Tips to Unwind and Recharge on a Busy Day

8:30pm finally hits. After taking care of ALL the things from work, kids, school, and practices, you’re beat. But don’t worry, you get to do it all over again tomorrow.

If we aren’t careful to take care of ourselves, this is the routine we can fall into. GO GO GO until we fall into bed and then crawl out of the covers to repeat it the next day. Something’s got to give. And when you’re making sure everyone else is taken care of, the thing that usually falls in last place, is you.

Back in December we talked about personal self-care is to every person. What might be life-giving to one person would be soul-sucking to another. Same thing with taking the time to unwind and recharge. In order to really settle your mind and allow yourself to take some moments just for you, you need to understand what fills you up in the first place.

The most polarizing example is when we’re talking introvert vs extrovert. While there’s definitely cross-over between the two and you can often find yourself with a foot in both camps, the easiest way to tell which side you more naturally fall into is to think about what you’d rather do after a long day. If you’re drained with nothing left, what sounds more appealing to you...sitting on the couch by yourself or maybe a friend or spouse watching a movie, or inviting several friends over for game night? Most people can easily tell which one they are by their reaction to that question. “Who would EVER want to invite people over after a long day? And I’m DEFINITELY not leaving the house.” or “If it was a long day, of course I want friends to come over! If I’m drained from work, I don’t want to be bored at home!”

Figuring this out is going to be crucial to finding ways to unwind and recharge. It tells you what activities would fill you back up and which ones would be terrible ideas. Each of the next ideas can be shifted a bit to make it work for you and exactly how you’re wired.

1. Brain dump