#WFH Series: Balancing Self Care and Productivity as a Content Creator
The Self-Employed Life
Since quitting my full-time corporate job, I’ve made the happy discovery that I definitely prefer the freelance life over working in a corporate environment. Don’t get me wrong— I loved working with a team, bonding with coworkers, and learning new skills within my corporate jobs. However, in the process of becoming a full time content creator, I’ve had the amazing freedom to create a brand new routine based entirely on my values, principles, goals, and intentions. After working full-time for the past six years, it felt amazing to take charge of my schedule and create one that was suited for one person— myself.
In fact, after some self-reflection, I realized that this was the first time I have ever had this opportunity. As a child, my routine was created by my parents; as I grew older, it was deeply influenced by school, part-time jobs, and then my full-time jobs. Additionally, I won’t deny that I had quite the social life prior to the pandemic— my weeks were often filled up with gatherings and hangouts with friends, family, and coworkers.
Now that the pandemic has forced many of us to work from home and isolate from our social circles, I’ve been given the opportunity re-evaluate my life and refocus on my purpose. In this very unique space within my life, I am blessed to have few obligations other than my family members, closest friends, freelance projects, and exploring my creative interests. (Since family and friendship are especially high on my priority list during the pandemic, you can bet that I allot an ample amount of time towards those areas.)
Now what is the purpose of this post you may ask? Well, my intention is to share how I’ve been spending my time over the last few months and the most important lessons I’ve learned so far concerning productivity and self-care. Specifically, how I’ve been balancing certain societal pressures with the necessity of self-care during these troubling times.
January: Resetting My Life
When I first woke up on the first morning of January 2021, I still couldn’t believe that I didn’t have to log into my company laptop and start my usual day as a client support administrator at a wealth management firm. During 2020, I had been doing my best to follow a consistent and healthy routine. However, I’ll admit that I feel off the wagon all too often— especially when it came to snacking and sleeping late.
Sleep
At the beginning of the year, I was able to dismiss the weekday obligations of a job and start a new routine from scratch. This meant sleeping on time, getting 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep, and starting my day in a healthy manner. Specifically, I made efforts to sleep at 10:30 pm (latest 11:00 pm) and wake up at 7:00 am.
This shouldn’t have been that difficult as, prior to the pandemic lockdown, I used to wake up anywhere between 6:00 am to 6:30 am in order to commute to the office. However, I had gotten used to rolling out of my bed right before work began at 8:00 am or even 8:30 am during 2020 (a pretty obvious sign that I did NOT love my job). As a result, getting to bed on time hasn’t been nearly as easy as I would have hoped!
Morning Routine
Other than getting quality sleep, I also began enforcing a consistent morning routine in order to jumpstart my day. Usually, this means going through my daytime skincare routine, drinking warm lemon water, prayer and devotions, and walking my dog. Following that, I would get my work day started.
Healthy Habits
As well, I put a bigger emphasis on cooking a homemade meal at least 2-3 times a week, working out 5 times a week, and drinking 3-4 litres of water a day. Last but not least, I tried to set boundaries for my social media usage by limiting my time spent on Instagram and other platforms after a certain point in the evening.
A Growth Mindset
In terms of self-growth, I also began listening to different podcasts regularly during my midday walks and reading books from various BIPOC authors. While I always enjoyed school, I’ve found that you have to make serious efforts to keep educating yourself once you leave the doors of academia. As well, I began using my Hemlock and Oak planner to be both organized and self-reflect on my core values and ongoing goals.
By the end of January, I’m happy to report that I was already quite successful with setting up these healthy habits!
February: Hitting The Big 3-0
February was a very interesting and introspective month for me as I was entering a new decade of my life. In the past, I always imagined myself celebrating my thirtieth birthday somewhere tropical and luxurious (or, at the very least, Vegas). However, I was faced with the bland reality that I would be spending my special day isolated from most of my friends and family.
Happily, I believe in practicing gratitude at the start of every day (and throughout the day as well). As a result, I wasn’t too upset about not having a big birthday bash when I had so many other blessings for which to be thankful— such as my health, a cozy home, a loving husband, a cute dog, and delicious food to eat.
Other than my birthday celebrations, I was feeling quite happy with the direction my life was taking. As a full time content creator, I am now able to focus on creating meaningful content that hopefully will make an impact on others. While I still enjoy working with larger corporations as they provide more financial stability, I am passionate about working with small businesses— particularly if they are Canadian, female-owned, sustainable, and ethical.
In other words, I’m so grateful that my work is now almost fully aligned with my values and principles. In previous jobs, I would often question whether my work was meaningful and working on my tasks was an unsatisfying experience. Nowadays, I feel more fulfilled when I’m creating content and sharing wonderful brands or issues of significance with my audience.
March: A Major Focus on Self-Care
At the end of February, I was forced to deeply reevaluate my lifestyle once again after a close family member suffered from a serious mental health crisis. Following this, I was motivated to learn more about mental health illnesses such as anxiety and depression (which affect so many friends and family I know). As well, I began educating myself about how I could support these loved ones in a more effective manner. While I’m still learning, I feel positive that much healing progress has been made already.
Consequently, I became even more focused on practicing self care and maintaining a consistent, healthy routine. For instance, I’ve begun practicing yoga, meditation, and painting. Additionally, I try to go for a long run with one of my best friends at least once a week, as well as walk regularly with close friends and family members whenever possible.
Last but certainly not least, I began to place a greater emphasis on my spiritual health. As a Christian, this means starting every day with a prayer, praying regularly with my husband and family, and meditating daily on a Bible devotional. In these times of great uncertainty, I choose to place my faith in God and trust that He has everything under his control. Consequently, this faith has allowed me to have peace and even joy during very difficult periods in my life.
Top Lessons For Self Care
While I still have much to learn, the following practices have greatly increased my overall contentment and helped me to preserve my physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Always take a break and listen to your body.
While I’m happy to say that most of my days are quite productive, there are days when I need to slow down and rest. For instance, when Daylight Savings hit on March 14th, I did myself no favours by sleeping extremely late— which, of course, was compounded by the time change. The next day, I was so sleep-deprived that I was unable to do almost all of the tasks I had assigned myself to do.
As well, I’ve realized that even on weekends I often don’t allow myself to rest. Instead, I let myself feel bothered by the many outstanding tasks on my to-do list and try to get as much done as possible.
The bottom line: we set unrealistic expectations on ourselves and force ourselves to work hard— even if our bodies are begging us for a well needed break. As a result, it is sometimes necessary to set strict boundaries for yourself. For instance, I limit my time on social media on Sunday and try to prioritize self care over anything work-related.
2. A good routine is key. Also, Behavioural Activation works!
Over the past few months, I’ve woken up many times feeling like I didn’t want to tackle anything on my to-do list. However, I’ve found that if I drag myself out of bed and slowly move through my morning routine, I start feeling increasingly better. On some very tough days when I was dealing with traumatic events, I found that the simple acts of brewing my morning lemon water, walking my dog Momo, and saying a quick prayer of gratitude did wonders in helping me to feel more functional.
A friend identified this phenomenon as Behavioural Activation— a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) skill that is based on the notion that our behaviour often greatly influences our mood. By activating certain positive behaviours (exercising or finishing a chore), we change our brain state in a way that can make us feel better immediately.
For instance, I always feel better after finishing small tasks like making my bed, finishing my skincare routine, and throwing out the garbage. In the act of completing smaller tasks, you can also build up the confidence to eventually tackle the bigger, more daunting tasks!
3. Practice gratitude every day.
By acknowledging the many blessings I enjoy on a daily basis, it becomes harder to get caught up in the toxic comparison game that often drains the joy out of our lives. When I reaffirm that I am very blessed to have a cozy home, loving family, and wonderful friendships, I rarely feel upset when I scroll through social media and see peers enjoying larger homes, fancier cars, or other luxuries.
As well, since I shifted to a more conscious lifestyle, I feel like I have been released from rat race of consumerism (at least for the most part). Rather than feeling the constant need to buy a huge haul of unnecessary items, I now carefully consider any new purchases in terms of whether I truly need them. Nowadays, everything I purchase must be used intentionally and hopefully for years to come (not just for a few photos).
4. It’s okay to be selfish (when you need it).
There are days when you will need to protect your mental health by distancing yourself from others and focusing on your own needs. When I feel overwhelmed with stressful life events, I make sure to take care of myself before I take care of others. For instance, I’ll go for a long walk or run, take a relaxing bath, or go somewhere peaceful to read a good book.
As the saying goes: “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” In other words, you can’t properly take care of others if you aren’t caring for your own physical or mental health!
5. Regular Check-Ins with Yourself and Others
Sometimes, you trick yourself (and everyone else around you) into thinking you’re okay when, in fact, you are actually bottling up your emotions. If you are not finding healthy ways to express yourself, your contained feelings will inevitably lead to an explosion of suppressed emotions down the road.
To prevent such occurrences, I would recommend journalling or having an accountability partner. Personally, I have some very close friends with whom I regularly share pretty much everything— my fears, anxieties, hopes, and dreams. These individuals keep me accountable by ensuring that I am caring for myself and frequently give me wonderful advice on how to handle difficult situations.
A Season of Rebirth: What’s Next For Me
Now that it’s officially spring, I can already feel my spirits rising at the thought of brighter and warmer days. I plan to spend as much of my time as I can outdoors for my favourite forms of self-care: running, hiking, walking, and sunset picnics. As many of you would agree, it’s so much easier to start the day earlier (and with a positive attitude) when it’s bright and sunny.
As well, I’ve begun to make tentative plans for local getaways with friends and family. It’s hard to believe that the last time I went away on vacation was a short Whistler weekend back in September. The thought of going somewhere, even just to Vancouver Island, makes me excited— I I cannot wait until international travel is safe again and I can begin crossing off my travel wish-list once again!
Other than the above, I plan to return to school once again in the fall for BCIT’s Social Media and Digital Marketing program. While I really enjoyed the few Project Management courses I had taken previously (I got A+s in all of them), I believe that these courses will serve me better in my current field of employment.
Anyways, if you managed to get the bottom of this post, thank you very kindly for taking the time to read this very personal post (which I know is a departure from my usual influencer tips). If you are dealing with any mental health issues, please free to shoot me a DM! My messages are always open if you need someone to listen. Just know you are not alone in this struggle!
