![\"\"](\"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_249493408-800x600.jpeg\")
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Well, it\u2019s December, and we\u2019re into the holiday season. Whatever you celebrate, this is undeniably a busy time. So how can we take care of ourselves in the midst of extra activity and expectations? How can we cope with the busyness and the stress and the shopping and the family and all the different things that come up?<\/p>\n
I invite you to consider simple solutions\u2014as simple as a walk and a nap. I found myself filling those self-care prescriptions one afternoon, and reflecting on what a gift I\u2019d given myself.<\/p>\n
Earlier in my life I did a lot of running and biking, but now I just I like walking. The walk got me outside<\/a> and into the fresh air and natural light. It got my heart pumping a little bit. It got me away from the computer and into a completely different environment, which I think is really helpful.<\/p>\n I don’t know if other people feel this way, but I feel like more and more of my time is spent in front of a screen. While I was out, I got to build relationships and a sense of community by waving to a couple of neighbors. Overall, I felt more part of the world.<\/p>\n So what did I do with that renewed energy and change of scenery? I decided to just chill. I used a nap app on my phone, which wakes you gently by playing music that gradually gets louder while your phone beeps and vibrates with more and more intensity.<\/p>\n Now a nap is not something I ordinarily do, even though I grew up hearing stories from my mom about my grandfather. He was a farmer, and would get up at four in the morning, work hard, come in for lunch, and then nap for thirty or forty minutes. After that, he was back out in the fields ready for more hard work. He did that his entire life, and just swore by his naps.<\/p>\n Still, a nap is not my first instinct. What I usually do is get a cup of coffee, an espresso, a soft drink, a cup of tea, or a snack, something I think will prop me up and get me going. The exact opposite<\/em> of a nap.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s because I\u2019m so intent on producing something\u2014getting work done. And maybe that’s what the walk and the nap have in common. You\u2019re really not directly getting anything done. But what you are doing is self-care.<\/p>\n For some people, that might look like journaling. For others, working on a jigsaw puzzle. It might feel like a waste of time, especially when there\u2019s lots on your plate like at this busy time of year, but what it’s really doing is recharging your batteries\u2014both your creativity and your energy.<\/p>\n And here\u2019s a bonus: If you’ve been spinning around trying to find a solution to a problem, stepping away<\/a> from it this way can bring new insight and new power to the search. Research has shown<\/a> that play enhances learning, and that play is so deeply rooted in the brain that it serves as a basic motivational drive\u00a0.<\/p>\n It may be counterintuitive to nap instead of work, or to reach for a game instead of your cell phone, but it might be exactly what you need. So put your feet up this holiday season. Read a few chapters of a good novel. Grab a coloring book. Or get outside and make a snow angel.<\/p>\n What do you do to rest, recharge, and renew? How has taking time out helped you (even when you thought you were procrastinating or wasting time)?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How has taking time out helped you (even when you thought you were procrastinating or wasting time)?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":18041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_meta":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[233,234],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2024-05-15 12:42:21","action":"Draft","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18039"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18042,"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions\/18042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coaching4clergy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}