#MyRelaxing5

A week or so ago, my edtech friend, Mari Venturino wrote a blog called, #myRelaxing5.  In it, she talks about her commitment to take time for herself and to be conscious about taking time to relax before we finish the year 2018.

Another edtech friend, Meagan Kelly added her Relaxing 5 as well!  I love reading about what others plan to do.  It's also reassuring to know that I'm not the only one that is working towards establishing a work/life balance.  I think for us in the edtech space, we tend to love what we do sooooo much, that work doesn't ever really feel like work.  More like professional growth full of a-ha moments and problem solving.  It is, however, work, and it does indeed take us away from the relaxing things that we could be doing.

It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle of every day life and I am for one, guilty of this as well!  Mari's  blog and her challenge couldn't have come at a better time.  With the holidays right around the corner, I know this is the time that we all vow to be more present, less tech-connected, and more in the moment.

I took about a week to really think about how I would spend some relaxing time before the end of the year.

Here are #MyRelaxing 5:

1.  Spend quality time with family and friends. 
This is definitely first!  I want to be able to fully be present with family and friends this holiday season.  Tech free.  Including phones!  I want to be able to sit and watch a movie with my family or go out to lunch with my friends and not feel like I have to check my phone because I could be missing an important email or seeing what my other friends are doing and posting in that moment.  As my sons are getting older (9th grade and senior in college) I know that I will NEVER get this time back with them.  Eventually they'll move out and have families of their own so I definitely want to soak up as much time with them as I can.

2.  Get back into exercising.
Why wait until the new year?  I THINK I have a plan for this.  I'm toying around with some ideas and hope to be back in a routine sooner than later.  I love the way that exercising makes me feel.  And who doesn't want to be skinnier and in better shape? I'm excited about finding a routine that I love, that pushes me, that makes a difference, and that will hold me accountable and keep me consistently working towards a better version of myself!

3.  Give back.
There is no better feeling than giving back.  Whether it's paying for someone's coffee at Starbucks, donating food to a local food pantry, taking care of a child's need through the Purposity app (my school district set this up for our students in need and we are able to anonymously take care of their needs through the app), buying someone's dinner, just being there for a friend and asking them how can I serve them, etc.  There are so many ways that we can give back and the desire to do so seems to amplify during this time of the year when we truly have time to reflect on how blessed we are.


4.  Read more for pleasure.
I have always loved reading.  But with being in school and working on advanced degrees for the past few years, I haven't been able to read as much for pleasure as I would like to.  I am a HUGE book hoarder and have a problem with ordering books.  I have a stack of "to read" books and can't wait to work my way through  them.  As techie as I am, I still love the feel of holding a book in my hands.  I love to be able to highlight, underline and make notes in the margins.  I do listen to audio books and have read on my Kindle, but I LOVE holding a book in my hands.  I definitely plan to spend some time doing some "feel good" reading this holiday season.

5.  Get "stuff" done.
While this may not be the relaxing thing that the purpose of this blog post is supposed to contain, I don't know about you, but I have a long list of house "to dos" that I want to get done around the house.  During the Thanksgiving break I made a list of things that I wanted to get done and surprisingly, I got through a LOT of them.  After the fact, it made me feel REALLY good to finally cross some of those things off of my list that I've been wanting to do for a while.  You know, those things that would be nice to do but you never really have time to do them?  I have another list that I'm working on for the holiday break and will find a huge sense of accomplishment as I cross them off of my list!

What about you?  What are your #MyRelaxing5?  Be sure to use the hashtag when you post yours so we can all see what you're looking forward to doing in the next few weeks.