Your Home is Your Charging Station

When you sit down and reflect on your day to day life, how much are you blindly living through the motions? We wake up, go through the steps of the day, and find ourselves back in bed before repeating it all again the next day. There is no shame in this, I will always tell you to eliminate that. This is simply a slight nudge towards awareness. I have to check myself often. 

If you strive for living a healthier and happier life, the steps of the day that you rarely even consider are crucial to shine light on. There could be silent blockers tucked in there unknowingly that are blocking you from the transformation or improvements you wish to make. 

Everyone has different schedules and lifestyles which means the quantity of time we all spend at home varies. No matter how much time you get to spend at home, the concept is the same. Your home should be your charging station. 

It is easy to check out when you get home. But the honest thing you have to evaluate is what you’re doing with that time. For me, here is something I recognized. When I would get home, I would feel extremely out of whack. I would be overstimulated, overwhelmed, anxious about the day or what was happening in life. I would go home to merely hide from it all instead of digging deep to evaluate my needs to better handle what was giving me the uncomfortable feelings. 

Things I frequently did:

-I would get home and mindlessly eat throughout the entire evening until going to bed.

-I would plop down in front of the tv and disassociate on a daily basis. 

-I would put off doing things around my space because it was easier to just ignore it. 

-I would allow myself to pick up my phone for a “break” and lose a large amount of time scrolling.

-I would eventually get tired enough to fall asleep then would wake up with enough time to rush out the door.

Fast forward to having a home with more people than just myself, I recognized how our home could be our saving grace instead of just a breeding ground for keeping the chaos alive. And when we actively choose to slow down and see what we could all do to reconnect and recharge, the energy in our house is massively different. 

Here are ways that I have been trying to consciously make our home our charging station:

-In the morning, the majority of the time, I am waking up before the littles wake up. If I allow them to be the ones to wake me up, my body is instantly sent into the stressors and demands on the day. My energy never reaches an optimal level for the day. However, if I allow my feet to hit the ground and begin the waking up process to get my day started, my energy level starts stronger. I allow the quiet of the house, the warmth of my coffee, and a book to get me mentally prepared for the day.

-Some days I make it a point to just be home. Our days can quickly get jammed packed with activities and places to be. However, having time where we have nothing to do and nowhere to be, is typically when I see everyone’s energy shifting. We can be at the house enjoying the space and doing what we want without feeling the pressure to be doing something. 

-Be mindful of what we are doing. There is a time for everything. Some decisions are the easy ones but knowing what we all need is crucial. Sure, there are times when we have been busy and curling in together with a movie is perfect. But other times, I know I need to work up my own energy to play games, go to the park, go on a walk, play in the backyard, do a project, pull together an activity, make something together, curl in and read a book. I caught myself using screen time for all to make the time at home easier, but in reality, no one was having their needs met and we had continuous chaos. Finding a balance in it has shifted a lot for us. 

-We sit down for as many meals as we can together. Taking time to slow down and have a meal together benefits us all. Getting a chance to have no distractions, eat and connect as a family is some of my favorite times of the day. Your kitchen table is a simple place for everyone to recharge if you bring awareness to it. 

-My own habits in the house. When I am not spending time meeting the needs of my family or spending time with them, I am not always great at asking myself what my own needs are when I get the space. I sometimes fall into old patterns of screen time, scrolling and distracting myself. Now, I actively make sure I am doing something to fill up my own cup. I knock out a task that I have been avoiding when the littles are distracted. I drink a glass of water and ask myself what I need. I pick up a book from my collection that I keep telling myself I am going to make it through. I take a bath. I roll out my yoga mat. I make some form of warm drink. I dry brush my body. I bake something. I spend time writing. I journal and work through something that I have needed to process. I get the extra sleep I know I need.

-When I am home, I am working on unplugging from the outside world by muting emails, notifications, social media, whatever distractions that may be there. I have to remind myself that it is ok to not be available 24/7 for anyone in your life. My family and myself are the priority, everything else can be worked in when it works for us. 

Utilize your home as your safe haven to focus on you and your family. Allow home to be the safe place where you can work through anything you have going on and get yourself to a better place. If you continue to distract yourself from it, it will continue to be a problem. Taking the steps to figure out what your needs are takes time. However, once you establish that, you’ll crave it. Your home will become the place you want to get to because you know it will always be the place to bring you to a happier state of mind.

Start by simply bringing awareness to what you are doing when you are home. Establish what small tweaks or slight pivots you can start making a little bit at a time to recharge in your home. There is no shame in whatever conclusion you come to on where you currently are with that. Take a deep breath and know that you are taking the steps to make improvements. When we detach from shame and guilt, we are given the freedom to adjust in a way that works for us. We are given the space to take the brave steps towards actually living the life we dream of.