So on Tuesday night I fractured a finger on my right hand playing netball. Not just any finger, my little finger thus rendering the break even more comedic.

It was freezing cold, we were in the final quarter of a nail bitingly close netball match and I got a tad aggressive determined to get the ball to shoot and score a much needed goal. My GK and I collided as we both went to grab the ball, with the ball somehow smacking my fingers head on.  Netball 1 Sarah 0 – but hey at least we won the match!

I spent yesterday in pain, feeling tired and sorry for myself. I’m right handed and all the simple tasks such as brushing my teeth and washing my hair were suddenly a lot more complicated. Amongst this was the feeling of embarrassment that such a small injury could render me feeling so useless. I spent half the day trying to push through the (legal) drug-induced sleepiness before giving in to a night on the settee catching up on Dickensian.

I was fast asleep by 10pm with the lavender Lumie diffuser going and woke up feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed. Today really is a new day and I’m full of beans, blog posts and determination 🙂

So what did I learn from a ‘woe is me’ day?

• That it’s OK to take a break
• Everyone needs a duvet day now and then
• If you’re pushing and pushing and not getting anywhere, take a step back, take a break and rethink it
• Allow yourself time to breathe deeply, stretch, rest, hydrate and smile

The nagging thoughts of ‘but I SHOULD be doing xyz’ reminded me of how I used to feel on the corporate treadwheel of constantly fighting to wake up at 6am, leave the house at 7am, commute for over an hour, be in desperate need of caffeine at 9am, need a chocolate fix at 10.30am, feel guilty about eating chocolate before 11am and eat some fruit (even though i wasn’t hungry), deny myself a lunchbreak until I had completed half my to do list, feel guilty about a grumbling tummy and wolf down a sandwich at my desk whilst ‘taking a break’ surfing the net, push through the blood sugar yoyo until I fell asleep on the train home, threw an instant meal into the microwave, collapsed in front of the tv and then felt frustrated as my mind wouldn’t switch off until it eventually succumbed to sleep around 1am. Tired just reading that? I know I am.

My life was a constant pressure cooker as I rushed to and from feeling guilty for what I wasn’t doing rather than ever enjoying what I was doing. I never allowed myself a moment to rest. My poor adrenal glands were so overworked I swear you could see smoke coming off them. Guilt, responsibilities, commands, imperatives and commuting were just part of life I reckoned.

How many of you feel like this? That your boss will think poorly of you if you take a lunchbreak? That you’re letting your children down if they aren’t perfectly prepared for school with correct gym kit in the mornings? That you’d love to take some time just for you, to go to the gym, flick through a magazine or cook a meal from scratch? How many of you think you’d love to do but  there is just no time?

WRONG! It is completely acceptable to take time out for yourself, to put YOU first, to SAY NO* and for goodness sake –  take a lunchbreak! The world isn’t going to collapse if you leave your desk for 30 minutes (minimum!). Trust me, you really will feel better for it, more productive and awake. You don’t have to be Superwoman, nobody is perfect so stop trying to be.

So… I’m sorry I didn’t write a blog post yesterday or clean the house like I was supposed to, but I feel so much better for resting. I’ve already been more productive in 3 hours this morning than I was all of yesterday.

Today I challenge you: do something just for you – and enjoy it while you do 🙂

Right, time for a cup of tea…..Sx

* Say no – try acknowledging the needs of others and then push back so it fits into your agenda when YOU want to do it.