Hey friends 👋🏻
Here are Doable ideas, Reflections and Mindfulness to try out this week.
Doable ideas 💭
Feeling unmotivated as the holiday season approaches?
Small momentum can go a long way.
Apply Newton’s First Law of Motion:
Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.
Maybe try fixing your messy work desk situation.
Great, you’ve accomplished that – why not try fixing things in a bigger scale, like communication between your team members, or your diet?
P.S. Yes, I know that there is NO magic behind making your bed every single day, but for someone who’s going through tough life situations, it’s very important to send signals to the brain that they CAN accomplish something. 💪🏻
Reflections 🪞
What part of my life needs more space?
Mindfulness 🧘🏻♀️
What activity brings you peace? How can you make it part of your routine?
This year, I’ve really enjoyed closing my eyes under the early sunlight with a cup of filter coffee in my hands.
That truly set the tone of my day ☀️
Ideas Worth Pondering 🧠
Have you started feeling the holiday mood yet?
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, the holiday season can be contagious.
But I haven’t felt that (despite the fact that I sing Christmas songs every single day at work).
I’m in a final sprint mode frantically trying to finish existing projects so that I can feel less overwhelmed in January.
Is that a good approach? I’m not sure.
I caught a cold last week.
My only symptom was that I lost my voice – which sucked big time, because A) I needed to sing at work most of the time, B) I started a new job, and C) I got extra Christmas gigs which made it really hard to perform at my baseline level (and they were mostly outdoor! Goodness me.).
It caused me extra stress such that I wasn’t able to fall asleep easily, which wasn’t good for my recovery process.
Every morning in the past week, I felt slightly better and more hopeful to push my luck.
I do NOT recommend that. 🙊
It’s a downward spiral.
So last Friday, I rejected extra work because I seriously needed a break for my voice.
Lesson learnt: you have to prioritise yourself and set boundaries accordingly.
It sounds simple, but as a recovering people-pleaser, it was an achievement for me to actually say no to something (especially at work).
Yes, I did choose to rest, but remember I just said I’m also in a frantic project sprinting mode? This raised the question:
When should you push for the extra mile? When should you say no to opportunities that don’t align with your current state?
It’s like the work-life balance debate at the beginning of the pandemic: whether you’re on team “I finally have the time to learn Spanish, home school and try 30 new recipes” or team “I’m finally going to wake up without an alarm clock”, productivity and self-care ain’t two opposing sides.
You have to decide for yourself.
In my case, my “self-care” meant not using my voice. My “productivity” meant finishing off some projects so they don’t keep me up at night. They don’t necessarily contradict each other.
Prioritisation is definitely a skill everyone who cares about productivity should have under their belts.
After all, it’s all about doing the RIGHT things in an efficient manner so that we can enjoy life more yeh?
Video This Week 🎥
I documented my 4-month journey of doing my first pull up. These are the lessons that you can apply in life too 👇🏻
If you enjoyed that, please share with others.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
- Claim your peace of mind with these handpan guided meditation soundtracks.
- Work 1:1 with me to improve your health and wellbeing with music therapy. No waiting list!
Be awesome x
Venus