3 Steps to Turn Your Day Around
As many of us adjust to the new normal of working from home and staying inside most of the time, it can be really hard to stick to our good habits. We might feel a low level of underlying depression that dampens our motivation. I’ve also always found the busier I am, the more productive I am. So while it seems counterintuitive, many of us have more time than ever but are also getting less done than ever before.
With this in mind, it’s important we don’t let one bad decision or one unproductive hour derail our entire day. We always have the ability to begin again in each moment. This is something I’ve heard a thousand times, but I haven’t put into practice much until recently. When I was younger, I was always a “diet starts Monday” kind of person. Whenever I felt I had screwed up or not done whatever I was trying to do perfectly, I decided the day was already ruined and I’d figure it out tomorrow. This kind of black and white thinking can seriously impede our progress to our goals whether they are losing weight, being more mindful with technology, achieving something at work, etc.
Yesterday, as soon as I opened my eyes, I started thinking about everything I was worried about with work and then to distract myself, I opened my news app. As I’m sure you can guess, that didn’t make things any better. By 10am I realized my mind was going in 50 different directions, and I wasn’t getting anything important done. I decided to hit the reset button and sit down to read the Daily Stoic and do a 5 minute meditation. I REALLY didn’t want to meditate, I could hardly stand sitting still for the first minute or 2. When 5 minutes was up, my mind stopped racing and I was able to focus on what I needed to and shift the direction of my day. After dinner, I started going down a news rabbit hole again that put me in a bad mood and had me mindlessly walking to the fridge looking for sugar. I was able to catch myself going to a negative place, and I decided to get away from my phone and go for a walk to the beach that left me calm and peaceful. These small acts are nothing revolutionary, but over time make a huge difference. I like to think of it in 3 steps:
Stop - become aware of what you are doing.
Recover - quickly forgive yourself and move on from self-criticism
Reset - do something that shifts your internal or external environment
Also, if you are feeling extra stressed right now, TAKE A BREAK FROM THE NEWS (speaking from experience here)! If the thought of taking a break from the news makes you feel anxious, it’s probably a sign that you really need it. Ask a family or friend to keep you in the loop of anything you NEED to know and give yourself a few days to only engage in entertainment and media that uplifts you. Stress is one of the worst things for our immune systems.
