Hey Everyone,
How are you doing with the whole making space thing?
Have you been able to be a little kinder to yourself amidst the December chaos?
Have you been able to find a little space to do things that reduce your stress, help you have fun, or just give you a little wiggle room?
If you have, that’s terrific! Forge ahead!
If you haven’t been able to do any of that yet, please don’t be hard on yourself about it. This time of year is stacked with tasks and it can be difficult to navigate your way through them without getting stuck.
Sometimes, we all have to just roll along with things for a few days (or longer!) because trying to figure out how to create some breathing room just ends up feeling like more work.
BUT, with that said, if you are finding yourself feeling particularly squeezed and you really want to take a bit of time and space for yourself, I have two ideas for you:
1)Pick a time of day when your work ends
Ok, so to be clear, this is easier said than done but once you wrap your mind around the idea, it can be very helpful.
Now, I am not just talking about your paid work here, I’m talking about all of it – any task that doesn’t involve relaxation and rest.
In this plan, you would decide on a few things that feel restful and declare to yourself that at a certain time in the day you will stop anything that feels like work and switch to things that feel restful. (I find this a much better approach than trying to ‘finish’ items on a list – finishing always takes longer than I think it will.)
I usually find it easier to pick a later time in the evening at first. Something like, “After 9:30pm, I will only do yoga, drawing, or watch something specific on TV with Steve.” Then I set an alarm (yep, ADHD never takes a break!) for 9:30 and make the switch from worker bee to rester bee.
Once I am used to the switch, I will often move the time earlier in the evening.
2) Schedule the space you want to make
This is quite similar to the first suggestion but it’s less on/off.
Basically, when I need that downtime but it won’t naturally occur (it hardly ever does!), I schedule a time to do something fun or restful.
So I might pause my work at 10am to do yoga or I might plan to walk the dog at 2pm or I might arrange for a chat with my sister at noon.
Sometimes I feel a bit foolish that I have to do this instead of being able to just be spontaneous with my rest and fun but I do it anyway.
So, Team, whether you are able to take advantage of a resting moment when it arises or you have to plan how to add make space for yourself, I wish you luck and ease.
And, as always, please be kind to yourself as you make your way along.
For our movement practice for today, here’s a video from Yoga with Adriene that I found quite fun. 🙂 (Don’t take the still image too seriously!)
And here’s our mindfulness practice for today:
