relaxation? what in the world is that??
Friends, I have a question in general - what do you do to wind down from work?
Maybe you never wind down, and have in fact been working 365 days a year, all day every day. If that is the case.... please.... don't.
But especially in these times now that I work from home, I've discovered it takes a lot more energy to stop thinking about work. In the before times, I would make sure that I stopped the moment I left the building (which, okay, is a lie. I didn't stop, but I would at least try). But now, with my desk being across the room from where I relax, or sometimes, going back to my desk to do some personal work, trying to mentally remove my mind from the working day has become so hard.
In early covid times, I had a little schedule! A friend of mine described her schedule as her running a cruise ship, which was super cute. If I remember correctly, this was mine:
5-5:15pm: Sit on Instagram and scroll the internet aimlessly
5:15-6pm: Work out
6-6:30pm: Shower
6:30-7:30pm: Prepared/Eat Dinner
7:30-9pm: Watch television/a movie
9-10:30pm: Work on Personal Projects
10:30-11:30pm: Read
11:30pm: Bedtime
Like this schedule worked for maybe a week. But like, how in the world was I supposed to sustain this?? Have a schedule is always helpful, especially in early 2020, but to plan my evening down to the minute is odd! Unnatural! I hated it! Then what I feared would happen happened. Sitting on Instagram began to bleed into my workout. I would stop making dinner because I was too stressed. And personal projects? I don't know her!
I had a nice break in the beginning of this year with my pottery classes, so every Monday I had a reason to log off of work and force myself to focus on the clay or else I would ruin it, but now that it's over... now what do I do?
I'm hitting a wall in a handful of ways. Focusing on my personal projects has become harder; forcing myself to use the elliptistair has become a behemoth of a task; and let's not even talk about eating real food more than once a day, which is already far too much!
So I've been trying to ease myself back into the schedule except it's definitely modified. Like "please eat before 8:30!" and I will eat at 8:30, which isn't a total fail! Also I've wanted to show off some of my new tattoos I've acquired which is, let's be honest, the reason why I've been doing so much weight lifting (lmao my best weight is 20 pounds per arm and it's just me crying half the time). But! A small workout bookended by crying is better than no workout at all!
(Let's not discuss personal projects ie writing except hello friends! You are reading this which means I have written this week. Isn't that delightful?)
Anyway, what do you do to unwind? Do you immediately throw your computer off a cliff and start working out? Do you stare into the unending void that is Instagram, wondering if maybe you can will yourself a different life if you devote hours to it?
Do you, idk, go outside and see people? Ick, disgusting. But hey - you do you.
Links! Also I realize for some of these links, they're less recommendations (unless it's a movie or a book or something) and more like ...silly things I found on the internet this week.
Maybe you never wind down, and have in fact been working 365 days a year, all day every day. If that is the case.... please.... don't.
But especially in these times now that I work from home, I've discovered it takes a lot more energy to stop thinking about work. In the before times, I would make sure that I stopped the moment I left the building (which, okay, is a lie. I didn't stop, but I would at least try). But now, with my desk being across the room from where I relax, or sometimes, going back to my desk to do some personal work, trying to mentally remove my mind from the working day has become so hard.
In early covid times, I had a little schedule! A friend of mine described her schedule as her running a cruise ship, which was super cute. If I remember correctly, this was mine:
5-5:15pm: Sit on Instagram and scroll the internet aimlessly
5:15-6pm: Work out
6-6:30pm: Shower
6:30-7:30pm: Prepared/Eat Dinner
7:30-9pm: Watch television/a movie
9-10:30pm: Work on Personal Projects
10:30-11:30pm: Read
11:30pm: Bedtime
Like this schedule worked for maybe a week. But like, how in the world was I supposed to sustain this?? Have a schedule is always helpful, especially in early 2020, but to plan my evening down to the minute is odd! Unnatural! I hated it! Then what I feared would happen happened. Sitting on Instagram began to bleed into my workout. I would stop making dinner because I was too stressed. And personal projects? I don't know her!
I had a nice break in the beginning of this year with my pottery classes, so every Monday I had a reason to log off of work and force myself to focus on the clay or else I would ruin it, but now that it's over... now what do I do?
I'm hitting a wall in a handful of ways. Focusing on my personal projects has become harder; forcing myself to use the elliptistair has become a behemoth of a task; and let's not even talk about eating real food more than once a day, which is already far too much!
So I've been trying to ease myself back into the schedule except it's definitely modified. Like "please eat before 8:30!" and I will eat at 8:30, which isn't a total fail! Also I've wanted to show off some of my new tattoos I've acquired which is, let's be honest, the reason why I've been doing so much weight lifting (lmao my best weight is 20 pounds per arm and it's just me crying half the time). But! A small workout bookended by crying is better than no workout at all!
(Let's not discuss personal projects ie writing except hello friends! You are reading this which means I have written this week. Isn't that delightful?)
Anyway, what do you do to unwind? Do you immediately throw your computer off a cliff and start working out? Do you stare into the unending void that is Instagram, wondering if maybe you can will yourself a different life if you devote hours to it?
Do you, idk, go outside and see people? Ick, disgusting. But hey - you do you.
Links! Also I realize for some of these links, they're less recommendations (unless it's a movie or a book or something) and more like ...silly things I found on the internet this week.
- There's a story about a man who is paid to do nothing. Like he would wave someone goodbye as they left on a trip; show up at a doctor's appointment with them; sit across them from a restaurant - and just do nothing. Not talk, nothing! Just exist alongside them. Honestly, after reading about the person who paid him to be there so they wouldn't slack off on their thesis, I kind of get it. Sometimes I need to describe a story aloud and then I have it, but it's always nice to bounce an idea off of someone. What a gig...
- John Green dropped a video about how to stay motivated in dark times and well, it was a nice thing to hear after this week.
- If you haven't seen the video of Anne Hathaway beating Kelly Clarkson at the chance to sing "Since U Been Gone" on Kelly's own show, well, then dang, you simply must! Honestly the collapse Kelly does is truly a mood.
Have a lovely weekend!
Also idk what is happening in the photo but it made me laugh.
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