I get a lot of feedback from people who tell me they feel guilty whenever they take a PRD. When I ask why, they admit that intellectually, they know that self-care isn’t selfish, but they struggle with guilty feelings just the same. Can you relate?
As humans, we have this amazing ability to time travel in our minds. With our memories we can travel back in time to the past, and with our imaginations we can jump to the future. We actually spend a lot of mental time either in the past or the future, don’t we? But it’s not always positive. A quote attributed to Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu
Vacations are awesome. I have a long weekend planned in March with my husband. But as wonderful as these special trips are, they don’t replace my monthly PRD. What makes a Personal Retreat Day different from a plain ol’ self-care day or a day off from work?
If you’ve been around for a while, you know I’m a huge fan of Greg McKeown’s bestseller, Essentialism. The subtitle of the book previews the main premise: “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.”
I just read a book that made me stand up and shout “hallelujah!” It’s called Bored to Brilliant by Manoush Zomorod, and it’s all about the results of her experiment to help people unplug from their phones and “space out” with daily tech-free challenges. Her research illustrates how we’re losing both the ability to focus, as well as letting our minds wander creatively, because we’re constantly
What does REST look like? We often think of getting 8 hours of sleep, or the luxury of a Sunday nap. But rhythms of rest can also be incorporated into your daily life. Even 5 intentional deep breaths can reset your mind and body into a restful state!
I strongly encourage everyone to take a Personal Retreat Day once a month to rest, reflect, and reorient. But I also suggest you set aside extra time at the beginning of each quarter to look back over a longer period of time. Companies do this, and it helps ensure they are on track with long-term goals.
On Personal Retreat Days, I escape from work and other obligations to focus on deep rest and mental dialogue. I reflect on the past and plan for the future. Over time, I’ve learned how to take the insights gleaned during PRDs and incorporate them into my weekly and daily routines. Here’s how I do it.
Most of us doubt we can actually take an entire day, once a month, to reflect, plan, and rest. I’ll show you exactly how to keep this commitment to yourself and why it matters.
Why should you prioritize self-care? After all, it takes time and can feel like a self-indulgent luxury. But I argue that taking care of ourselves reaps dividends that extend far beyond the day! Read on to see WHY you should take a Personal Retreat Day every month.
I’ve been reading a lot about what makes our goals stick around long enough to become habits. One tip is to write your goals down (on paper is better than electronically) and read them every day. Another ingredient for success is to celebrate small wins regularly and reward your efforts with some kind of treat.
There exists a time-honored folk story of a young woodsman and a seasoned lumberjack. The robust young woodsman energetically attacked the towering oaks chopping and chopping all day long, never stopping to rest. The grizzled lumberjack, chops a little, sits down and rests, chops a little more and rests. At the end of the day the grey beard had harvested twice as much lumber as
Most of us go throughout our days in auto-pilot. Eat, sleep, work, repeat has become a mantra for the frenetic pace of the daily grind. That’s why taking regular Personal Retreat Days is so important – it interrupts the habitual flow of mindlessly moving from one day into the next and gives you a blessed opportunity to simply THINK and BE.
How do you make sense of all your daily events and happenings? The short answer: by journaling! I’m a huge believer in the power of journaling. It’s something I do every morning without fail. If the thought of keeping a journal makes you shudder, have no fear! There are many ways to journal, and I promise at least one of them will resonate with you.
I firmly believe that examining your past helps you create a better future. During your Personal Retreat Day, spend time looking back at the previous month.
