Mindful March: What is Working
First off, the prayer triplet meeting last night got cancelled, at very short notice, due to one of my friend's work commitments/shifts; we've had to postpone until Good Friday, and I hope that nothing more will get in the way. It was a bummer, particularly when I was ready with some prayer requests I wanted to share.
I completed the Smartwool challenge, ironically not with my almost two hour walk I did yesterday evening to take advantage of British Summer Time, and make up for the call not going ahead, but with this morning's shorter walk.
I was a little bummed last night, just looking at my news feed and seeing the fun times some people were having meeting up on a one-to-one basis to have walks, when I couldn't even commit to anything like that at the weekend because of my other plans, and the general feeling that very few people take it upon themselves to ask me if I'd like to meet up, plus there's the constant issue with people not reciprocating my messages. I think I was also still bummed by the fact that one of the people who does show an interest in meeting up is very disorganised (or just flaky) and pulls out at the last minute for various reasons.
So, on to today's 10 Days of Happiness challenge, which is to think of something look forward to, which has been made harder by the fact that May's stag do is cancelled for good, not postponed, just cancelled, because of the stag being out of the country indefinitely.
So, after feeling a bit low this morning, I cheered myself up by looking toward this weekend, where three of us will be meeting up to recce a route; it's a variation on one that I've tried before, and it will be good to do it with others. I'm still trying not to get low self-esteem that there was not much takeup from the group on this, and not think that it's some personal slight against me.
I've also been making a note of what "works" today, during my morning and working day - here is what I've noticed:
Not rushing
I could have had a longer walk this morning, before morning prayers, but I decided not to push myself and do a shorter walk, just so that I could have a bit of a sit down before I had to get onto the zoom call; time sure does seem to speed up when I have a looming commitment, and the one thing I like about working from home is being able to do things at a leisurely pace; no rushing out of the door because I have to catch that train.
Allowing myself more time than I think I need
I need to think about how long I take to get organised, and not think that I will perform certain tasks in zero time, like making a cup of tea ahead of a meeting. I'll apply this logic to preparing to go to the first in-person taekwon-do (all school) class of the year. It's something I've done for a while, though often I find that it backfires, for example when we're on a holiday that involves staying at different places for a few nights, I'll be standing by a packed suitcase ready to go, when everyone else is still resting on their laurels.
Being aware of time, and commitments
Similar to the above, just knowing when I need to do something, and when I leave the house; clock watching isn't always great though, and I realise it's not the best look when I'm with others, and I'm just thinking of somewhere I need to be, other people not always understanding my commitments and anxieties about lateness. When I'm at home on my own though, it works quite well.
Taking breaks
These are always good to get back my focus, because sitting in front of a computer screen all day is not brilliant. I have also found that if I can do work away from my computer, then I should.
Having lunch while working
Sounds crazy, but it works for me.
1) If I try to make lunch while on my break, it just eats up a huge chunk of my lunchbreak - I went to make a sandwich last week, and by the time I had made it, I was almost ten minutes into my precious break time. Today, I did a cooked lunch, and I just took occasional screen breaks to make sure it cooked okay.
2) I'm less inclined to rush my food while I'm still working, as I won't be thinking "Gotta eat it, and then get outside fast"; also, I'll be trying to focus on work too, so will probably take a few bites and then look back at the work I'm doing.
Sitting in the garden can be just as good as taking a long walk
So, during the winter in particular, I was taking as long a walk as I could during my break, just to make sure I maxed out my time spent outdoors, and walking around was the only way feasible because of the cold weather.
Today's lunchbreak consisted of:
1) Read some of my current book,
2) Have a ten-minute walk, while digesting what I just read, and then
3) Sit outside in the garden with a magazine.
It was a perfect way to spend my lunchbreak, plus some of my long winter walks ended up being rushed.
Now to remember all of this for the future.
I completed the Smartwool challenge, ironically not with my almost two hour walk I did yesterday evening to take advantage of British Summer Time, and make up for the call not going ahead, but with this morning's shorter walk.
I was a little bummed last night, just looking at my news feed and seeing the fun times some people were having meeting up on a one-to-one basis to have walks, when I couldn't even commit to anything like that at the weekend because of my other plans, and the general feeling that very few people take it upon themselves to ask me if I'd like to meet up, plus there's the constant issue with people not reciprocating my messages. I think I was also still bummed by the fact that one of the people who does show an interest in meeting up is very disorganised (or just flaky) and pulls out at the last minute for various reasons.
So, on to today's 10 Days of Happiness challenge, which is to think of something look forward to, which has been made harder by the fact that May's stag do is cancelled for good, not postponed, just cancelled, because of the stag being out of the country indefinitely.
So, after feeling a bit low this morning, I cheered myself up by looking toward this weekend, where three of us will be meeting up to recce a route; it's a variation on one that I've tried before, and it will be good to do it with others. I'm still trying not to get low self-esteem that there was not much takeup from the group on this, and not think that it's some personal slight against me.
I've also been making a note of what "works" today, during my morning and working day - here is what I've noticed:
Not rushing
I could have had a longer walk this morning, before morning prayers, but I decided not to push myself and do a shorter walk, just so that I could have a bit of a sit down before I had to get onto the zoom call; time sure does seem to speed up when I have a looming commitment, and the one thing I like about working from home is being able to do things at a leisurely pace; no rushing out of the door because I have to catch that train.
Allowing myself more time than I think I need
I need to think about how long I take to get organised, and not think that I will perform certain tasks in zero time, like making a cup of tea ahead of a meeting. I'll apply this logic to preparing to go to the first in-person taekwon-do (all school) class of the year. It's something I've done for a while, though often I find that it backfires, for example when we're on a holiday that involves staying at different places for a few nights, I'll be standing by a packed suitcase ready to go, when everyone else is still resting on their laurels.
Being aware of time, and commitments
Similar to the above, just knowing when I need to do something, and when I leave the house; clock watching isn't always great though, and I realise it's not the best look when I'm with others, and I'm just thinking of somewhere I need to be, other people not always understanding my commitments and anxieties about lateness. When I'm at home on my own though, it works quite well.
Taking breaks
These are always good to get back my focus, because sitting in front of a computer screen all day is not brilliant. I have also found that if I can do work away from my computer, then I should.
Having lunch while working
Sounds crazy, but it works for me.
1) If I try to make lunch while on my break, it just eats up a huge chunk of my lunchbreak - I went to make a sandwich last week, and by the time I had made it, I was almost ten minutes into my precious break time. Today, I did a cooked lunch, and I just took occasional screen breaks to make sure it cooked okay.
2) I'm less inclined to rush my food while I'm still working, as I won't be thinking "Gotta eat it, and then get outside fast"; also, I'll be trying to focus on work too, so will probably take a few bites and then look back at the work I'm doing.
Sitting in the garden can be just as good as taking a long walk
So, during the winter in particular, I was taking as long a walk as I could during my break, just to make sure I maxed out my time spent outdoors, and walking around was the only way feasible because of the cold weather.
Today's lunchbreak consisted of:
1) Read some of my current book,
2) Have a ten-minute walk, while digesting what I just read, and then
3) Sit outside in the garden with a magazine.
It was a perfect way to spend my lunchbreak, plus some of my long winter walks ended up being rushed.
Now to remember all of this for the future.