Take Charge of Your Destiny with an Extraordinary Self-Care Day

When was the last time you took a day just for yourself? If you're asmall business owner or anyone else for that matter, your answer isprobably never. Essentially an Extraordinary Self-care Day is taking one24-hour period where you take "extraordinary" care of yourself. You dono work at all. I know, I can hear your protest. I protested too when Ifirst heard this idea "But you don't understand, I have to check myvoicemail, I have to return phone calls, I have to answer my emails andon and on." I protested in my very best entrepreneurial voice. The truthis any of us can take a day for ourselves without consequence. Believeit or not, the world will keep spinning. Calls will wait as will email.

This is a day just for you. If you normally do the cooking, on yourExtraordinary Self-Care Day, you will refrain from making meals. Trustme your family will not starve. Obviously if there are small children orinfants that depend on you, you would have to modify this. Overall tryto do nothing that is related to your normal work. This is a pamperingday just for you.

The first time I did this, I discovered just how my work relates tothings that I do on any given day. Most of my reading was centered onbusiness topics. Being an entrepreneur and self-employed, I wasconvinced I had to be working all the time. I was wrong. Kicking andscreaming, I embarked on my Extraordinary Self-Care Day. I took a walk,read part of a novel, took a luxurious bath in our soaking tub(something I never used to do) and just hung out and took care ofmyself. What a concept!

It's been a year now and my Extraordinary Self-Care Day has become anintegral part of my life. I not only feel better, and am having morefun, I have my life back. Doing this regularly has enabled me to put mywork back into perspective. I no longer work seven days a week and I nolonger do email throughout the day.

The interesting thing is that because of my taking this time to nurturemyself, I'm actually more productive. Because I'm taking better care ofmyself I have more clarity and I'm able to better focus on the task onhand. Because I am taking better care of myself, I am more creative andproductive. Most of all, because I am taking better care of myself, Ifeel better and have more happiness, after all isn't that what it's allabout?

So your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to schedule one24-hour period, sometime within the next 10 days, when you can giveyourself an Extraordinary Self-Care Day and then go and do it. Onceyou've done this, see how you might be able to do this weekly and whenyou feel really ready, schedule an Extraordinary Self-Care Day for whatwould have been a normal work day.