Life on the go

Morning lovelies.

Thought I’d just write a quick little chatty post as I haven’t in a while, I hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine (well, apart from the crazy rain storms this weekend, huh, felt like the clouds needed a “you ok hun?”).

As June was so extraordinarily busy this year, I vowed to make July less so, spend some time actually at home getting stuff done, and really slow down a bit.

I’d started to recognise that exhilarated panicky feeling when you don’t even have a thought to yourself and you end up rushing continuously from one thing to the next. I’ve never experienced diagnosed anxiety, but I do notice the significant difference in my mental health if I’m running around continuously without any time in between to stop, take a breath and rest.

So here we are, nearly through July, and I am racking my brains trying to work out where that month went too? At a slower pace nonetheless, but time just seems to whizz away from you. Gone are the endless childhood summer holidays that felt as though they lasted years, the months of the year when you’re in your twenties seem to fly.

I’m a serial diary planner, I’ll admit it.

If I find an evening or weekend without any plans, I’m the first one to arrange some way of filling it. Evenings out with friends, weekends away, even down to lunchtimes trying desperately to catch up with blog posts that were scheduled but somehow left behind. When you’re living for the next booked in event, I guess it can be hard to take stock and appreciate each one as it passes, rather than immediately turning to the next.

With a life on the go constantly, the important small things slowly slip – getting 8 hours sleep a night (ummm bed at midnight every night doesn’t warrant that!) eating healthily with only occasional treats (my weight has been plateauing for the last 2 months rather than the steady decline I was working so hard on), even drinking enough water each day has decreased as I’ve been dipping in and out of the office.

You can rush around the whole time, but honestly, you’ll burn yourself out.

When you do come to a stop, from experience it will all come crashing to catch up with you, and then the scheduled relaxation time (i.e. annual leave) usually ends up in illness. Therefore, I am giving myself the two weeks before I have holiday scheduled. Two weeks of early nights, drinking enough water, and consciously controlling what I’m shovelling into my mouth. Two weeks of making my exercise classes rather than being too busy to find the time. Of still seeing friends, but limiting the number of nights out a week.

A weekend with early nights, and early rises. Healthy thoughtful breakfasts and ticking jobs off the list. Of catching up with life admin over delicious cups of coffee (greatly helped by Rombouts who sent me various samples of their one cup filter coffees to try). I fully intend to allow myself time to mentally process each day, and switch screens off long before sleeping. After this week at work, the main bulk of my tasks over the last 6 months will be completed, and I can finally work my way through everything left to fall by the wayside.

Life on the go can be productive and exciting, but it’s not always sustainable.

Sometimes you just have to slow down.