I was clearing some old notes on my phone and I found a sweet little note titled:
Things I can do any time to feel good
I looked at the date and it was from the depths of the world wide covid lock down. They range from the sound wide spread advice like:
List three things I’m grateful for
Meditate (classic)
And some more peculiar ones that are very specific to me
Recite a monologue I like
Imagine a place I’ve been before and imagine what’s happening there now (Weird! But cool…)
I remember this list being very useful. It meant that I had done the thinking ahead of time so when I was feeling bored, tired, restless or unresourceful, I didn’t have to exert energy and creativity I didn’t have to try and change my state.
I don’t know about you but when I’m in that state, no idea is a good idea. So having 30 or so things on my list was great. Looking over these, I noticed they fell into a few categories.
Physiological changes
Things like running, breathing exercises or star jumps. These are great because your brain doesn’t have to do anything and if you change your body radically your brain will follow.
Practical tasks
Things that move the needle in your environment. I’ve written about doing the dishes in the past. These cleaning and house work tasks are awesome to me to get a wedge of productivity in the door. (Not that it’s all about productivity! But more on that soon…)
External focus
Things like sending a message to a loved one, doing a metta meditation or a random act of kindness. I liked these because they made me feel great and often I find I’ll do more for others than I will for myself. So with a shift of focus in this direction it reframed my boredom or tiredness as selfish and if there was the possibility to bring love or light to someone it brought me to life a bit and out of my funk.
Some other things that I think are funny or worth a mention:
Extreme laser focus- dedicate the next 10 minutes to one thing
Watch a new interview with someone I admire
Watch a documentary I know nothing about
Watch a movie I know I love
Watch a funny youtube video
Find 10 beautiful things around me
Listen to an entire album (and do nothing else, just sit there!)
Since beginning this blog too I find just starting to write a post here is an excellent cure for the boredom, lack of focus.
What’s on your feel good playlist?
