spent all day in my couch, without a shower, not worrying about any deadlines or any to-do lists.

While you might not be interested in how I wasted my Saturday, this my friend, was a mindful self-care day for me. Self care looks different for different people, you might be someone who actually enjoys reading a book on finance or go for a long run and maybe even go for a hike. My intention is not to tell you how to spend your day. On the other hand, what I do want you to do is pause, take a minute and see if you need a self-care day. It is OK to need one, in fact, it is important every once in a while. Burnout is real my friends, especially now that the lines between work-life and life-life are so blurry. Tomorrow, I will come up with a list of things that I usually do to unwind and relax - we have had some stressful days talking about productivity and interviews. Let’s take it down a notch and spend some time caring for our minds and souls?

Happy Weekend!

Let me know in the comments below what you do to take care of yourself and I will include my favorites in the blog tomorrow!