The To Do List
I’ve Just sat down all calm and happy with a cup of coffee and you, are top of my ‘Today List’ The reason for saying this is because yesterday had a mini melt down which you might relate to. There was no catastrophe, nothing really awful happened but the big ‘The To Do List’ coupled with weight of responsibility, expectation, guilt and that great female ability to worry about things that haven’t actually happened and probably not going to happen, all came raining down on my shoulders.
I was sitting in that forest, we often find ourselves in, where we can’t see the wood for the trees and whether it’s a little job or a much larger task, they’ve all ended up in one great big blob stuck in my head and this one wasn’t going to go easily. There’s no one simple answer to fixing ‘a mini meltdown’ but there are, a collection of processes I go through to come out the other side quickly with a clearer vision. First, however tempted I am to stay in my PJ’s and put a film and get the chocolates out this isn’t going to get me anywhere, so it was, get up, get dressed, do something and put your warpaint on (only managed concealer and lipstick but it does make a difference) Next move, to counteract the confusion in my head, was robotically to have a good tidy up, even a little chuck out, there’s nothing like a charity carrier bag sitting in the hall for domestic validation of control. The fridge is another favourite of mine, as is the clutter that accrues in the cupboard under the stairs, where does all that stuff come from? Knitting, baking, cooking gardening all come under the same psychological process because these largely mindless actions are not only productive but medically acknowledged as calming and stress reliving. They take our focus away from the anxiety we are going through and allow the mind to recalibrate, I think of it as productive time out. Then, with a clearer head the calmer you can take yourself out of the forest and see clearly the wood for the trees. We all have our own methods of putting things back in order. I’m a list maker, have a major list on my phone with subsections, but however, tec savvy I think I am; nothing can replace a piece of paper and on this will be my ‘Day List’ nothing goes on it apart from what I can conceivably accomplish in a day. It doesn’t have to be all work; pleasurable entrees can be included but I think of it as daily brain glue that concentrates my mind, so things don’t mount up and you stay in the light.
I Hope this has helped, although it would be remiss of me not to fess up, that to cheer up, when I dropped off my charity bag I came out with a gorgeous pair of hardly worn L.K Bennet shoes!
Love, Anthea XX
Article Originally from My Weekly!