In May I focused on feeling better about myself. I bought new makeup, two new pairs of jeans, got my hair cut and colored, and started making more effort to dress up for work. Sometimes I wear heals, sometimes I wear my new Ugg sneakers (they are fluffy inside, it’s awesome). I still keep it casual a day or two a week, but what’s important is that I’m not just wearing the same thing all the time – this is what months of living in and out of suitcases and winter did.
I couldn’t decide what to do this month. I was thinking I wanted to focus on eating more mindfully, and contemplated the Tim Ferriss slow carb diet. But I kept thinking – I am too strung out right now to live without carbs. I’ve been thinking that my stress level would decrease and then I would be up for it. It’s not a huge change from how I eat normally, I don’t think. And then I thought – that’s not going to happen, so I should just do it for a month and my stress level will have to decrease to accomodate this breadless-lifestyle.
On further reflection, I’ve decided against it. Wanting to be more mindful about food was enough – actually being more mindful followed. I may try the slow carb thing, but not right now.
My focus for June – make time for small things. I worry that I spend so much time on big things that the small things just get postponed indefinitely. Small things, like breakfast in my favorite cafe with a novel for half an hour before work. Or committing to finish work before a certain time so I can go to cross-fit. Like an early night, or a lie in. A walk in the park. An evening reading a novel, or watching Desperate Housewives (it has been so long since I did this, I no longer have a computer in my living room to watch tv shows or movies on). Or reading some non-fiction regularly, rather in bursts (on planes). Getting a pedicure.
It’s not just doing small things for me – last week I bought my teammates cupcakes. The week before I gave someone a novel that I’d long promised them but not got around to posting. I should do more things like that.
Work is crunchy this month. The other day I somehow ended up working until 9pm – not a habit I want to develop. There’s big deadlines looming and I feel like I’m sacrificing my happiness to the higher goals I pursue. I don’t want to live like that, so this month is about taking a moment to pause, and do something small that makes me, or someone else, a little happier. Ironically, for all it’s easy to cut out small things because we’re so busy, I think taking time for small, unimportant things, makes time feel more abundant and so reduces stress.
I might start by (finally) reading the Book of Awesome (Amazon). I’m also taking suggestions. Meanwhile – what are you focusing on in June?
3 replies on “Post Grad Rehab: May/June”
I am sorting of having the opposite type of month. This month is about being selfisin in pursuit of a major change in my life. It needs to be intense and seriously focused, as I am not very good at being selfish for very long. But in my heart, I know it is worth it – to see something I want and put everything I have into achieving it, even if it means my daughter has more dinners like the one last night – honest dogs, raw carrot, and cucumber.
I sometimes miss that about being single – it was so much easier to hide away and be focused on something. I spent this summer in Newcastle, and I knew no-one, and it was pretty lonely at times but I was so productive in the evenings! I hope you’ve managed to be selfish – it’s not a long term strategy, but I totally get what you mean, sometimes you need to be in order to achieve something important to you.
[…] Huston asks for inspiration: What are you focusing on in June? Work is straightforward: Drupal web development until September, at least, and probably similar […]