My ambition levels are high, but my energy to “get after” those ideas and goals have been at an all time low. I can sense when my energy levels start to drop when I get tired and spend more time looking at screens, when that happens I tend to just delete social media off my phone and spend time doing more mindful activities. But for the past 2-3 months, I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to lay in bed and act like I don’t have any important tasks that need to get done. I liked the feeling of letting my mind “relax” while I mindlessly scrolled between the various social media apps that I had all day in my bed. That feeling only stays for a day or two, but then when I’m tired throughout the day unable to get simple tasks done, then it starts to plague me a bit.
I’m still in a bit of a motivational slump, but as easy as it is to just lay in bed on Instagram or Tik Tok, I’d like to at least try to do things that actually relax me and make me feel good. That being said, these past couple of months have been draining in terms of my mental and emotional health. I’ve leaned towards doing mindless activities due to my inability to give more of a thought or energy into any activity. Here are some of the more overarching ideas of what I do in a motivational slump and reminders.
- DELETE social media off your phone
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Even though scrolling on social media felt relaxing, I really wasn’t because my brain is taking in so much information in such a short time span. Then I would try using a screen time limit, which never works because I end up pressing the 15 minute more button for the rest of the day. I realize that my relationship with social media isn’t healthy in the slightest and therefore, deleting social media apps from my phone for a certain time was the best option for me. You’ll get bored, trust me, but that’s kind of the point. You don’t know/want to do anything during that time so, with the apps being off your phone it forces you to do other things.
- take on slower activities at first
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By that I mean, go on a walk, take a nap, shower, organize your desk, practice yoga, journal, read, meditate etc. Our daily lives and in general the information we take in daily is fast paced, you don’t have time to just breathe. Any activity that requires you to just slow your thinking will be super beneficial. For many of us, we don’t know how to just sit and be bored. Being bored is part of daily life and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Now you have time to sit with yourself (even though that is scary to many of us), you tend to learn what you need to most in times like that.
- how you’re feeling right now is temporary
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Emotions ebb and flow all the time, even if they are minute. When we are held in a vulnerable position, what’s important is to go to the most simple and easy form of self care for yourself. Something more interesting to think about: If your younger self felt the way that you did right now, what would you do to help them feel better? Sometimes, all it takes is to create an outside perspective on how to take care of ourselves to understand the harshness that we put ourselves through.
Below are some of the things that I do that are more specific to me:
- Journal
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Journaling has allowed me to slow down my thoughts. I try to journal daily especially when I feel like I don’t know how to talk about my feelings or I feel like my brain is throwing information around too much. Some of the things I write in my journal is what happened that day and how am I feeling, affirmations, one observation I had, and things that I am grateful for.
- mindful exercise: yoga + Meditation
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Since I could remember, yoga has always been my grounding point when I feel out of control. I usually do meditation after yoga because it requires little energy since I’ll be semi-tired after yoga. I watch Yoga with Adriene on Youtube to help me build my foundation and confidence back. Many of her videos are inclusive to many different people’s skill levels and I would recommend checking her out if you haven’t already.
- Read
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Again, reading has been a mindful activity I’ve loved since I was a kid. Reading allows me to allot time to just explore a different world without requiring a lot of brain power. The books I am currently reading are: America is Not The Heart by Elaine Castillo, Alone With You In The Ether by Olivie Blacke, and The Trauma of Gender: A Feminist Theory of the English Novel by Helen Moglen. You can stay up to date on my little reading adventures on StoryGraph at zairabardos.
- Cleaning & organizing
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Cleaning is nice when you’re not being forced to do it. I usually have a podcast going on while wash the dishes or clean up my room. Both my body and mind are occupied in a way that doesn’t make me feel groggy and/or tired. A podcast that I have been listening to recently is High Brow with Mina Le who is also a YouTuber. Many of her episodes center on fashion history, but her other episodes center on an analysis of culture and online trends.
- spend time with people who don’t drain you
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You know exactly the person I am thinking of. I mean the people who you can sit on a couch with and not talk to for hours but still enjoy their presence. There is something so comforting knowing that there is another person with you (even if it is on FaceTime), that makes the potential loneliness that you feel less apparent.