Welcome back to my blog, I hope you are all doing ok and managing to stay safe.

Before I start, I just wanted to let you know of something that is coming up.

I have been spending the majority of my time writing blogs for my new mini-series “Isolation made me do it” It starts next Tuesday 2nd June at 4pm and will run for the whole of that month, with a new blog every week. I have been really enjoying the process and hope you will join me on this mini-series, it would be so great to have you.

Now onto this week’s blog.

My 5 top tips

• Write a to do list 
• Start your day with a walk or some type of exercise
• Fuel your body with nutritional and healthy food
• Listen to music that helps to focus and stimulate the mind
• Listen to your body and have rest days when needed

Getting back on track.

I wasn’t entirely sure that I would have a blog for this week, and almost didn’t write one. I am a huge procrastinator. I can sit thinking for hours about all the projects I want to complete and the jobs I need to get done, but simply can’t motivate myself enough to actually do any of them. It is something that during my time in isolation I have been trying really hard to improve on.

In the beginning procrastinating was all I was doing, quarantine had basically made me worse, I was dragging my feet more than ever, with all the time I had on my hands and the complete lack of routine, I couldn’t find the motivation to do anything.

After a few weeks of doing nothing I decided that if I continued on like this it was likely to have a very negative impact on my mental health and I am not prepared to compromise my progress, especially when it could have been avoided.

I start to remember how good I feel when I am being a little more productive. Don’t get me wrong we all need days to do nothing of course we do, but at the same time the only reason most of us enjoy those more chilled days is because we haven’t had one in a while. If every day is a day of nothing, we start to take it for granted and they become less of a treat and more of a miserable, mundane way of life.

It was at this point I decided to start writing myself a to do list again, it is something I’ve always found to be helpful in keeping me proactive and on track. It’s such a simple idea but extremely effective. 

It has been one of the tools I have used to help me to get back into more of a routine with my days, so if you’re looking for a way to stay on task and be productive, I definitely recommend this simple idea.

Every evening before bed take out your note book and a pen and set yourself a few attainable tasks for the following day, make sure to leave it out where it can be seen.

Not Feeling it.

I woke this morning not feeling my best, I was tired from what had been quite a busy UK Bank Holiday Monday in Quarantine.  I had had pretty much the entire weekend off and with having that extra day I’m guessing it just made it a little harder to get back into the swing of things again.

The one thing that I will say is, had it not have been for my dog Winston needing to go for a walk, I probably would have just given in to the suggestion of my 11 year old daughter and stayed in my PJ’s watching films with my girls, from the comfort of my bed.

Instead we were forced to get up and get dressed to take Winston on his first walk of the day, it always seems like such a chore in the morning’s but again it’s something I highly recommend.  As much as you feel like you don’t want to, going for a walk is such a great way to kick start your day.  You never regret it and always feel great for doing it.

Once we had returned from our walk, I did feel a little more like myself again, I tidied the house and put on some washing and then before I knew it, it was time for lunch.  I am very aware that certain foods I put into my body can have a negative effect on my mood and how proactive I am.  I decided that rather than going for the carbs and sugars that I knew would probably make me sleepy come 2pm I would opt for a salad.  

It was after eating my lunch that I decided that I didn’t want to end my day without even attempting to write this weeks blog, I knew that come this evening I would feel some regret, I know how good writing makes me feel and how it breaks up my days in quarantine.

My procrastinating mind did try to come up with a few more excuses,  like its already 2pm there’s not a enough time or you haven’t got any ideas written down for this week, there’s absolutely no plan in place… but rather than give into these excuses I took out my laptop and decided I was going to simply try.

Finding a solution

I have always been someone who needs it to be relatively quiet when I’m writing especially if there is no idea or plan in place, but obviously that’s not always possible when you have a puppy and 2 children at home.  It was just the other day when I was finishing off blog #2 for the mini-series, that the noise level in the house was pretty high and I was beginning to feel a little distracted and frustrated.

I picked up my phone and decided to search for some music that might help to focus my mind to see if that would help. I knew it needed to be something that had no words and wasn’t to upbeat or else it would just become another distraction.  I wasn’t convinced that it would work but I wanted to at least give it a go. The album I chose is called “Opening your third eye” It describes itself as “A Chakra Balancing Sound Therapy”

I was drawn to this particular album because of the titles of a couple of the songs that suggested stimulation of the mind and help with concentration.  I put in my headphones and pressed play and went back to my blog.

It was a complete success and I haven’t looked back since, I continue to listen to this album every time I sit down to write, including now for this blog.

I don’t know how adding more noise and sound can help with my concentration levels but it defiantly does, the house is still filled with the sounds of playing children and a barking dog but with this music playing through my headphones I am able to focus and somehow keep myself from being distracted by the background noise… it’s honestly amazing and I absolutely recommend giving this a try if you, like myself find it hard to concentrate or assert your mind to the task In hand.

The end results.

So here you have it, the blog that came from nothing. It may be late and may not be the most interesting blog you’ve read today, but what matters is, I thought I should, so I did!  I set a goal to be more proactive and to procrastinate less and I managed to maintain that on a day that quite honestly started with no motivation and very little enthusiasm, but by putting these 5 tools in to action I managed to turn my day around and now I feel great because of it.

Note: You should always listen to your body and if a rest day or few is required then don’t be afraid to take them, it’s so important not burn yourself out, only when you feel its simply motivation your lacking should you push yourself. 

That’s then when a few simple tips and tools like the ones I have suggested above can really make all the difference.

Question of the week; What thing(s) do you do to stay proactive and productive?

Share a smile not a judgement

&

Lead with Kindness 💚❤️