WOMEN PLUS - Purabi Sarma
Women need to pamper themselves if they are to give their best.
Whether you are a full-time homemaker burdened with your daily household chores or a working woman stuck maintaining work-life balance, it’s tiring to be on one's toes all the time. All this time, you have been taking care of the house, family, children and work at the cost of your own well-being. But it’s time to take a pause. Steal a moment or two for a little self-love. Start living your life with a little twist in what you do every day. Being healthy is not only about exercise, but finding ways to keep both your mind and body in shape. There are several daily activities you can do to enhance your mind, body and soul. Here are a few of them which you can inculcate in your daily routine while doing all the chores, but with a positive and happy mood:
* Take care of yourself: Taking care of yourself is a simple but conscious effort. Do small things for your mental and physical wellbeing.
* Eat healthy: Go for some quick, yet healthy food. A nutty smoothie in the morning, some sprouts to munch on while doing the daily chores, and a cup of milk before you doze off at night. All this, in addition to your meals, will take care of your nutritional requirements.
“All this time, you have been taking care of the house, family, children and work at the cost of your well-being. But it’s time to take a pause. Steal a moment or two for a little self-love. Start living your life with a little twist in what you do every day. Being healthy is not only about exercise, but finding ways to keep both your mind and body in shape. There are several daily activities you can do to enhance your mind, body and soul.”
* Maintain healthy relationships: Don’t get too emotional about what others think about or expect from you. Take care of your responsibilities. But also focus on your peace of mind.
* Pamper yourself: Get a new haircut. Dress well. Shop for some bright floral fabrics or a combination of your favourite colours, rather than those dark, dull shades which are easy to maintain!
* Go for a walk: Stop spending all your time indoors. Take a walk for at least ten to 15 minutes. If you are working, take a walk on your way back home. It will make you lively and you will reap Nature’s positive effects.
* Listen to music: Begin and end your day by treating yourself to some tunes. Music is good for the soul and is known to reduce stress levels. It also enhances the ability to focus and results in happy, positive vibes. The best part here is you need not make time for it. You can enjoy it even while working; and if you feel like, you can also do some moves.
* Read: This very word summarises the activity. Get hold of some good books, and if you are not a bibliophile or not inclined to read those thick bulky ones, read anything that uplifts you. It may be some quotes, one liners, magazines or humour to lighten your mind. Short story and children's books are also good choices. Or, maybe something spiritual or religious. You can learn something new every day.
* Notice things in details: Little things are happening around you every second. You just need to slow down a bit and lend a moment to it. When was the last time you smelled the roses or heard the birds chirp? Have you noticed the tiny leaves sprouting in your planters, or the flower buds all set to bloom? If not, then give yourself a chance to appreciate these once in a while.
* Jumble up your daily routine: As a home manager, sticking to a daily routine is essential, as it helps in better time management. But in the process, we often feel stuck. So, the way out is to shuffle it up a little. Try to change the order of your daily chores in a way that it doesn’t affect the overall time requirement. It will make your brain think in a different way. And this is a kind of self-created challenge; hence, exciting too.
* Add some fun to your life: Once in a while, hang out with your girl gang without any regrets, chat your heart out with them, express your suppressed feelings to those who understand. The world around you won’t fall apart if you take a day or two off for yourself. Rather, it will improve your output.
* Relax: Ladies, please relax! Calm down. Have patience. All this time you have been running day and night, but life is not a race. Instead, it has to be lived, so take charge to make it happy and healthy. Get good sleep. If possible, practise ten to 15 minutes of meditation or breathing exercise. You will be energised.
The list of these activities is inexhaustible. Some may be difficult to implement, but they are not impossible. Do some of them, if not all, one at a time. You will definitely feel the change. After all, happiness is nothing but a delicate balance between ‘what I want and what I have.’ Treat yourself with some self-love and bring out the best in you.
