By: Bria Wannamaker
It seems like everyday is filled with rushing from one activity to the next, to another task, errand, social engagement. It seems never ending, it seems unenjoyable while we’re in the midst of things that we feel like we “should” be enjoying. When it’s over and the day has come to a close, our mind and bodies still feel active and are buzzing, making it difficult to wind down or to sleep.
A to-do list written down in the notebook over here. Reminders and notes on your phone so that you don’t forget the little things. Just when exactly do you get to sit back and bask in the life that you’ve already cultivated?
The above is a text from my mom that inspired me. She had a couple of fun, social, and self-care practices in her day that she decided to take off of her to-do list so that she could be fully present and engaged for other tasks. What a great reminder that you always have a choice; the choice to be empowered and to be the designer of your day, your week, your month, your years, your life.
She inspired me so much that I was able to be more present in my own day. I was dead set on giving my dog a bath at 2:00 p.m. BUT WHY!??? Just because I said I was going to and wrote it on my to-do list?? I gave her a bath instead at 6:30 p.m. I got to enjoy a beautiful afternoon outdoors and Mika still had her bath – just a little bit later in the day, no big deal!
Side note – as I didn’t rush to bathe my dog in the afternoon, I was able get out of the house on time with my partner. We went to Sens Cafe in Kingston, ON.
I had an iced latte with a blend of coconut/oat milk and it was DELICIOUS. Click here to check out their website.
There has to be an end to this incessant cramming; each day seems like a marathon with our sights set on the finish line, no time to even stop at the water stations. Our need for productivity and task completion is draining and can have a detrimental impact on every area of our lives.
Tips:
- Schedule in time for something fun/something that you enjoy, every single day
- Take a minimum of 1 full day off from working every single week – disconnect from phone, laptop, etc.
- Get intentional – before you do a task or an errand, ask yourself “does this have to be done right now?”
- Take things more slowly – people always say that they are going to wait until retirement to slow down, the truth is, if you don’t practice, right now, creating the life that you want to live, it won’t magically happen.
- Pause during transitions, bathrooms breaks, during meals – savor moments of pause, recharge – don’t distract by scrolling (leading to burn out), press pause on the “what’s next, what’s next, what’s next” that’s constantly yelling at you in your mind.
To some, this comes naturally – this sense of self-trust and knowing that “If I take a day off, everything will still be OK” or “If I push this task until tomorrow, I know that I’ll have more energy to complete it then in 20 minutes versus the 1 hour that I would drag it out for right now.” To others who have been in a perpetual state of self-distrust (fueled by Western cultural beliefs in that – somebody always knows better than we do – if you don’t have a problem, how can you pay someone to solve it for you/buy products that “fix” what you’re going through?), these skills, though innate, have been neglected, but with a little love and attention, can be developed once again.
Today, on The Better Bodies Podcast: