I have been wanting to read \u2018What\u2019s the Point of the Revolution If We Can\u2019t Dance\u2019 since I got my copy at the African Feminist Forum in September. However, it has taken me until today the 6th of December to finish the book (whilst queuing for 6 hours to vote). For me the most interesting thing is that the book began to influence me even before I delved into its pages\u2026At the recent Association of Women in Development (AWID) Forum, I attended a session on \u2018What\u2019s the Point of the Revolution If We Can\u2019t Dance\u2019 and afterwards made up my mind to write a list of personal self-care principles which are:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Have a manicure every 2 weeks
\u2022 Have a pedicure every month
\u2022 Have a facial every month
\u2022 Exercise at least 4 times a week
\u2022 Drink at least a litre of water a day
\u2022 Read a fantastic book at least once a month
\u2022 Have a weekend break every 3 months
\u2022 Take a fun holiday at least once a year
\u2022 Have a massage once a month<\/p>\n
The great thing for me is that although my list may appear very indulgent (and why not?) it actually will not cost me much money. I am fortunate that my favourite Auntie owns a beauty studio so I get to have free manicures, pedicures and facials. All I really need to do is tip the staff that provides the treatments, and from time to time I bring my Auntie a small gift. However I have realized that my self care routine only works when I am actually in my home country Ghana. I am quite fortunate that the organization I work for, the African Women\u2019s Development Fund (AWDF) has a flexible working policy\u2026I am a night owl so tend to go to bed very late and accordingly rise late so it is a real boon to be able to start work at 9am, 9.30am or 10am. In Ghana that\u2019s a real luxury, many people I know have to fight through hours of traffic to start work at 8am. <\/p>\n
By now you are probably thinking I have it good when it comes to self-care, but I have realized a pattern. Whenever I travel for work (and recently that has been up to twice a month) I fall sick. I usually get a cold which in the case of my trip to San Francisco for the \u2018Women Raising Millions\u2019 training was somewhere between my 16 hour flight time from Accra \u2013 San Francisco. In Uganda, during the entire African Feminist Forum I had a cold and a racking cough, my poor room mate Sophie would wake up in a panic wondering if I was okay and very recently in Dakar I reacted very badly to the dusty conditions and sneezed for three days continuously. So what am I going to do about this? These short term illnesses have given me a clear message. I need to take even better care of myself. I need to start taking some good vitamin and mineral supplements, I need to go to the clinic to run some tests to ensure there is not an underlying reason for these persistent coughs and colds, when I am outside Ghana attending conferences or convenings I need to try as much as possible to emulate some of the healthy eating practices I maintain at home and not indulge in lavish hotel breakfasts or the pastries and biscuits that are sometimes present at conferences and convenings. I also need to ensure that I find ways of taking a break whilst traveling for work\u2026So what do you do to take care of yourself? Let\u2019s share some ideas and strategies. Any recommendations<\/p>\n
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have been wanting to read \u2018What\u2019s the Point of the Revolution If We Can\u2019t Dance\u2019 since I got my copy at the African Feminist Forum in September. However, it has taken me until today the 6th of December to finish the book (whilst queuing for 6 hours to vote). For me the most interesting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n