I have been reading through some of my old journals. It’s been interesting because I remember exactly where I was when I made some of my entries even though some are at least five years old. It turns out that my favourite places to journal are the beach, the park and the library!!

I remember when I was about six to 10 years old, a mobile library would come to my school every Monday and Wednesday and I would get a new book to read at least every week. My favourite books were from the Junior African Writers’ Series (JAWS). Just thinking of those days makes me smile. We had another public library close to the school so I was spoilt for choice when it came to books.

Now in my “grown up” years I still visit the library. On occasion, I go there to search for a book or read one but most of the time it’s for some peace and quiet and for a chance to recharge. I know!! I totally understand how ridiculous this sounds to some people. All I can say to this is isn’t it amazing how we are all so different!!

We live in a fast paced world. Most things nowadays are quick and easy to get and do. We have instant pictures, instant messaging, we can binge watch a whole series of our favourite programs on TV in a few sittings rather than wait for the whole season to finish (which takes months sometimes). There is increasing pressure to do much more nowadays and frankly because of technology and other innovation we can. I believe the effect of this is that we tend to “empty our tanks” faster, a term that a friend of mine likes to use. Surely our bodies and minds can only handle so much pressure. It’s no wonder our societies nowadays suffer from a lot of burnout issues.

It is for this reason that I believe it’s important for one to take time to “fill up one’s tank.” Doing something that one enjoys could be a way of filling one’s tank. Some people enjoy travelling. I have a friend who enjoys baking so much that it cheers her up when she is sad and another who enjoys cleaning and will gladly do this for fun. I wish I had that gift!!

Going to the library is one of my favourite things to do and often gets me recharged. What about you? What do you normally do to recharge? Do you intentionally engage in activity that will help you avoid burnout? What do you enjoy doing? As my mum often says, “Be kind to yourself.” Take a break every now and then.