Sometimes, You Just Need A Reset

A Busy Woman's Guide To Resetting and Refreshing

We spend the weeks rushing around from duty to duty, accomplishing tasks at lightening speed and praying for the weekend. Then the weekend comes... and life isn't any easier. Laundry, bills, groceries, playing catch-up on household duties.

Life as a woman in 2018 is beyond hectic. It's exhausting, tiring, and overwhelming. How the hell is anyone supposed to do it all? And, if you do, how are you supposed to find time for your own dreams and passions?

It's a common issue I hear so many women dealing with these days. In our already intense society, so many of us feel pressure to be all things to all people... and we have little room left for resetting and refreshing our lives.

But I've come to learn: We all MUST set the reset button sometimes. We must find time to rejuvenate the soul, our passions, and our psyches. We can't keep go, go, going all the time. We can't be all things all at once.

In March, I got the opportunity to get away for a weekend to Capacon Lodge, a state park lodge in West Virginia. It was a writing retreat, but for me, more than that it was a reset retreat. I got the chance to leave the piles of laundry behind, the overwhelming amount of emails, and the daily drudgery of my busy life. I got to simplify and reset. I got the chance to spend some time sitting in the sunshine, walking in the woods, and just slowing down a bit. There was nowhere I had to be for a couple of days and nothing I had to do.

And you know what?

I felt so much more accomplished by the end of the weekend than any other weekend.

We can't all escape reality on a daily basis. We can't all pick up and go every single weekend, and there will never be enough retreats for us to reset our lives as often as we need. Getting away is a luxury real life doesn't always afford.

However, the retreat reminded me that we still need to find ways to rejuvenate and to refresh our souls. We need to reset our passions and refocus our priorities.

So how do you do that in a busy world? I think you do the best you can. I think you find small, easy ways you can take time for yourself. Whether it's two minutes or two hours, you do your best to put yourself first from time to time. You do your best to say "good enough" and relax when you can.

Most of all, you find the value in hitting reset, in kicking back, and in slowing down.

Here are some simple ways you can hit reset this week. Feel free to add some ideas in the comments below! I'd love to hear how you find ways to refresh during the busy week.

1. Have a cup of tea
2. Meditate for five minutes
3. Listen to your favorite song
4. Read a book for fifteen minues
5. Take ten minutes to do your makeup (confidence is always a win!)
6. Take a walk with a friend to catch up
7. Sit on the deck or porch in the sun for a few moments
8. Paint your nails
9. Write in your journal
10. Indulge in some chocolate and refuse to feel guilty about it
11. Take a long bath
12. Turn off your electronics for an hour a day to escape from social media