I have always loved zoning out and taking time off to spend with myself. Does that sound weird? It really shouldn’t. In the middle of trying to figure out how to succeed as a professional or entrepreneur and learning how to balance the many balls that life gives us to juggle, we often fail to prioritize ourselves.
You know I love to ask questions. So my question to you is this – when was the last time you took time off to prioritize yourself?
Depending on the nature of your job or the particular stage of life you are currently in, your response may be, “Adedoyin, I do not have the luxury of taking time off.”
I can relate. When I ran my brand communications agency, everything fell on my table. Even though I had three team members, there were clients who insisted on dealing with me personally. Because I wanted to keep them and I had not yet mastered the art of saying no, I often obliged and that in itself became stressful. And unsustainable. What kind of business grows if the owner has to be involved in everything? I digress.
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One day in 2018, I felt a kind of tiredness I had not felt before. I was tired physically, mentally and emotionally. The nature of the work I do is round the clock – you always have to be connected, always have to be plugged in to stay ahead of events and trends. It was exhausting. I guess I didn’t breakdown sooner because I was a bit of a workaholic back in the day. Thanks to my amazing friends, I made the decision to go on holiday and not take my laptop with me. Trust me, that was a big deal. People who knew me back then knew that I went everywhere with my laptop because with work, anything could happen. That holiday was one of the best decisions I made in 2018. I still remember being at the airport and a client was trying to convince me to pick up calls or respond to emails from Dubai. As nicely as I could, I told her that all official calls and emails would be responded to when I returned some weeks later. Looking back, it’s funny how my team were able to successfully manage things with this rather demanding client. It looked impossible before then.
When I returned from my holiday, I became more deliberate about creating me-time. Sometimes, I’d go to my favourite coffee shop with my book, turn off my phone and just spend some time off. Other days, I’d book a weekend at a hotel and enjoy the pleasures of room service while I remain disconnected from the world. Sometimes, it could be just a few hours being lost in the massage chair in the spa that I love to visit. Whatever I choose to do, it always refreshes me, gives me time to unplug from the stress of the world and do the thing that gives me genuine joy.
You need to do that too, most especially with everything that has happened in our nation. Don’t apologize if you need to take time off or spend time with yourself. Just do it and take that mental break. 2020 has been a lot for most people. It is important to find things that give you joy. It is important to create and bask in moments that allow you to forget the cares of the world. No one can do it for you.
As you work hard, hustle and climb the ladder of success, I encourage you to be more deliberate about creating me-time. Your future self will thank you for doing that.
About Adedoyin Jaiyesimi
Adedoyin Jaiyesimi is the Chief Communications Consultant at The Comms Avenue, a capacity building and knowledge exchange platform for leading and innovative communications professionals across the world. The Comms Avenue offers high-level knowledge sharing meetings and training programs for communications professionals and corporate organizations.
She has vast experience consulting for international organizations and top corporate executives and specializes in providing strategic communications consulting for development, philanthropic and corporate organizations, helping them to develop and implement a robust communications strategy.
Adedoyin has successfully executed projects for the W Community, Women in Business, Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Leading Ladies Africa, Heritage Bank, African Philanthropy Forum amongst others. She has been profiled on She Leads Africa, Leadership Newspaper and Lionesses of Africa. She was also featured as one of The Spark’s Visionary Women in 2019.
Instagram – @adedoyinjaiyesimi
Email – [email protected]
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