Minding You with Lee Moroney
From Tallaght, Lee Moroney has been coaching adults, teens and children for over 20 years, specialising in tutoring for DDLETB in sports, exercise and fitness QQI level 5s, along with many community education courses around wellbeing.
As a business owner I don’t know how I have coped with all the work the last few months.
Between exercise classes, coaching in the evening, plus other various commitments like teaching PE for DDLETB, running two school age childcare services, with my own personal life – it has been hectic.
At times it was morning to midnight with my various work commitments, such as end of term reports or marking key assignments for leaving certificate applied groups I was teaching.
I did choose to follow an opportunity of a dream job, PE teaching, but with so much going on in the business it was hard trying to juggle it all.
What I have found out, particularly in the last year, is having time with family and friends is very important.
Unfortunately I have not been doing this, it’s only been in spats here and there, but over the summer this will be my priority!
It’s not selfish to prioritise yourself, it’s an important aspect of looking after yourself!
Self-care is not about extra sleep, or hot chocolates and cosy nights in, but loving yourself first!
It may sound far out there, but that’s the truth.
It may not be always possible to do that, particularly around family emergencies, nor am I saying that we don’t volunteer to help others or do an extra project but find a balance in all that you do.
When we look after ourselves more we will have more energy, feel rested, be sharper and not feel stressed.
Top tips for not overwhelming yourself.
1. Schedule downtime – it’s easier said then done but rest is important.
2. Turn off your data on your phone or change your notification settings. I have been turning off certain apps on my phone at 10pm.
3. Do not stretch yourself too far by taking on too much – know where your strengths and weaknesses are in terms of work and time.
4. Learn to be happy when you’re not busy.
5. Ask others for help if something becomes too much for you.
For example share the load – it could be one parent doing a GAA drop-off every Thursday for training, doing alternative day school drop-off between two or three parents, asking the other half to bring the children to Saturday dance/gymnastic class, online food shopping to avoid the stress of busy supermarkets.
Over the course of many years I have seen people burn out, overwhelmed, and near breaking point – it’s important to catch yourself before you get to that point.
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