Your Sacred Day

“The art of resting the mind and the power of dismissing from it all care and worry is probably one of the secrets of energy in our great men.”
--Captain J.A. Hadfield

Every successful professional has experienced burn-out, that dreaded block of time where you can’t seem to get motivated, you’re crabby and irritable and you produce little results. In our information-filled world it’s very easy to get overwhelmed and tip into burn-out. That’s why I wanted to share an easy way I’ve found to keep burn-out at bay.

I call it “My Sacred Day.” Every week I take at least one day to do only what I feel like doing. I schedule no appointments, I make no social plans (unless I want to), I write no “to do” lists. This is a selfish day where I might never even change out of my pajamas. I also take at least one evening a week for the same purpose. I call it my “Sacred Evening.”

What’s sacred about it is that I do this every single week without exception. I treat this downtime the same as I would an important appointment or project – because it is. By ritualizing my sacred day and evening, I don’t have to remember to schedule some downtime. And I rarely tip into burn-out, so my productivity remains consistent.

This is an idea that can work for a couple or family with just a bit more coordination, such as taking every Sunday afte
oon for everyone to do their own thing.

As far as what you do with this time, there are no rules. Sometimes I spend my sacred day reading on the back porch. You can do chores if you’d enjoy the puttering. You can do fun things with family and friends. The only thing off limits is anything that feels like work.
• TIP: This week, take one evening and at least part of one day just for yourself. You can start with even just an hour to see how you like it. Notice how you feel.
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©2009 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.