Taking “care” during a busy season
- Sophie
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
Last year my word of the year was “care”, and I used it a lot (after a very stressful 2023). To remind myself I always have options to take care of myself, those around me, of my environment. This year, my word of the year has been courage, but… I haven’t used it. And during this very busy season of work (with teaching commitments, grant applications, professional development program, all happening at once) - I’ve realised I need to turn back to care.
So today, that’s what I did. Yesterday work was flat out, and last night O was awake overnight, and I work up with a sore throat. Uh oh. I had planned to attend two in person meetings an hour drive away this morning, then rushed back to complete some urgent tasks this afternoon, before driving my daughter to a scouts activity at 4.30 this afternoon. But as I sipped my coffee this morning, I’ve started reading Gentle by Courtney Carver, which is a a great reminder of these principles. So I asked myself “what would care look like?” And I realised- I can attend these meeting online from home. (They both have virtual attendance options). Would it be ideal to attend in person? Yes, if it wasn’t a crazy week! But by switching to virtual, I saved myself two hours of commuting time, which meant I could leave to drop O 40 minutes later than originally planned, and still have time to stop for coffee on the way home before logging in.
I kept asking myself what care would look like all day. I logged off one meeting early to prepare for the next one (they were back to back in the calendar). I took a walk at lunchtime in the sunshine. I rescheduled another meeting from 9am tomorrow to make tomorrow also less frantic. And tonight, after dropping E at her Scouts activity (which is 30 mins drive from home), instead of trying to do more work while I waited for her, I had a beer and a veggie jungle curry (so yum!), and wrote this blog post.
Choosing “care” in a few small ways had essentially zero negative consequences from a work perspective, yet it was very helpful for my experience of the day, and helped me stay calm and productive. I think I’ll keep care as my word of the year for the rest of 2025, after all!
Do others have a helpful mantra or principle to get through stressful periods? What would “care” look like to you?
Care is a wonderful word. At this time of year I find myself stretched thin and counting down the days till summer break (June 18th is the last day). Care for me is taking breaks at work (chair yoga or standing yoga, tea, water, vitamins: B complex, multi, D, and fish oil), deep breathing at work or at home. Entertainment- books, movies, shows I'm really into. Looking up at the sky. Being outside for a bit.
I think you did great making adjustments to care for yourself. Well done, friend!!
That curry looks so good!! I love curry!
Self care for me usually involves a nap or laying down to rest! I struggle to do that during the week but it is part of nearly every weekend usually both days!!
I actually don't have a helpful mantra or principle to get through stressful periods. I usually won't think of a period as "stressful" or "not stressful" until several months after the fact.
I assume you meant what caring for myself would look like to me, Sophie. I consider doing things to enhance my health and me doing things that are not responses to external requests as caring for myself. And no, I don't consider commenting on this blog post of yours to be in opposition to me caring for myself, Sophie.
In the meantime, yes, I think that this season has got to be busy if you have grant applications to do.
That curry looks delicious!
Last year was my "Year of Shmita" and I really took it to heart. I reset in a big way and while I don't spend a lot of time consciously thinking about it now, I realize it has had what I assume to be a life-long impact on how I view the world and my time.
I've gotten A LOT better about realizing what things actually need to be done and what can be tweaked (as in the case with your attending virtually and saving 2 hours of commute time).
Care is a great word. Life is short and sometimes we make it harder on ourselves than we need to, so I award you a whole…