Ending the Guilt That Comes with Chilling Out

I tweeted yesterday that I often feel guilty when I’m not multi-tasking, particularly when it comes to simply chilling out and watching TV for example.

It seems somehow selfish to catch up on Made in Chelsea and not plough through two baskets of ironing simultaneously. Mostly because there’s SO much to do of all the time. Cleaning, sorting, preparing uniform, you name it, something always needs doing in this endless cycle of keeping kids and the house organised. You know the score. That’s the thing though, it’s an endless cycle and marathon runners need a break to recharge too.

Anyway, it seems I’m definitely not alone in the cycle of feeling guilty when it comes to rest.

Many of you tweeted back that you feel the same. Yes, we all seem highly adept at multi-tasking and go us, but I wonder if this constant juggling of balls is affecting our health and ability to truly wind down?

We deserve to do nothing at the end of a busy day don’t we?

This non-stop dance I seem to do between answering emails, writing blog posts and checking my social channels often leaves me craving the same rapid stimulation in real life. In the bath, I’ll read a book. In bed, I’ll watch a movie (whilst writing a blog post and checking social media). On a walk, I’ll make a call or even record a Facebook Live.

Undoubtedly this prolific and productive activity can be a positive thing, but surely not ALL of the time.

Often we miss the moment and being present in it. I forgot my phone at home the other day and was surprised by how much I noticed and equally was missing by not observing. A couple in love cuddling, sparkly stationery in my favourite department store, children laughing in the street…

My point is, we all need to chill the f*** out because life happens in those small moments and there’s a time and a place to rush around, something we all do but we need to prioritise switching off and just watching escapist TV without the need to do anything but that.

Let’s motivate one another, yeah?

I wrote this post on 15 self-care reminders which might inspire (just need to take my own advice)!

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