Have you ever felt so tired that, when the alarm rings in the morning, the thought of facing the day and all of its tasks seems just overwhelming? I know I have.
For me, a part of it stems from a good habit I have developed. I am a list-maker. Each day, my calendar details everything I hope to accomplish that day. There is a section for work – meetings, workshops, writing blogs and newsletters, working on custom orders, updating financials. There is a section for household chores – if I break them down into a daily schedule, I don’t lose a day to housework. I even make notes like “prep bread” in the evening so that, when I wake up in the morning, it’s ready to pop into the oven. If I don’t make these notes, we could face the morning with nothing for breakfast!
I start my plans with a yearly schedule, then break it down into monthly deadlines. As a new month approaches, I break that month’s tasks into weekly chunks. Every Friday, I look at the next week’s calendar and add and/or adjust the daily task schedule as needed.
This sort of detailed schedule may not work for everyone but it really works for me. Especially as I run my own business . As a solopreneur, there is nobody there to remind me that a certain task needs to get done this week or it will be too late. I will admit, though, that there are some days that the list looks ridiculously huge. Some of those tasks, however, will only take a short time to complete. If I knock those off, it is so satisfying to check them off the list and suddenly, the list is not so vast.
But - did you notice what is missing from these lists? A block of time set aside for rest, relaxation, recuperation. Oftentimes, that feeling of exhaustion is not a matter of being physically tired after a day of hard work, it’s being mentally and spiritually tired.
More and more of us have been working from home during the pandemic. It can be challenging to leave work behind when the phone rings or dings with an incoming text. I’m notoriously bad for “just doing a quick check of my e-mails or social media messages” before I turn in for the night.
Spring is in the air, despite today’s snow. I am so looking forward to spending time in my new veggie garden, reconnecting with the earth. Or sitting on the porch, sheltered from breezes that are still a little too cool, and knitting while listening to the frogs singing their evening songs. Enjoying that quiet time that isn’t necessarily silent but definitely nurtures one’s spirit.
Life rolls on faster and faster. I hope that you find some time to enjoy the beauty that nature brings in the spring. I hope that you schedule some time for activities that instil peace, that foster awe and enjoyment within your day to day lives, that awaken your soul.
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