January — named for Janus, Roman god of beginnings and transitions — is either the coldest or warmest month depending on your hemisphere.
“What are your resolutions?” someone texts me. “Goals or hopes?” “Either.” “I see.”
End of conversation because my phone dies. Only the sound outside my window reaches me.
Phone past one battery cycle/day = wasteful and counterproductive. For battery health, if you recharge before 20%, call it the end of the cycle and turn it off. There’s nothing more direct than “off.”
Make something, and make it with love. Or destroy something, and destroy it with relish.
Do yourself a favor and clean up later. I mean, wayyyy later. Let the sweat equity show, look at the mess and materials behind the final product…pencil shavings, paint sploshes, apple cores strewn among the date pits. Striving for the end result is great for follow through, but is it sustainable? There has to be some appreciation, dare I say, enjoyment, in the process, production, labor.
If there is no visible sweat equity in your work, do a thing that does have it (counterbalance). For people who can’t seem to restore their energy, it’s important to balance intellectual/mental labor with physical/emotional labor. Make something, and make it with love. Or destroy something, and destroy it with relish.
An aside: What’s the difference between a task and a project? While tidying up after a task is always good for workflow, don’t confuse a project as a task. Set aside the appropriate space(s) for a project to inhabit. Subsequent “messes” of work-in-progress projects might be unsightly, but necessary. The small amounts of energy spent putting away and taking out projects adds up.
Leave projects out in the pasture to live their lives.
Another point: don’t overlook the small things, but don’t let the small things run the show. While micromanagement is good for detailed analysis of net efficiency, once it is built into the workflow, it is appropriate to break it occasionally. In fact, it is necessary to break it.
Back to replenishing energy: Make a physical thing…with an emphasis on “make”. Get your hands involved. Since we have to eat, a classic one is cooking–either your favorite recipe or a fun new one, but it’s important that it delivers pleasure for you. Maybe cooking or baking isn’t your form of enjoyment, then make a different thing.
I will expand on this for a moment.. “Making” is a creative act, which will be different for everyone. Playing music is a creative act for some, playing a sport is a creative engagement for others. (We can argue that one “makes” the shot into the basket or “makes” a play.)
Find a making that requires a few muscle groups. It is easy to fall into an avoidant style dynamic with screens so save video games for another area of life.
Another thought: positive and productive activities that replenish are : self initiated, intentional, and helps you be “present” with yourself and your body. They are responses, not reactions. Many times I have witnessed people reacting to stressors by using the screen to “tune out”. This is not a restorative act and alienates, thereby turning off the ability to be truly present.
So go hang out with your body and make something! 💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫
The scenario: you’re waiting for your date who is running late. They text you: “sorry i’m omw!! (on my way)”
Your stomach grumbles, not from nerves but hunger. So you order for two and eat for one, doggy bagging the rest.
That’s what we call “ASS”- short for assertive. Not the “ass” to be confused with the taxonomical horse, although etymologically related. Not the “ass” short for asshole, which probably came from the equine “asinus.” If someone breaks an agreement, feel and follow your gut. Rarely has a stomach led one asstray. It’s your time, which waits for no one, especially you. And for all we know, every supper is our last.
PROS:
CONS:
Eat when you’re hungry Doesn’t waste time (yours) Doesn’t waste time (theirs) Eliminates flakes
None
🔥HOT TIP 2: Beat the curve
You have a big poo coming up, undoubtedly. It doesn’t hurt to start training for top condition on performance day. Begin a few months early. Take it easy, once a week. Then progress to two times, three times, four…until you are comfortable with a daily brown. Before you know it, you’re a natural.
🔥HOT TIP 3: Hot, not!
It’s a fact that skin is the leading cause of feeling hot, so we tackle the problem at its source. Set aside a few days for this one.
Step 1: identify a reluctant neighbor Step 2: detach the neighbor’s tub from its cavity and shimmy it out to the lawn, making sure to crush your toes a few times in the process. Step 3: draw a nice ice bath. Your body will be fully distressed and sweaty from moving the tub, making this next part easy. Soak in the cold solution for 6 to 10 hours until the tingling sensation of hypothermia ceases. Step 4: rejoice! Neural signals no longer send the brain any messages about it being hot, or not!
That’s all the Hot Tips I’ve Got, hope you learned something!
Noon Mul 