#EveryLittleActionCounts Week 54: Creating Little Spaces of Comfort
We navigate our academic lives in a fast-paced, highly competitive environment where we are expected to perform at multiple levels and roles constantly. Creating a consistent, intentional comfort space – physical and/or mental – supports counterbalance by nurturing our well-being, sense of autonomy, and emotional resilience. By integrating small rituals within little spaces of comfort, we can reclaim our academic life as lived as well as worked.
“The more at peace we are, the more productive we can be.” – Ryan Holiday
Here are three tips that support you in creating your little spaces of comfort:
Identify a time and space – if it is a quiet bench, a favourite walking route, a favourite library, a Zoom background, 10-minute morning break before emails, or a writing space with friends – where you feel happy and relaxed.
Intentionally return to this space regularly and make it a ritual that reminds you that you are allowed to be not just produce.
Be consistent – visit this little space consistently and integrate it as a fixed micro-environment in your personal and or professional life.
We would be very happy to hear about your strategies for creating little spaces of comfort in your academic life.
Anne-Wil Harzing & Christa Sathish