After all, every day is different, and we are different, too\u2014the weather changes, our feelings shift. Maybe the sun is shining right now, and yesterday around the same time, there was a rainstorm. Maybe you feel proud of a project you just submitted, while yesterday you were upset because it didn\u2019t seem like anything was going your way.<\/p>\n
Clark uses the following sensory exercise at her practice, which helps to direct attention to our bodies and physical experience, which again changes all the time: Pause several times throughout the day to notice five things you see; four things you feel (to the touch); three things you hear; two things you smell; and one thing you taste.<\/p>\n
Add bits of self-nourishment.<\/strong> These are small activities that are solely for you<\/em>, said Meghan Coltrane<\/a>, a licensed professional counselor in Asheville, N.C., who specializes in perinatal mental health and reproductive trauma. For instance, she said, this might be anything from taking a walk after work to using a visualization to saying a nightly prayer to journaling to taking a morning yoga class. Small acts can feel incredibly significant and soothing. The key is to incorporate them into your daily routine, and to use your senses to savor these moments.<\/p>\n Design your workday.<\/strong> \u201cIf you\u2019re able to tap into what you\u2019d like your week to look like, it will make you feel more fulfilled,\u201d said Paula Rizzo, author of the book Listful Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed<\/em> and the forthcoming book Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed You<\/a><\/em> (September 2019, Mango Publishing).<\/p>\n For example, Mondays are Rizzo\u2019s \u201cconnection days,\u201d which is when she schedules lunches, introduction calls, and check-ins. Fridays are for writing, being creative, and getting in the zone (so she doesn\u2019t schedule any trainings or calls).<\/p>\n This is likely easier to do if you\u2019re an entrepreneur and have a flexible schedule, but you probably have some control over your days when you work at a 9 to 5, as well. How can you design your workday so it\u2019s most fulfilling for you?<\/p>\n Shake up a monotonous routine.<\/strong> Routines help us to thrive, but too much repetition can render tasks and activities meaningless, Clark said. She noted that this is especially true for moms, and moms of young kids, who can feel like their days are endless and mundane, and resemble \u201cGroundhog Day.\u201d When we get locked into the same patterns, she said, it sometimes doesn\u2019t occur to us that we can change them.<\/p>\n Clark suggested focusing on tiny tweaks: Take a different route (like the scenic route) to and from work or school; go outside during a break at work and listen to a podcast, or take a walk; have breakfast for dinner.<\/p>\n Assess your coping skills\u2014and replace unhealthy ones. <\/strong>Sometimes, life can feel like drudgery and a daily grind because we aren\u2019t coping well. Maybe we\u2019re completely ignoring our emotions, pretending the sadness doesn\u2019t exist. Maybe we\u2019re numbing our emotions with a few glasses of wine. Maybe you don\u2019t even realize you\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n Coltrane suggested first noticing when you\u2019re \u201cseeking something external to change or replace the feeling inside.\u201d Maybe every time you feel stressed, you think, \u201cMan I need a drink!\u201d or you grab your phone and start scrolling. This is when it\u2019s helpful to pause and ask yourself, \u201cWhat am I feeling right now?\u201d Coltrane said. It\u2019s also helpful to ask yourself why you\u2019re feeling this way, and what it might remind you of, she said.<\/p>\n Once you realize what you\u2019re doing, you can do something different. As Coltrane noted, \u201cJust taking away a maladaptive coping skill is not enough.\u201d It\u2019s important to \u201creplace it with something more helpful in that moment.\u201d That is, instead of scrolling social media, you take a walk. Instead of reaching for a drink, you call a friend. Or you set a timer for 5 minutes, close your eyes, and feel the feeling, focusing on where the feeling resides, and what sensations you\u2019re experiencing.<\/p>\n Be realistic. <\/strong>Many of us don\u2019t set realistic expectations or goals for ourselves, said Rizzo, who teaches an e-course called Listful Thinking Masterclass<\/a>, which covers everything from sharpening your focus to finding time to do the things you love. \u201cAnd then they feel like a failure when they don\u2019t cross the 345 things off their to-do list for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n The key is to put the right things on our plates, and just enough of them. According to Rizzo, that means doing tasks that we actually have the time and resources to do on a given day.<\/p>\n This requires knowing yourself. For instance, reflect on when you prefer to do certain tasks during the day, and when you feel most productive and energized. Maybe you feel more creative in the mornings, so you schedule writing tasks before lunch, she said.<\/p>\n Rizzo also suggested using a timer so you know exactly how long tasks take (since we tend to both underestimate some tasks and overestimate others). Be strategic about your to-do list. <\/strong>Instead of dumping a bunch of tasks onto your daily to-do list, be \u201csuper detailed and specific,\u201d Rizzo said. Instead of jotting down \u201cwrite emails,\u201d write, \u201creply to Linda, Brenda, and Jennifer,\u201d she said. Similarly, separate big projects into smaller tasks, and write those smaller tasks on your list.<\/p>\n And \u201csometimes you need to cross tasks or goals off your to-do list for good,\u201d Rizzo said. This is especially true for tasks that keep popping up again and again. Determine whether you really want to do a certain task, and whether you\u2019re the best person to do it, she said. \u201cYou might find you can outsource it or free yourself of the guilt of not doing it by deleting it forever once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Coltrane suggested asking yourself these questions: What would I create if I knew the universe fully supported me, and I could not fail? What do I really want out of life? What am I doing currently to create that for myself?<\/em><\/p>\n If it doesn\u2019t feel like you\u2019re doing anything, that\u2019s OK. Because you can change the course of your day at any time, in any moment. Think of one tiny step you could take right now, and start there.<\/p>\n Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you\u2019re doing the same things day in and day out, when your to-do list is a mile long, when it feels like there isn\u2019t a spare minute, it\u2019s easy for every day to blend into the next, and become a blur of work, chores, and email. It\u2019s easy to <\/p>\n Read More<\/a>
\n
\nRethink your mindset.<\/strong> Clark regularly encourages her clients to change their mindsets from \u201ca sense of responsibility and obligation to one of opportunity and gratitude.\u201d For instance, you might change \u201cI have to send all these emails\u201d to \u201cI get to communicate with clients about important projects.\u201d You might change \u201cI have to put the kids to bed\u201d to \u201cI\u2019m glad I get to be with them for the last few minutes of their day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger<\/a> May 2, 2019<\/p>\n