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Chose This Instead
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I almost had a new blog post to share with you today, Reader I set aside Monday mornings for content creation, and yesterday I drafted two blog posts. With about 90 minutes left until my first 1-1 of the day, I chose one to focus on so I could get it over the finish line and send it to you today. And then an unscheduled phone call came in related to the ongoing saga of securing an educational placement for Son#2. Since dealing with that is #1 on my priority list right now (and has been for the last 3 months), I abandoned the blog post and took the call. When the call ended, I still had an hour to spare until my first client - plenty of time to edit and publish the post. But I had already promised myself fresh air and exercise because a dose of that each day keeps me stable, and I was far too discombobulated to switch my focus back to writing. So I closed my laptop, put on my joggers, sweatshirt, and weighted vest, and marched around the neighbourhood for 20 minutes to the pace of my eclectic ‘workout’ playlist. Then I showered, and lay on my Shakti mat for 10 minutes listening to a podcast (painful bliss). And then I was ready for my first client of the day. I could’ve used that time to meet my self-imposed commitment of one blog post per week. I could shit-talk myself for not doing what I set out to do, and getting that blog post written. But I’m not going to, because I chose higher priorities - my son, my well-being, and being mentally prepared for my client. (Shout out to Joanna Hennon who I've worked with for years, and whose voice I hear asking me 'what are you choosing for' to remind me every choice is an opportunity to vote in favour of the things I want). And this email isn’t to explain why there’s no new blog post. It’s to ask you one question: Are you shit-talking yourself over not doing (or delaying) something, when the reality is you chose to invest your time, energy and/or headspace differently? P.S. I didn’t write the blog post today, because I’m experimenting with taking Tuesdays off work to dedicate to domestic duties…. and so far loving it. I’ll explain more in a future blog post about how I’m healing my chronic time-related anxiety. P.P.S. Want to work with me 1-1? Book an Unjumble session to consult my brain for 20-minutes.
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The Comfy Business Newsletter | Laura
Join thousands of readers building a business that works around Life Stuff (like chronic physical or mental health conditions, recovery from big life events, caring responsibilities). I send two-ish emails each week, to help you enjoy a more comfy business and life.
At the end of a long and tiring day, my brain told me to turn off the TV and draw a duck. I know better than to argue with my brain, Reader - there would be no sleep until I had followed the inspiration. So I did. One day, I would like to illustrate my blog posts and newsletters consistently, with drawings that clearly communicate something, and are in a style that is recognisably mine. But for now, I am playing around, drawing animals, weather icons, and whatever else I feel like attempting....
Do you keep track of what you’ve done, not just what you need to do Reader? A to-done list…. or even a ta-dah list if you’re feeling exuberant. I’ve done it for short periods when my inner voice has been particularly savage and I needed to feel better about what I was doing with my time. But it hasn’t been a habit of mine. It felt like too much of a faff to do The Thing and then write down that I had done The Thing. A few weeks ago, Son#2 began attending a farm-based day centre as part of his...
Yesterday, as I was a couple of hours into working on a new tool I’m excited about, I started to feel Not Good, Reader My chest felt tight, so I took off my bra (even though it was more than five hours before bra-off-o-clock), but I still felt like my lungs were being crushed. Then I realised my tongue was rammed hard up against the roof of my mouth - just like it is when I’m really stressed. I was focusing so hard on the thing I was excited about, I was holding my breath. So I looked it up,...