Duh, right?
Have you ever really stopped to think what that simple action does to a room and to the mood? Opening the blinds at the beginning of the day to let the sun pour in and closing them in the afternoon as I settle in for evening is part of my routine. The cats love to sit in their house and people/bird watch, and I find more often than not, my mood is better when I follow this routine. The exception is when it is cold and raining. Then, I want it dark, and I want to be all bundled up. That is a story for another day
I am trying to pay attention this week. I have been working thru The Artist's Way, and I have hit the week where I am doing a media cleanse. For me, this has meant no social media, no reading. no checking the news, no watching TV (unless it involves socialization like last night when my friend and I watched Psycho). It seemed like a daunting task when I was preparing for it last week, but I have found now that I am here, it doesn't bother me. I am enjoying the week. Here are some of the things I have been working on/creating:
*I created a dot journal which may be the greatest thing I have ever done. I have absolutely been irrationally excited to work in it. I plotted out a yearly calendar with big dates like the lesbian wedding in Indiana where I am giving the bride away (that is also a story for another time). I am tracking habits and moods and self-care and books I have read or want to read this year. I even put my budget and grocery list and meal planning in there. I work daily through my list of tasks. I have already found I am more productive because I am keeping track of everything in one place. Also, it feels so good to mark things as done, CAN I GET AN AMEN?
*I have worked on my morning pages and gratitude journal every day.
*I had a couple of spare minutes yesterday while waiting for my friend so instead of filling it with something mindless, I took the time to relax and do a guided meditation.
*I have been listening to hypnosis tracks before bed. I had one really good night of sleep and one really sucky night of sleep so we shall see what tonight holds. To note, my sucky night of sleep was after watching Psycho.
*I had been doing yoga in the morning and at night, but my chiro warned me off for a few days. I will pick back up on Thursday. I think I will do a guided meditation instead before I go to bed tonight.
*I am being social. I invited friends tonight over for dinner. I did decline to go out on Sunday because I felt like organizing myself with the dot journal and getting myself in the head space for the week was more important. I do have plans again on Thursday, and I have plotted out people I need to catch up with now that I am all vaccinated.
*I am taking tomorrow night out to finish more items in my dot journal.
*I AM WORKING ON MY BLOG.
*I have been more conscious of getting up and moving frequently while I am working.
*I got up early today and straightened my house including the bathroom. It felt so good to have that chore out of the way early.
*I went grocery shopping for items on my dot journal shopping list.
*I cleaned out my bedroom closet. A reminder to self: A Good Will run is going to be necessary.
*I am working in my dot journal instead of checking my phone every five minutes to see what is going on in the social media sphere.
*I sent an email about applying for a scholarship for a class through NYU for TV and film.
*I am planning to submit auditions this week to be a holiday model for a brand of clothes I really love and also for a reality show. NO DETAILS YET because I am not exactly ready to talk about this yet.
*I have a date tomorrow to clean my sandals. This had been on some arbitrary list for the last year so I am glad that dot journal finally gave me some motivation.
*I FIXED MY WASHER
*I am going to give myself a pedicure tomorrow
*I am going to flip my mattress
*I am going to create a 2021 music play list
*I actually called about lab work that should have been done in August, and I have now scheduled it in my journal to actually get it done.
*I cooked dinner for the last two nights.
*I have been reciting my artist's prayer every day.
I have done big and little things this week, and the most important of them is taking the time to unplug and find ways to fill my time in other ways. My emotions have definitely been more leveled out this week. As I do add media and TV back in, I will have to work to create that balance because Ru Paul's Drag Race is important, too. My dot journal will help!
What are some things you would do if you were unplugged?
