8 Self-Care Tips to Make Work Feel More Like Magic
You know something’s not right. You have a good job, and you know you SHOULD be happy. You actually LOVE parts of the work you do, but lately it’s a source of stress, overwhelm, or maybe even boredom.
You’re also starting to hear the inner critic more often, creeping in with comments like,
1. “You should be grateful for this job! What do you have to complain about? Who do you think you are?”
OR the other lovely narrative,
2. “Have you really tried hard enough? Is this the BEST you can do?”
If you’re experiencing a version of this, my dear, I hear you. It’s shitty.
Before I was a self-love coach, I was a *language teacher and a language teacher trainer, and I spent many semesters feeling just like this. And to be clear, there’s nothing wrong with these positions. My soul was clearly telling me I had to change things up (read more about this on my About page).
I’d spend hours (nights and weekends) in front of my computer planning lessons, and writing feedback on student essays or lesson plans. With an average of 40 students each semester, and all the assignments that were assigned, this meant I was at my computer A LOT. I felt frustrated and just plain bored with it all.
It was basically prime time for my dear inner critic to chime in with either narrative 1 or 2. Good times.
8 tried and tested self-care tips that create magic
I realized I had to figure out how to bring joy and fun into my work or I’d pay the price. So theses 8 self-care tips have been tried and tested by yours truly.
First of all, high five. I’m so excited that you’re considering trying some of these because they work. The change may be subtle, but there’s power in subtlety.
And of course, if you’re deeply dissatisfied at work, a flower at your desk isn’t going to change much. It’s important to explore why this is. I’m not advocating sugarcoating or bypassing difficult feelings. We don’t do that here.
But in the meantime, these tips will help make your days brighter (more magical) and perhaps clear some space for you to figure out your next best step. I know they helped me.
While I wrote these tips with the idea of working at my desk, you could easily do some during the commute to work (see number 6, but remember to keep your eye on the road) or in any other workspace.
Here are my favorite self-care tips to bring magic to work:
First things first: look for magic. Pay attention to reoccurring numbers; symbols that are somehow meaningful to you (ie: certain animals, shapes, or objects) and keep appearing; or strange “coincidences” like this picture for example. I remembered taking this screenshot on my phone of the mood board I created for my branding (aka the colors and style of this website). I wanted to share it in this post for the obvious reason. The not so obvious surprise, however, is that I took this picture almost a year to the day that I wrote this post! This post is dated February 9, 2019, and I took this screenshot on February 10, 2018! If that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is. Bam!
2. Treat yourself to a small bouquet from the flower shop down the street, or pick flowers from your garden. You could even snip a few from the park — shhh… I won’t tell. If flowers aren’t your thing, keep art or special photo next to your work space. Take regular breaks to soak up their beauty and the joy they make you feel.
3. Type away with your favourite snack by your side. Slowly sip a good cup of coffee, or if needed, a glass of wine (this last tip is probably only okay for people who work from home, unless your boss rolls that way).
4. Use essential oils either in a diffuser or dab some on your wrists. Chose scents that trigger joy. I’m partial to grapefruit and patchouli.
5. Bring in candles or crystals to add good energy and beauty to your process.
6. Turn up your favorite song (earphones optional), stand up, and shake it out.
7. Use colorful pencils or markers instead of a typical ball ben (not that there’s anything wrong with ballpoint pens). My favorites are rainbow colored pencils, and of course, purple markers.
8. Pull tarot or oracle cards to see what your next step could be.
Perspective Card from the Moon Phases Oracle
If you found any of these helpful, please click your favorite social media icon below and share it with your friends. And leave me a comment to let me know which one you like best!
*This blog post is an update of a post I wrote on my previous Blog, Throwing Back Tokens.
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