I spent a lovely couple of hours on Sunday morning in the sun with a cup of tea and my book. I almost felt as though I was one of the characters on the terrace in sun-drenched Spain, lazily whiling away the hot hours before taking a leisurely dip in the pool...
Despite that not being my reality, it was still relaxing and enjoyable but I missed having some lazy tunes as backdrop to my fantasy morning. I dusted off some Ben Harper which almost did the trick but not quite. What are your suggestions for the soundtrack to a lazy Sunday morning spent in the sun?
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Switching Off
I had a recent conversation with friends about the evening 'switching off' ritual. There is a need to come down off the buzz of being a lot of people to a lot of people during the day, to just being you and relaxed and in the zone for sleeping. This seems to be of more relevance for those working from home. For many, the physical distancing from work to home in the evening helps with the mental distancing.When you work from the living room or the back bedroom, this mental distancing isn't so simple.
For mothers who have a career/job, there always seems to be more that could be done, so switching off appears to be harder to come by and more often then not, consists of falling into bed exhausted at some late hour and having a fitful and disappointingly short sleep.
I thought about my rituals- I have a few depending on the day or where in the evening I am. Leaving the kitchen in the evening after clearing up dinner and putting away the dishes helps for me to switch off from housekeeper; tidying up the days worth of toys scattered about the house helps me to switch off from mother; walking down the stairs from the offices helps me to switch off from job. Some nights I take extra time out and have a long and luxurious bath as a way of further relaxation.
But the biggest and most important one for me is the ritual of taking my makeup off and brushing my teeth at the very end of the day. The cleansing, moisturising, scrubbing, and application of lotions and potions help me to switch off from the day completely. As the marks of the day wash off, with a few deep and relaxing breaths, the tension and worry also slowly fade and slip away. It then feels easier to find the pleasures in the day. I try to think of the things that have made me smile or that I feel grateful for. It's a delicious way to fall to sleep.
After a brief personal poll, for others it is a different ritual but with the same purpose- to take you out of the state of high energy and tension you've been in all day, into a relaxed and languid frame of being. One friend listens to music every night as her switch off ritual, another reads before going to bed and yet another does some yoga. Others have a glass of wine in front of a tv show , cook dinner for friends or journal their thoughts in a diary.
Whatever it is, it certainly does help general health and wellbeing to have your mind and body clear and relaxed as much as you can in order to slumber deeply and peacefully. Sweet dreams x
For mothers who have a career/job, there always seems to be more that could be done, so switching off appears to be harder to come by and more often then not, consists of falling into bed exhausted at some late hour and having a fitful and disappointingly short sleep.
I thought about my rituals- I have a few depending on the day or where in the evening I am. Leaving the kitchen in the evening after clearing up dinner and putting away the dishes helps for me to switch off from housekeeper; tidying up the days worth of toys scattered about the house helps me to switch off from mother; walking down the stairs from the offices helps me to switch off from job. Some nights I take extra time out and have a long and luxurious bath as a way of further relaxation.
But the biggest and most important one for me is the ritual of taking my makeup off and brushing my teeth at the very end of the day. The cleansing, moisturising, scrubbing, and application of lotions and potions help me to switch off from the day completely. As the marks of the day wash off, with a few deep and relaxing breaths, the tension and worry also slowly fade and slip away. It then feels easier to find the pleasures in the day. I try to think of the things that have made me smile or that I feel grateful for. It's a delicious way to fall to sleep.
After a brief personal poll, for others it is a different ritual but with the same purpose- to take you out of the state of high energy and tension you've been in all day, into a relaxed and languid frame of being. One friend listens to music every night as her switch off ritual, another reads before going to bed and yet another does some yoga. Others have a glass of wine in front of a tv show , cook dinner for friends or journal their thoughts in a diary.
Whatever it is, it certainly does help general health and wellbeing to have your mind and body clear and relaxed as much as you can in order to slumber deeply and peacefully. Sweet dreams x
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Tolerations
Life for me at the moment is all about keeping things organised and keeping things simple. It just seems to work better that way but every now and then there's a niggle in my well-structured day. Actually, every day, there's a niggle in my day! And more than one niggle, if I'm honest. Going around the house and making a list, I could come up with well over a dozen little things that annoy me- tolerations. Things I am putting up with that with just a little time and energy could easily not be in my life and annoying me! You know what I mean.
I have decided that the amount of emotional energy these things suck out of me every time I see them is more than I have in a day. I need my energy to be spent on other things. Not on these everyday reminders that I am putting up with things that are useless, broken, mismatched, squeaking, need mending, cleaning, painting...
For example: the kitchen mat. It is old, dirty and tatty and I trip over it every time I go to the sink. I have done this for almost 4 years now. It is still in my kitchen.
Another example: the back door. It has recently started sticking (about 2 months ago.) It oftens wakes K as people have to really bang it to close it. It jams every time, every day.
I have determined that these things are to be sorted. Now. There are no excuses as really what time or energy do they need to get done? Admitedly some tolerations require more than just my input- professionals can be called if needed; husbands can come in handy occasionally. But even if I do what I can do, the difference it will make in my day! I feel the weight of these things I am putting up with falling quite heavily on my shoulders constantly, especially when I feel as if I go to bed with a million things still to be done anyway. I certainly don't need these nuisance tolerations adding to that burden.
What about you? How many do you have? What are the little things that you are putting up with? Fancy joining me in getting them sorted?
The time is right- Spring is in the air so it will be my version of spring cleaning. I have made a list- I am halfway there already... I am going to aim for one a week. It's not too ambitious, and then more than that is a bonus!
(postscript: the mat is gone, yippee! and the door is now fixed, having broken off the one screw in the hinge. It wasn't sticking at all, just completely coming apart! How it has stayed up for years by only one screw is a credit to lazy workmanship).
I have decided that the amount of emotional energy these things suck out of me every time I see them is more than I have in a day. I need my energy to be spent on other things. Not on these everyday reminders that I am putting up with things that are useless, broken, mismatched, squeaking, need mending, cleaning, painting...
For example: the kitchen mat. It is old, dirty and tatty and I trip over it every time I go to the sink. I have done this for almost 4 years now. It is still in my kitchen.
Another example: the back door. It has recently started sticking (about 2 months ago.) It oftens wakes K as people have to really bang it to close it. It jams every time, every day.
I have determined that these things are to be sorted. Now. There are no excuses as really what time or energy do they need to get done? Admitedly some tolerations require more than just my input- professionals can be called if needed; husbands can come in handy occasionally. But even if I do what I can do, the difference it will make in my day! I feel the weight of these things I am putting up with falling quite heavily on my shoulders constantly, especially when I feel as if I go to bed with a million things still to be done anyway. I certainly don't need these nuisance tolerations adding to that burden.
What about you? How many do you have? What are the little things that you are putting up with? Fancy joining me in getting them sorted?
The time is right- Spring is in the air so it will be my version of spring cleaning. I have made a list- I am halfway there already... I am going to aim for one a week. It's not too ambitious, and then more than that is a bonus!
(postscript: the mat is gone, yippee! and the door is now fixed, having broken off the one screw in the hinge. It wasn't sticking at all, just completely coming apart! How it has stayed up for years by only one screw is a credit to lazy workmanship).
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