Do you ever feel suffocated? Not literally, but figuratively …

Do you ever feel like you can’t get your head above water because your to-do list keeps rolling over into the next day, and then the next week …

I mean, I could be the only one, but I’m sure you’re going to say “YES” and help me feel a sense of unity right along with you.

There is a select percentage of the population, at least 2-5% of us by my best guess, who are Type A. Strategy is the name of the game, and accomplishing ALL of the things is the method of the game. This 2-5% of us can have the best of intentions to seize each day, only to end up face-first in a wall of overwhelming disappointment when we realize there’s still only 24 hours in each day.

I like to remain busy, I like to always be MOVING. An object in motion stays in motion, right? I used to feel that this was an amazing quality to have. I mean, who wouldn’t think it was a good idea to be an overachiever?

That was until I met my match.

Being a mom changed the whole game for me. If you happen to have a 3-foot-tall munchkin following your every move and copying your every word, it makes getting that to-do list done seemingly impossible.

When we started to implement quiet time for her, to stop her incessant rambling at times, it gave me an idea. What if I were to give myself QUIET TIME? What if I could push the pause button for just an hour or so each day to collect myself and be ready for the next series of motherhood reality checks?

This is my idea of a red light special

We really have to define “time out”

A legitimate “time out” doesn’t mean the drive to and from a place or thinking quiet thoughts while on a solo trip to the grocery store. No. A LEGITIMATE “time out” means that sometimes an hour of time has to be [quite literally] shaved out of one’s day in order to SLOW DOWN. Each day, that 2-5% of us who are Type A and the other 98-95% of us who are well … human … become so inundated with the things of this world that we don’t realize we’re bombarding our sympathetic nervous system into overdrive.

College life = time to spit some knowledge

(Yes, this is somewhat of a rebirth. My blog happens to come back to life as I take on college full-time. So, let’s get right to the “spit some knowledge” part but in terms that make sense to even me. )

We typically operate in a FLIGHT OR FLIGHT mentality. We rush. We grind. We go from work meeting to PTO meeting to client meeting to a dentist appointment. We GO AND GO AND GO until our heads spin. This tendency doesn’t only translate into our ‘calendar life’ It trickles into our workouts, our cooking, our play time with kids. Our poor nervous system needs to be reminded to REST AND DIGEST. Bodily organs respond to either mode we’re in, so sometimes a little forceful budge can shift us from one phase into the other. If our bodies are constantly in ‘fight or flight’ mode, we can put a huge strain on our adrenals and always be at the ready when we don’t necessarily have to be.

What are some ways to rest and digest?

To each their own I always say. We each have our own ways to COMPLETELY relax and unwind. I love a good infrared sauna session, or a solo hike with my dog … it can depend upon the day. I do have my own set of rules for resting and digesting, though, that can apply to whatever mode or activity you choose to do it in.

• Detach from your phone. It’s usually the cause of the ‘flight or fight’ response in the first place, isn’t it?

• Make it at least 30 minutes or more. You can carve it out, you deserve that as a minimum.

• Commit to this being a consistent and habitual time.

• Remember it’ll not only benefit you, but those around you who you love so much that you want to drive yourself crazy in order to make their lives better. Let this be a driving force.

• Calm down and breathe. Inhale AND exhale.

• Think about all you have to be grateful for instead of all you have left to do.

Wander. Get lost. Lose the calendar. Photo Credit @shay_na

Let’s keep it simple.

We can drive ourselves into the ground if we’re always in HUSTLE MODE. I get it, many people tell me that you always have to be hustling if you want to live this grandiose life you’ve dreamt up. I understand that. I do. Buuuuuut do I want to live a grandiose life without stopping to feel in tune with myself? Do I want to hit that wall face-first and miss every memory with my mini and only blink to see that she’s a teenager and I missed the boat on a crap-ton of memories? NOPE.

Being in school has taught me that I am going to sacrifice in order to finish what I start, leading by example for her. I just have to schedule better. I have to SQUEEZE in time for myself if it’s the last thing I do. I’ve already seen how much of an imperfect mom I can be when my back is up against a wall. I want those moments to be my learning lessons needed to grow into an even more superior version of myself. I’ll NEVER be perfect, but I also NEVER want to break myself down to a place of non-repair.

So much of our population faces huge problems in the future related to heart issues and chronic comorbidity & morbidity issues if we don’t choose to take this step and TAKE A TIMEOUT.

I’ll hold you to it. Find a local sauna to sit and sweat in at 140 degrees and there’s no way you can think about that little monster or at least no way for you to look at your phone while escaping them.