I have been so focused on thinking and writing about The City at Eye Level that I forgot to write a self-care post. This basically summarizes how much I focus on taking care of myself. As my dates and employees frequently tell me, I need to have a better work-life balance. I have found it tough to prioritize work-life balance when I am passionate about my work and volunteering when I am not at work. Yes, I need to get better at saying “no” when asked to volunteer. I feel the need to volunteer because I am concerned that no one else will step up to volunteer. Hopefully, the below self-care book’s daily practices and inspiration will help me set a healthy balance between helping other people and taking care of myself.
Can I get in a habit of using this self-care book enough to create a healthier work-life balance?
I decided to start reading the book in advance of January 1st. In case anyone else gives me a gift that starts on January 1st but says that people can start at any time during the year, please encourage me to not wait until January 1st to use the gift. Brandie mailed me the book last February when I was experiencing a mental health breakdown, but I felt weird about not starting the book from the beginning. As page 1 from the book wisely suggests, I am not seeking to share a stereotypical quantifiable New Year’s resolution. Due to the high percentage of resolutions that fail, I think quantifying and placing the pressure of a deadline are big mistakes that many people make with their New Year’s resolution. Instead, I am seeking to focus on a long-term journey of healthy living. While it can be tough to trust in this process when the results likely will not make a fast and big splash. I have to trust that the small ripple effect of self-care will eventually show itself in measurable ways as well, but without the guilt or pressure of deadlines.
As a planner who is focused on creating key performance indicators (KPIs) with the pressure of deadlines, I expect to struggle with trusting a process that asks me to trust that the process will eventually help. While I do not want the public to get nervous about the following comparison, I believe my struggle to trust the self-care process is similar to the public’s struggle to believe that our planning efforts to create a safer transportation network will be successful. I am sharing this perspective as initial feedback that I have received even before the $800,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan process that I am managing publicly starts in 2024.
I think another big mistake that many people make when they try to do self-care practices is think that the self-care process is as simple and easy as checking a box. This reminds me of how some organizations think that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work just involves checking a box. I could write a whole post on my concerns about DEI work. I want to keep this post focused on how I will prioritize self-care in 2024. I am actually breaking Dr. Shaw’s “pressure of deadlines” advice by including 2024. As I am sure self-care experts likely know, improving self-care is a lifetime process. I am glad that I enjoy being a lifelong learner!
Future Blog Post
I am not sure how much I will share about my self-care process in future posts. I mostly wanted you to know that I am trying to improve my self-care practices so you can help to hold me accountable when I do not prioritize this in the future. While I was about to write that I wish that I had a wife to hold me accountable on a daily basis, I need to be able to hold myself accountable. I believe achieving this accountability will make me more attractive to future dates and show coworkers that I can achieve a healthier work-life balance. Since I know that I am not the only person struggling with prioritizing self-care, I want to wish everyone good luck with this as 2024 approaches!
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