If you have been trying to balance a busy job and family life and trying too to fit in time for yourself and finding it difficult to do so then you may not be taking the time out you should be doing. You are not a robot but a human being who needs time to recharge your personal batteries.
When you try to do it all and keep going without any breaks then you are likely to suffer from stress or even burn out.
One of the most important things to do is to put time management boundaries in place so that you take short breaks through the day. Even a few minutes between tasks, just a few minutes when you do some slow breathing in and out, or take a brisk walk outside, or fully concentrate on something outside your window ignoring any distractions, any of these things can relieve stress and renew your energy for the next thing you have to do.
Some breaks in the working day are there anyway. Make sure you stop working for your mid-morning and mid afternoon breaks and for lunch breaks too.
Be very clear about time management boundaries. State clearly to yourself and others what you are and are not prepared to do. For example: If you have children and you come home tired after a day's work, give them jobs to do to, to contribute to the household chores.
Don't try to be a perfectionist. Start to say no and do things more simply too.
Life is not a competition with your neighbours or colleagues. Be realistic about what you are able to do.
Notice what you can cope with and what you find stressful. Become an expert at knowing when you need to take a break and when you can continue. Don't be a martyr. When you take short breaks you will become more efficient too. Recognise the difference between the necessary stress for completing a task in a given time and the unwanted stress of having to do something which you don't want to be doing or don't have the skills to do properly.
Good stress is needed to function properly and is known as eustress. Bad stress is when you don't want or need it and is then called distress, which can present initially as tiredness or fatigue. Monitor your fatigue and do something to relieve it before you become exhausted.
Stopping caffeine: is it worth it? Try gradually cut down over a period of a couple of weeks until you finally stop all caffeine for three weeks. Then assess whether you feel much better as a result. The likely outcome of three weeks without caffeine will be: more energy,
more relaxed,
less jittery, and
sleeping better.
