A reminder: take care of yourself!

[katakatica]

So following some topics we've talked about prior, I wanted to just... make sure you all remember to take care of yourself! Whether it's a walk in the park, you need some more coffee (or self-care, which I've been trying to do more of!), do it! Freelancing might be demanding, but we deserve to be taken care of! 

Fridays, for me, are sometimes the toughest days of the week. If I fail to meet my own (stricter than the clients') deadlines (usually 4-5 days before things are due), I can get very crabby with myself, but... for what reason? Clients won't run away! I think I still need to truly realize this, but... I'm taking steps to be able to truly step away for the weekend (or at least when I need to.) 

How do you guys try to take care of yourselves these days? Any new fun discoveries (new cookies, teas, etc.?) or just long-lasting routines? 

For me, the biggest step will be getting a new office chair soon. I use one of the dining room chairs (have for a while now.), and last week I wrecked my arm due to it (it's a posture thing, we think, but it's been very painful), so I... Finally going to take the time to browse and find a chair that works for me! 

(I'll also be taking it easy today to fully recuperate and play some news games I found but technically, that counts as research for me, so..:P)

 

[zeus777]

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

I use one of the dining room chairs

OH GOD BIG BIG mistake! I used to do that myself!!
I was having lower back problems for a while ( well, duh...) and I finally noticed hey, I need a better chair.
I'm just so dumb, it took me that long to reach that conclusion. I went to the furniture store and checked out the "office" section and I saw 10~12 chairs
lined up and decided to test-sit. I was ready to pay $200 max, but surprise surprise, when I saw down on this particular chair, it hugged my bum-bum perfectly and it was only $40 shockingly! I bought it right away and I'm kicking myself for not getting it earlier.

So...aside from the chair, how do I take care of myself, you ask?
Well fortunately I know when to say "No" and stop myself from overworking. Well, sort of. I used to be reaaaally bad at this, but I think I'm doing better.
I make sure to get myself some nice munchies when taking a break along with a nice hot cup of coffee, but I'd say treating myself to a massage after work on
Sunday evenings is what really helps. There is this massage place near my office and I think the price is reasonable.
For some reason they play 70's ~90's American pop/light rock but hey, I don't mind listening to Abba's Dancing Queen, Bruce Hornsby's The Way it Is, and Phil Collins while getting the knots in my back destroyed 😄

[smartdezigns]

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

For me, the biggest step will be getting a new office chair soon. I use one of the dining room chairs (have for a while now.),  

Curious to know that how did you still survive with that dining room chair 😬 I hope you'll get an office chair for yourself soon. (Happy Office Chair Shopping 😁)

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

How do you guys try to take care of yourselves these days? Any new fun discoveries (new cookies, teas, etc.?) or just long-lasting routines? 

Well, I am the only daughter of my parents so I am the one who is taking care of everything from finances, driving to kitchen stuff even taking care of my parents (they are 60+) so I usually get tired after doing house chores (that's obvious if I'm alone to do everything) so to take care of myself, I prefer to do rest in the afternoon only (obviously after finishing all the tasks and also, I have become sort of insomniac person these days). While doing rest in the afternoon, I do not touch android or laptop or any electronic devices! 

[katakatica]

8 minutes ago, smartdezigns said:

Curious to know that how did you still survive with that dining room chair 😬 I hope you'll get an office chair for yourself soon. (Happy Office Chair Shopping 😁)

2 hours ago, katakatica said:

The short, concise answer is that I am dumb and thought that no proper chair would fit, so I just put shopping off. We measured things yesterday and turns out there's plenty of space for a proper, nice chair. I have one back in Hungary as well that would fit but shipping it would cost more, so...  

1 hour ago, zeus777 said:

Well fortunately I know when to say "No" and stop myself from overworking. W

That's so hard, though! I'm good at saying 'I'm busy now, let's schedule it for next week' but not 'no' which is tricky! I'm gonna start getting massages soon as well, they are pricy here, but it will definitely help! 

 

12 minutes ago, smartdezigns said:

o I usually get tired after doing house chores (that's obvious if I'm alone to do everything) s

Yeah, that sounds very tiring! Taking a rest once it's all done must feel so good though. I live far away from home so my sister is the one to has to help more so I can't completely relate but I used to help (wo)man the grape garden a lot when I was living at home. Not fun (for me at least)!

[vovkaslovesnyy]

2 hours ago, katakatica said:

I'm taking steps to be able to truly step away for the weekend (or at least when I need to.) 

This is really important. 

I started with my night routine. I used to read messages on Fiverr even at night (I live in GMT+3 zone, so all customers from the USA would contact me in the middle of the night). Now, I am strictly offline from 2 AM to 10 AM no matter what it takes. I may lose a few orders, but it really makes me feel better.

And I won't get that "Lightning reply" badge, even though I don't really need it. I can't evaluate huge projects within 5 minutes. 

The same goes for taking a day off. You need to have it at least once in a while. Otherwise, it will be a vicious circle of waking up, working, doing stuff at home, and sleeping. 

And one thing that really saved me a lot of time was sharply decreasing my online activity (social networks, endless reels, etc.)

Edited March 17, 2023 by vovkaslovesnyy

[katakatica]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:58 PM, vovkaslovesnyy said:

And one thing that really saved me a lot of time was sharply decreasing my online activity (social networks, endless reels, etc.)

This worked for me for a bit as well! I tried to just read before bed (turn phone off, etc.) and had the best sleep I've had in a while, but I keep breaking this new habit (so I guess it's not a habit yet!) It's kind of hard because we do sleep earlier (than I used to) here, so it means turning off my phone around 11, which of course, happens to be when I get the most messages (except for random rushes on Tuesdays ha.)

I do think though, that making it so that work doesn't really get into our 'free' time (to some extent) is best for our mental (and honestly, physical) health! 

I can't wait until the weather is a bit nicer so I can go on evening walks as well since I try not to take my phone on those! (it's really cold here still!)

[williambryan392]

I’ve decided not to be scared of going unavailable. If I can’t go unavailable ever and actually properly relax then fiverr is neither maintainable nor scalable for me.

Also food. Food makes me happy.

 

[breals]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:34 AM, katakatica said:

How do you guys try to take care of yourselves these days? Any new fun discoveries (new cookies, teas, etc.?) or just long-lasting routines? 

As we all know, freelancing can be a very lonely world these days. So I make a conscious effort to take a lunch break. I can then catch up with friends and family in the 'real world' to let them know I'm still alive. 

I am also becoming better at sticking to a strict 9 hour day.  This has worked wonders for me as I can then look forward to switching off at the end of the shift and seeing my wife and daughters

[proconsultn2035]

Within the week, I take brisk walks daily. I make sure I do a lot of workouts and play football on Saturdays. I also hangout on Sundays with friends and family to distract myself and rejuvenate.