Wellness & Lists
As today is the 1st of May 2020 it is a perfect opportunity to begin the 20 Day Mental Wellness Challenge. If you are anything like me, I love a list, I am a planner! Usually, I will write a list of "Things that need doing today" then a list for "Things that need doing by the end of the week" and sometimes I'll even have a "Things that need doing this year" list (that's for things that will definitely need doing at some point, however, I seem to have so much going on in my head, if I don't put it down on paper, something visual to remind me of the task, then it will wake me up in the night and stop me from sleeping, then little things become big things and will start to overwhelm me, so I write lists and keep them stuck to the fridge as my visual reminder. There's nothing quite like the feeling of ticking off a task on the list, its a mixture of accomplishment and pride!!
As today is the 1st of May 2020 it is a perfect opportunity to begin the 20 Day Mental Wellness Challenge. If you are anything like me, I love a list, I am a planner! Usually, I will write a list of "Things that need doing today" then a list for "Things that need doing by the end of the week" and sometimes I'll even have a "Things that need doing this year" list (that's for things that will definitely need doing at some point, however, I seem to have so much going on in my head, if I don't put it down on paper, something visual to remind me of the task, then it will wake me up in the night and stop me from sleeping, then little things become big things and will start to overwhelm me, so I write lists and keep them stuck to the fridge as my visual reminder. There's nothing quite like the feeling of ticking off a task on the list, its a mixture of accomplishment and pride!!
However I'll always remember one of my therapist saying, "it's ok to write lists, however, don't write lists that are so long that they are impossible to complete because you will end up feeling like a failure as you didn't reach your target, however, your target was almost impossible to reach and not just for you but anyone. Keep it simple, think about it, whats REALLY URGENT? maybe a bill that needs paying, or your son's school trip money as to be paid by today, LIST 1. Then whats semi-urgent, things like your son has a birthday party to go to on the weekend, say Saturday so you need to buy a gift for Son's friend by the end of the week, LIST 2. Then, and this list is almost as important as the first two as its things that defiantly 100% need doing however your head is telling you they are urgent, they need to be done today, immediately!! when in reality you are letting yourself get overwhelmed and if you stop, take a deep breath and sit down and really think about it, things like, put a lock on the cupboard door, or get the kettle descaled, cleaning out the fridge, these things can wait a while, and by writing them on your list 3 they will get done, just not today.
