How to look after yourself during the 'Silly Season' - What's spoons got to do with it?
I don't know about you, but I definitely feel the universe ramp up all around me at this time of year!
If you've got kids in school or daycare, there's a seemingly never ending whirlwind of end of year events, not to mention fitting in all their usual activities around these. If you're working too, the workplace seems filled with 'extra curricular' requirements in the spirit of the festive season. Or perhaps you're jugging a new baby right now amongst trying to also fit in all the commitments or things that seem to be need to be done at this busy time of year!
With everything going on in our lives, especially when it all seems amplified tenfold in the lead up to Christmas, it's really easy to run ourselves into the ground and end up sick or just plain exhausted. Let's face it, as mums we tend to put everyone else first before ourselves.
The Spoon Theory
I'm always reminded at this time of year, of the old Spoon Theory of energy management. It's a theory that's used to help those with chronic illness to measure and conserve their energy.
How it works is that you start your day with 12 metaphorical spoons in your hand allocated to tasks in your day. Getting up, getting yourself ready is a spoon, getting someone else ready is another spoon, making time for breakfast - a spoon and so on.
I think as a parent juggling all the needs of families and everything else at this busy time of year, that it can be helpful to think of it in your own life too as a tool to be more mindful of how you're feeling and where you're spending your energy.
There's some days where you might wake up and you have plenty of energy and doing everything you need to uses up less spoons in your hand and you're left at the end of the day with spoons to spare. These are good days!
It's okay to say 'No!'
Then there's some days where if you've lost sleep the night before or you're starting to feel sick, you're already starting your day with less spoons and on these days just doing the bare necessities uses up spoons. So if you're cramming extra activities or commitments into these days, well there goes some spoons and it's easy to see how you end up with no spoons (or negative spoons) leftover! On these days it's okay to recognise when you're just plain run out of spoons and can't fit any more in and need to say 'No!'.
On these days, if all you do is the bare necessities and your family is cared for and fed, then that's all you need to do to achieve success!
Self-care can give you more spoons
It's hard (I know!) when you're so caught up in being busy, to take time out for other self-care techniques like eating properly, fitting in some gentle exercise that you enjoy doing or the odd other activity that exists purely for your own enjoyment or 'me-time', but doing these things can actually help give you more spoons in the long run or keep the ones you have today for better use!
If you've ever been so stressed out but made yourself take the time out to go and do something totally different that takes you away from the problem, you'll already know this to be the case. It can leave you feeling refreshed, more energised and more able to deal with whatever life was throwing at you.
Hopefully. knowing about the Spoon Theory and being mindful of the number of spoons you have in a day and the importance of self-care, can help you survive the silly season and enjoy the time with your family and loved ones more - isn't that what this time of year is really about anyway?
Because here at Yummy Mummy Food Company, we're all about helping mums be the healthiest versions of themselves they can be - easily, we'd love you to click here and use 15% OFF code of TAKECARE throughout this holiday period storewide.
Use it to stock up on Lactation Cookies or Tea or any of our other healthy snacks for the whole family!