One of the great challenges of incorporating frequent self-care into our lives is work. As in, what we do to keep a roof over our heads, the bill collectors at bay, and set aside a bit of scratch for our third act. If you are fortunate, you earn your bread in a field where you feel valued and honored for the positive difference you make. Or perhaps your job is just that – a job. The cold, hard fact of the matter is that it takes money to live and, while money can’t buy true and lasting happiness, it can bring comfort, particularly if you ever had struggled to pay the bills and stretch the grocery budget (and most of us have).
Work is where we spend at least a third of our adult life, so you can be assured that we need to spend our time there thoughtfully. There are many delightful and wise ideas out there for ways you can become more mindful at work and what works for one Diva may or may not work for another. But I would encourage you to think about how you can bring some beauty and grace into your work life.
Over the years (and yes, it’s taken me years), I’ve built up some good work habits that help me keep work in its proper place. I am fortunate to have work I find satisfaction in but I occasionally fall victim to “tech creep” where I don’t hold good boundaries between “money work” and Real Work and it only takes a few days of that before I find myself getting moody and snappish.
In addition to setting and maintaining that boundary, I have a small collection of “fun books” at work to read with my lunch, which gets me out from mindlessly eating while answering “justonemore” email and that sort of thing. I now take my lunch to the conference room table, lay out a placemat and a napkin, use actual metal cutlery and put my lunch (even if it’s last night’s leftovers) on a plate. Yes, it means a few dishes to wash and I made that deal with myself. I also encourage you to take your lunch or other breaks outside. Walk around the block or drink your coffee while listening to birdsong in a small square of green. In your office, set a timer to remind you to push back from your desk and do a few stretches to unlock from hunching over a computer for hours. Bring in a few houseplants and take a moment when you arrive at the office to water them and turn them to be sure they’re getting enough light.
Now, all of this is good advice – it really is – but I’m not always so good about doing it. If you forget for long enough, the Universe will gently nudge you. And if you ignore that, well – the nudges get more insistent.
Today, for example, is “Tinker Day” at my alma mater. I know – nearly every school has some traditions that only make sense to the community of that school and Tinker Day is a doozy.
See, on this wondrous day (which is always in October after the first frost – it was LATE this year!), students are awakened by the ringing of the Chapel bells. Tinker Day begins with everyone trooping to the dining hall to eat delicious Krispy Kreme doughnuts, then going back to their rooms to put on their Tinker Day finery – the odder, the better. School colors of green and gold are prominently displayed, as are sturdy shoes for, once the President officially declares the day to be Tinker Day, the student body treks up the trail to the summit of Tinker Mountain, where the day is spent acting in skits and eating a picnic lunch of fried chicken and rich Tinker cake.
It’s magnificent. You went to bed thinking the next day was just another workday and you wake up to an unexpected holiday. And we’ve done this for 125 years. The university is financially stable, well-regarded, and has a fierce alumna network.
Is Tinker Day the only reason for that? Of course not.
But I guarantee it didn’t hurt any.
While I couldn’t quite manage to take the whole day off, in the spirit of Tinker Day, I took a good hard look at my “to do” list and — made some modifications to ensure that I got outside on an incredible brilliant fall day.
Seems like a wise choice to me.
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