Michaela’s Muses: burning the candle at both ends

Mental exhaustion is an occasional thing that I get when my body knows I have been burning the candle at both ends.

Unfortunately, it happens a lot. Sometimes I don’t even know I’m doing it until I’m already feeling the physical side effects.

I think a lot of people forget to take care of themselves and take breaks when necessary.

There are a few remedies I use to help when I’ve burnt out, though.

Usually a good, long nap does the trick, but sometimes I am not tired. In that case, I usually do a self-treated spa day at home and bake.

The spa day starts with a hot bath infused with a bath bomb of my choice. The bath bombs I get have little inspirational messages in them, which makes it that much better.

Then I would flip on a chick flick while I bake something. My go-tos are chocolate chip cookies, banana bread or brownies. Sometimes, if I feel up to it, I make lemon bars.

The movie is usually a rom-com that I know will lighten my mood. Some good ones are “When Harry Met Sally,” “So I Married An Axe Murderer” and “50 First Dates.”

To finish off my self-care day, I go for a walk. Most of the time I head to the bosque for this.

When you are feeling burnt out, it’s important to treat yourself to a well-deserved relaxation day. For it to work, though, you need to turn off work notifications on your phone.

The simple fact is you won’t be able to relax if you are thinking about work all the time.

I’ll end with a question: What do you do to relax?