Stress. Overwhelm. Exhaustion.
If you are an SLP, you are probably familiar with these, and have felt them off and on throughout your career. As Helping Professionals, it is our job to care, completely, for our patients/clients/students, and when we give so much to them each day, and then add on the administrative (aka paperwork and billing) side of things, we are usually left feeling drained, overwhelmed and stressed.
When you are feeling stressed, one of the best ways to start to feel less stressed and overwhelmed is to start to create routines, habits, or rituals that help you to feel more calm, centered and in control of your daily life. These help to bring about balance, while also giving you the routine you need to know what is coming each day, within both your work and home lives.
Morning rituals are very common, since they help you to start your day on the “right” foot. They usually entail waking up a little early, having a movement and/or meditation practice, taking time for yourself and making sure you fuel with breakfast and coffee.
Evening routines and rituals, however, are a little less talked about but can have a HUGE impact on your daily life satisfaction.
When taking time to create a routine of some kind in the evening, you take the time to let the tension of your day go, while creating new ways to reduce stress and help you relax before you drift off to sleep. It can help you to feel more relaxed and restored when you wake up, and also to get deeper sleep or to get to sleep more easily.
How to Create an Evening Routine:
- Carve out dedicated time each evening, perhaps right before bed or right when you get home/end work. 5-10 minutes can be enough to help you transition, by letting work thoughts stay at work (or let your mind relax before slumber) and releasing some of the tension you might be carrying form the day.
- Find something that both relaxes you and helps you feel less drained and depleted. Try a Self-care practice that allows you to unwind form your day, but also nourished you on a deeper level. Bubble baths can be great, but deeper practices, such as journaling and meditation, can help you get even more out of your time.
- Make sure you choose something that allows you to check in, rather than check out. Binge watching your favorite show might be all you feel like you have the energy for at the end of a stressful day. Go ahead and try it – but notice if it becomes routine. If you are doing this every night, just to make it through, you are likely to be checking out instead of checking in. This will create more stress overtime and won;t really help you to destress. Instead, choose a self-care activity that helps you to face and let go of some of the stress.
And example of an evening routine to help you transition from work to home might look something like:
- At the end of the work day, take a few minutes to write down 3 things you need to do tomorrow. If there is anything on your ind form work, go ahead and write about it to get it out of our head. Maybe even write down 3 good things from your day.
- Meditate, stretch or deep breath for 5 minutes. If you have more time, go for a walk or try an energizing workout.
- Grab some water, tea, coffee and a healthy snack for your commute home, so you are energized and nourished as you head to your duties at home.
For an evening routine closer to bed time it might look something like this:
- Grab an herbal tea or water to hydrate for tomorrow (not right before bed though).
- Take 5-10 minutes to meditate or deep breathe. If you have the time, take longer and add in some movement such as deep stretches and folds to help release tension from your day and prepare you for sleep.
- Write down your top moment from the day, as well as 3 other small but positive moments that occurred.
When you carve out sometime for yourself, it helps you to check in with what you are feeling and needing, mentally, emotionally and physically, so you are more aware of how to move through in that moment and as you move into the next day. It also helps you to refuel and give back to yourself after spending the day giving back to so many others. When you do this, you are less drained and exhausted, which means you are of better service to others (and yourself as you move about the world.
What can you do today to create more routine? Leave a comment below and make sure to check out my recent interview over on SLP Happy Hour podcast, where we discuss Self-Care and creating an Evening Routine as an SLP.
You can also find more resources, such as meditations and stress relieving webinars, over on my education page. You can also subscribe to the “Balanced SLP” newsletter/magazine for monthly-themed self-care video tips, fresh blog posts, new meditation audios, recipes to-go and more. You can subscribe below.
Much Love,
