Add More to Your Day!

I had an epiphany the other day; I work so hard to make a living for my family, but what about working equally hard to make a life for myself?

At the end of most days, while I felt that I’d accomplished something in my professional life there was always the feeling that something important was missing.

For students and workers alike (and for those going back to school while working), the struggle is real. Finding time to nourish your soul while taking care of the “necessaries” can be difficult.

For me personally? Most days, it seemed all I had time to do was work. I felt depleted and started brainstorming ways I might enrich my life. Make time for other things that mattered. Prioritize.

I decided that each day I would do something to feed my:

• Soul
• Mind
• Relationships
• Health

Soul – for me, it’s as simple as reading a bible verse every night before bed. When my son joined the Army; they had small bibles for family members that had a sort of “cheat sheet” in the front. It’s an index to passages that might help you cope with whatever you are needing help with at the time. For example, some nights, when I feel overly thankful for the blessings in my life, I’ll look up passages on “gratitude”. Other times it may be “forgiveness”, “peace” or “love”. As I get into bed each evening, I think of a word to reflect what I’m feeling at that time and then I look up an appropriate verse or two.

Mind – I’m a reader. Throughout the day, I try to read articles pertaining to my career. At night, I make sure to read something just for me. It might be a human-interest story, it might be a piece of fiction. If it gets me thinking or feeling, I’m all in!

Relationships – texting makes it easy to stay in touch with those I love, and I make sure to reach out frequently. My family has been having fun with an app called Marco Polo – a video walkie talkie app that’s a fun way to stay in touch with individuals or groups of friends and family. And there is nothing like a phone call or meeting in person for a cup of coffee. Prioritizing these events is very important to me and I make sure to incorporate at least one thing into each day that will feed my relationships with others.

Health – this was the toughest one for me. I frequently say that there are never enough hours in the day. I have the benefit of being an early riser, and often use those early morning hours to work. Now, I take ½ hour of that time and walk a mile or two around my neighborhood. As Fall is upon us, the mornings are a little darker and I have to stay super vigilant for wildlife (deer and black bear), which means I don’t walk with ear buds in. While I miss my music, I feel that my walks are better unplugged – I’m more aware of my surroundings, I’m using my senses to take in the sights and sounds – and I’m walking a little faster (see black bear comment up above)!

Time. We all have the same 24-hours in a day. Work is often a priority, it’s how we earn our living and keep a roof over our heads. Education is equally important as it allows us to build the futures we desire. But we must make a concerted effort not to forget to feed the other parts of our being. Take a good long look at your life. How are you feeling at the end of every day? Upon awakening? Are there pieces of you that you feel are being neglected? Make note of them and come up with steps to nurture those areas in your life! You and those around you will benefit from it!

Ed4Career provides a high-quality learning platform and straightforward curriculum in the areas of career development, personal enrichment and professional development. Our courses are self-paced and incorporate a variety of learning methods and varied multi-media. Our courses can be completed anywhere, at any time. More importantly, we have valuable resources built into our programs and curriculum to help ensure student success. We have skilled Educational Consultants on staff, and we offer an Online Student Center as well as Career Coaching. Visit us today to learn more about the Ed4Career difference!