Well, so. It’s been one of those weeks.
You know the kind I’m talking about. Monday was Labor Day, which meant that Tuesday felt like Monday. Except I was teaching on my Tuesday schedule. But I had a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon, so I didn’t teach my afternoon class, which made it a weird Tuesday. Then Wednesday felt all wrong, because it should have been Tuesday. But it wasn’t, of course.
In a nutshell: this week has been one disaster after another.
Weeks like this are enough to make you want to give up entirely–to throw in the towel and admit that you’re simply not up to the demands of managing your life. Instead, I’m offering this roundup of five ways to stay motivated and keep pressing on when it feels like the roof is caving in right on top of your head.
In no particular order:
Unplug.
As I mentioned earlier this week, I’ve started turning off my phone at night. This prevents me from feeling like people need my attention immediately when I wake up in the morning. I’m taking a few minutes to gather myself, thank you very much. That gives me the space I need to clear my head and set some priorities.
I’ve also cut back on mindless TV, which means I’m spending less time filling my ears with noise. You’d be surprised how peaceful and motivating silence can be. It gives you a chance to hear your own thoughts and work things out.
Organize.
I confess to being an organization junky: new pens, files, folders, baskets. I love them all. I remain convinced that if I can just find the right combination of these things, all the parts of my life will fall into place.
But until I discover that magical combination of elements, I try to take a few minutes every day to put things where they belong. I’m especially diligent about that during weeks like this one. That way, when I get back to work, I know where everything is and can get started without delay. If nothing else, organizing lets me feel like I did one thing right over the course of the day.
Acknowledge your mistakes and don’t repeat them.
It’s really tempting to ascribe the bad stuff in our lives to forces beyond our control. For instance: this was a bad week because of the three-day holiday weekend, which threw off my regular schedule. I don’t control the holidays. I just live with them.
But what if I’d spent my extra time last weekend preparing for my classes instead of putzing around? Perhaps I could have turned this short week, with fewer obligations, into a stunning success.
We’ll see if I actually take my own advice the next time a three-day weekend rolls around. The important thing is, I know the weekend isn’t really to blame. And I know what I could do differently next time.
Take actual breaks.
No, commuting doesn’t count. Unless you commute through the countryside and can guarantee that your mind will wander, which probably isn’t happening if you drive in city traffic, like I do.
A break needs to involve something that isn’t a normal part of your day. For me, making art in the evening has become one way of guaranteeing myself a little mental time away. So every evening, I journal and draw. Sometimes I spend only fifteen minutes on this activity, but it’s fifteen minutes of total focus on something that’s just for me. And it’s something that can’t go wrong. because there’s no plan in mind and no one else needs to see it.
Refuse to worry.
Worry, the saying goes, is a misuse of imagination. Worry is what happens when we use our visioning powers to conjure up the worst case scenario, instead of the best one.
Fortunately, you’re in control of your imagination. When the bad stuff creeps in, I take a deep breath and tell myself to stop. Sometimes I imagine an actual stop sign. Then I make a mental list of all the reasons why that worst case scenario is unlikely to happen. And then I imagine the best possible outcome, which is no more difficult than anticipating the worst.
Bad days–and even bad weeks–are a normal part of life. We all know that, but it’s an easy thing to forget. And when we do, it’s easy to blame ourselves for whatever went wrong, whether or not we’re at fault.
Fortunately, there are ways to fight back against the voice in your head that tells you how ill-equipped you are for managing this life. Muddle on, friends. Better days are surely ahead.
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