Have you had those mornings where you wake up feeling utterly exhausted? I definitely have! It has been a goal of mine to make sure I’m getting enough sleep every night so that my body isn’t tired when I wake.
There is more to waking up feeling tired. I often find that we confuse being physically tired with having hit a point of burnout. Maybe the feelings you are dealing with in the morning have little do with your sleep habits, and everything to do with your mind habits.
If you are rolling out of bed each day already feeling defeated, it is no wonder you want to pull the covers over your head and dip out of existence for a while longer.
I want to give you 4 things you can do when you wake up feeling exhausted.
1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
I know what you are thinking, “What does comparing myself to others have to do with exhaustion?”
Well, it has a lot to do with it! We can exhausted spending all day long trying to live up to what we think everyone else is doing.
Have you ever thought: What is my problem? Why can’t I get my act together? Why can’t I be doing more? I should be doing more like that person over there. Look everything that person can do. Why can’t I be like that?
We can exert so much mental energy beating ourselves up for not measuring up. This does nothing but make us more tired and worn out. As an introvert, I have a smaller capacity to go-go-go than extroverts do. I cannot just pour, pour, pour into other people all day long and not take time to slow down, breathe, and have some quiet.
By getting over the guilt of being an introvert, I can take the time I need to replenish myself which allows me to live life feeling much more refreshed and energized.
Accepting who I am has allowed me to understand that we all have different needs, and it is okay if I can’t get as much done as someone else. Everyone has their struggles that they are dealing with. And that person whom I’m looking at and wishing I could be like is probably feeling like they don’t measure up in some areas, too.
2. Replenish Your Supply
All of us have people whom we pour into on a daily basis. This could be your spouse, your kids, your co-workers, your extended family, your friends, and on and on the list goes. You have to be intentional about filling yourself up if you want to have something to pour out to others.
Filling yourself up might be:
- Reading a book you enjoy.
- Listening to a podcast that you find interesting.
- Playing uplifting music.
- Counting your blessings.
- Taking time to write in your journal.
- Enjoying a cup of coffee in the quiet.
What fills your soul? Give yourself permission to make that a priority.
I know you are thinking, “I have too much to do each day to spend time on myself”. I get that, and for a long time I tried to run like crazy without filling myself up back up.
Guess what? My health took a toll, my marriage felt the strain, and my kids were getting leftovers instead of my best. I’ve been able to handle things so much better since I find ways to rejuvenate myself each day.
How much of your day are you spending doing things that drain you? Are you doing anything in your day that puts life back in you?
Even if you take just 5 minutes a day to do something that energizes you, it is worth the effort. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference it can make!
3. Let Some Stuff Go
People ask me all the time how I get so much done in a day. Honestly? There are a lot of things I choose not to do so I can give more focus to a few things.
While I was writing and launching my book, Money-Making Mom, Jesse took over a lot of the cooking and menu-planning. He wanted to try it and we discovered that he’s really good at it and really enjoys it.
My kids help out with laundry and daily cleaning. We pay to have a cleaning service come in once a week and deep clean our house. And we recently hired on a mother’s helper to come in two mornings a week to help with tasks around the house, watch the kids while Jesse and I have meetings, oversee some of the homeschooling (she has her degree in education!), and to even enable Jesse and I to get in a lunch date now and then.
I can’t do it all. I don’t do it all. In order to say “yes” to something, you are saying “no” to something else. Figure out what your main priorities are, and let some of the other stuff go.
4. Give Yourself Grace
Finally, give yourself grace. There is no way you are going to get everything done in a day. No matter how much you accomplish, there will always be other projects and tasks that need to be completed in the days to come.
Instead of focusing on all of the things that you didn’t get done, focus on your progress. Celebrate what you accomplished — not what you didn’t get done.
Give yourself some breathing room in life. Even if you have a mountain of things that need to be done, take a few minutes to rejuvenate yourself. In order to break the vicious cycle of feeling exhausted all of the time, you will need to learn your limits and stick within them.
What helps you on those days when you wake up feeling exhausted?
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It’s time to stop sleep-walking through life and wake up to the amazing excitement and fulfillment that comes when you follow my simple plan to Make Over Your Evenings.
Crystal,
This older post popped up today on my Facebook. I had read it when you originally posted it. God gives me inspiration at the right time. You have no idea how much I needed to read this today. I appreciate every time you share personal touches, because I cannot imagine how hard it might be to do that. Just so you know…it helps to remind me that I am not alone. Thank you.
I had no idea you are an introvert! You can’t tell it from your videos! I’m an introvert as well. Thank you for sharing this. It gives me hope.
Thanks for all your wisdom. You encourage me and help me to realize when I can’t do it all, I’m not a failure
Love this! I’m 8 months pregnant with an active 23 month old at home. I’m blogging and juggling several part time jobs (all of which I love and greatly appreciate) but I’m learning to let go of a lot more. We all go through exhausting seasons. We can’t always accomplish everything on our list..as much as we want to. I’m learning to pick and choose and prioritize. And yes, give myself grace!
Yes! It sounds like you do need to let go of some stuff in this busy season of life!
One thing you can do that is free and helps your health immensely, try to step outside and watch the sunrise. That half hour will start your day on an amazing note.
Such a great tip! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for this! I’m working on a time management. Juggling school, homschool, house and pets is a lot. I wish I had family and friends I could ask to help. Hiring help isn’t in the budget but I am trying to focus on the things I did accomplish even if it was just feeding the kiddos their breakfast, lunch and dinner, and getting some homework done! ?
More suggestions:
Get more sleep. Nap when the little ones nap. Hire a high schooler to watch your children and go take a nap.
If this happens frequently, get a physical and see if there is a problem with your thyroid or blood glucose levels.
Such great advice — thank you!
I am so excited to see the picture of those cards! I wanted to order them for my daughter when you first posted them a while ago, but couldn’t find the post once I finally sat down to do it. Would you please tell us again where you got them? Thank you!
I went looking for them – here’s the website! I just ordered a set to send to my husband overseas!
http://sweetashoneycards.com
Thank you!
Crystal, this is such a perfectly-timed post that really rings true! Yesterday definitely brought challenges that drained me by this morning and required me to rethink my hefty to-do list. I COULD have gotten everything done, but I absolutely needed to stop, regroup, and re-center myself . . . or go crazy. Your advice is 100% on target. It’s encouraging to hear from you and your readers that many of us struggle with prioritizing our own sanity and letting things go peacefully!
I literally woke up this morning thinking about how I couldn’t wait to get back to bed at the end of the day! So wrong! I need to let go of my worries that wake me at 3:00am and keep me from sleeping. A parent’s job never ends! Praying for piece of mind in Minnesota! Any advice is welcome! Love you Crystal!
This post is so timely! I have a husband, a 3-year old, a 1-year old, 2 cats, a 40-hour a week job and church activities/duties. My job was nuts from October to January. My kids are extremely high-energy busy kids and I’ve always been a low-energy person. Add in the stress of the holidays and bad eating habits and mix it all together and you get a very frazzled stressed out me. My health has started to take a hit. My husband and I agreed for me to go to a coffee shop every Saturday morning for an hour by myself. I’ve gone the past 2 weekends and it made a huge difference in my day. I’ve also committed to eating better. In order to function, I need to nourish my body too.
I have some health issues and woke up in pain and in an awful mood. It continued while I got my son ready for school. What finally got me out of it was calling my Momma and having a nice conversation with her. Usually a dose of Mom will do it for me.
I’m really really loving your posts lately that are more “real”, it makes you seem so much more like me or anyone else. I know you are real and like any other mom out there, but it is so refreshing to have someone out there not pretending to be perfect. Thank you.
Thanks you for reminding me that I need to give myself grace (as your posts often do). I just miscarried and am still recovering physically and emotionally amongst dealing with a lot of other stressors. I was surprised I was able to get up with my husband on the first day of his new job. I had planned to get much needed stuff done today, but decided to listen to my body instead when I had enough. Now to find something to replenish my supply! God bless!
I am SO very sorry for your loss. {Hugs!}
I woke up feeling drained today, and couldn’t pull myself out of bed. I ended up hitting the snooze for another hour- which really can’t happen! I ended up feeling frazzled and behind all day, and neglected some of my priorities as a result. Thanks for the tips. 🙂
I’m sorry you had a rough day! 🙁
Aw, thank you! Tomorrow is a fresh start 🙂
100% of my day goes to things that drain me. I need to work on taking time for me. it was my new years resolution….and we all know how that goes….I do appreciate the encouragement!!! its more helpful than you know!!!
I’m so grateful it was an encouragement!
Hi Kate,
What helps me stick to New year’s resolutions is to break it down and say this week I’m going to do “blank” for myself, then I focus on just each day of that week. Next week I start over.
I just love this and needed this post today- thank u!!!!!
You are so welcome!
Excellent advice and great words of wisdom Crystal!
Thanks so much for your kind encouragement!