What I do when i'm in a funk!

Photo: ISSIE FREEMAN

When I’m in a funk or my energy feels low...it’s more often than not because one of these practices (above) has been forgotten or not tended to. ⁣
⁣
Quite simply my needs are not being met and I feel disconnected and flat ...frustrated for no apparent reason. ⁣
⁣
A few months ago I wrote a list of the things that, when I practice regularly, keep my energy high, I feel motivated & life has a certain kind of ease to it.⁣
⁣
It’s a list I keep in my diary* as a reminder to make sure I fit them into each day / week...AND if I do find myself in a funk, I go to the list and ask myself ‘what’s missing?’⁣
(*yes-a proper paper diary and I LOVE it!!)⁣
⁣
I love lists, but the intention is one day these things will be deeply integrated into my life that won’t need it; but it’s a helpful tool until I get to that point! ...do you have a practice like this where you ‘check in’ with if your needs are being met?

How to embrace the weekend

PHOTO: ISSIE FREEMAN

On Friday I made a decision...

I was going to stop work at 6pm, put ALL my work ‘stuff’; notebooks, laptop etc away and out of sight. ⁣
I literally shut them in a cupboard.⁣
I also made a list of ‘what I needed to do on Monday’, a list I also put in the drawer out of sight knowing it could wait until Monday.
⁣
Then I went for a walk - just to the CoOp but still, without a commute now I needed to create some physical space between my working day and the beginning of my weekend. ⁣
⁣
This may not sound revolutionary!, but it made a HUGE difference to how I went into my weekend. ⁣
⁣
Even when I was working my 9-5 office job, I often had jobs or tasks that would linger in my mind over the weekend, taking up space and energy, energy which would have been better spent actually enjoying my time off.⁣
⁣
Intentionally making a decision to tie up work, put it away and step into the weekend knowing Monday was organised / able to handle anything ‘left over’ from the week, freed me up to relax, re-energise and play. ⁣
It’s the first weekend in a long time that actually felt like a holiday & I feel rested, excited and ready for the week ahead.⁣
⁣
Do you have a practice or ritual you do to break up your time so that work & rest don’t merge & blur? I’d LOVE to hear!!⁣