Working in the service industry can be extremely rewarding, especially when you get to do what you love for a living. When you turn a passion into income, it can feel amazing. With any line of work, it can become stressful over time, especially when you are giving to people all day- listening to them talk about their life, their traumas, their dreams, and even just surface conversation. Talking to people all day can get exhausting, even when you love your clients and/or team members. Working with your hands and wrists, and sitting while you provide these services, whether they be tattoos or esthetics services, can be physically exhausting. There also is an emotional tax that comes with connecting with people on an emotional and mental level that can wear on you over time. These are not reasons to not do what you love, and they can be combated by one important skill: the art of self care.
Self Care For Dummies
It seems likely that people often have a misunderstanding of what actual self care looks like, because it has become such a trendy buzz word. Self care is more than face masks and bubble baths. Though these can be tools in your toolbox, they are only small components of self care. The meat and potatoes of self care are more inward practices that add up to help you optimize your life and your time. Self care boils down to one main thing: boundaries. Boundaries are the foundation of optimizing and streamlining your life, and practicing putting them in place in any relationships, especially work ones, will help you so much in the long run to avoid burnout. Brene Brown, a highly regarded professor and writer, speaks a lot on the topic of boundaries. She describes boundaries as “what is okay, and what is not okay”. She has explained that setting boundaries may be uncomfortable in the moment, but will avoid future resentment. We love a strong and self respecting queen!
How To Set Boundaries In The Workplace
Never underestimate the power of actually taking time off- it is essential to your well being and mental health as a service provider. This means being able to completely unplug and decompress when you do have time off. Turn off your Insta notifications, silence your phone, and actually focus on being present in whatever activities you’re doing that day- even if that’s staying at home and in bed in your two day old pajamas. Trust us, we get it. Your time off should be filled with things that help fill your cup so you can tackle the week ahead and take care of your clients at your full capacity. We have all heard the saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup” and it’s absolutely true!
It is important to communicate with your clients, coworkers, and anyone involved in your line of work when you are not available- and stick to it! Even if that constitutes sending a text that says, “Hey, I got your message and I would love to take care of this when I’m back at work next week!” It is absolutely not expected of you to return that text or email after hours, and there are very rare cases where emergencies actually come up that need your immediate attention. Responding outside of your work hours and on your days off will actually set the precedence to your clients and team that you are constantly available and will be immediately responsive- and that is not a healthy way to live your life. TLDR: take rest days, take them as often as you need, and understand that it’s okay to communicate these needs and enforce them.
Self Care is Actually Quite Simple
Basic self care is so underrated, and it really does not need to be over complicated. These are basic principles we have practiced since we were children, we need to maintain them especially when we are caring for other people. Let’s review the important ones:
Eat good food- if you’re booked and busy, you still need to make time in your day to keep your body fueled. Service providers really have a stigma of running on caffeine and nicotine, and it’s quite literally the fastest way to crash your metabolism, hormone functions, and natural circadian rhythms. If you can’t take time to have an actual lunch break, bring healthy snacks to keep you running throughout the day. But seriously, book yourself the lunch break and take a moment to breathe and eat some food. Make sure when you are able to have real meals that they’re well balanced and ideal macros for your body. Just fuel yourself!
Sleep- 7-9 hours a night will keep a lot of scary things at bay. It’s essential for all of the functions in the rest of your body. Boost your metabolism, lower stress levels, help promote hormones and energy levels, and be able to handle more in your daily life. Go to bed early, limit screen time before bed, and enjoy those hours to the fullest.
Building routines- maybe you like to start your mornings slow by reading, journaling, and sipping coffee. Maybe you like to get up, slam a preworkout, and head to the gym. Whatever your preferred routine is, stick to it daily, getting up around the same time every morning. Having morning and evening routines that involve hygiene, food, exercise, and sleep time rituals will help you optimize your time outside of all of these basic needs. Routines are so important because as humans, we really are simple creatures of habit!
Say “no” when it’s not a “f*ck yes”- Part of setting boundaries is being able to politely decline invitations, friendships, conversations, etc that really don’t feel right to you. You don’t have to overbook yourself and spread yourself so thin to make everyone happy. It’s 2024, people pleasing is out! Unless it’s a full body yes, it’s a no.
In conclusion…
Don’t ever feel bad for taking care of yourself, even if you have to tell someone no in the process. You have to be your top priority in order to care for people as a full-time job, and those are just the facts. Learn what your boundaries are, and practice them heavily. Over time they will come second nature to you and you will put them in place automatically. Keep your cup full, and you’ll be able to pour into those around you!
If you’re in Scottsdale and in need of some self care, come pop in and see us for a new tattoo, piercing, lash extensions, or just to hang out. We’d love to see you!
We hope you enjoyed this read, and found a good reminder in it that you are worth investing time and effort into! See you next time!
Written by Lanna of Bold Beauty Company