Now more than ever, it is important that we consciously ensure that ‘Positivity’ exists as a backdrop to our everyday – whether your everyday consists of: finding things to do whilst you are out of work; working from home; working from home and looking after/teaching your children; looking after your loved ones.
How many positive acts should you include in your day?
I myself, try and complete four positive things in my day, spaced out throughout the day so that elements of positivity remain interweaved throughout my day. Why ‘four’ activities you may say? I choose to do four – as I feel as if this is the magic number for me, because (1) it’s a realistic goal, not too many activities to complete, which ensures that I actually complete them, aiming for a higher number would mean that I am most likely to not complete them all and would feel disheartened for not doing so – which would be the opposite feeling of what we are trying to achieve here, (2) any less than four activities and I feel as if I would be leaving the door slightly ajar, for other potential negative influences to creep into my day. Four is what works for me – as my day currently consists of me working 8-9 hours a day from home – so this is a manageable number for me.
I think the key here is to remember that the number of activities, is merely a guideline for yourself and is completely flexible. For example, you can increase the number of activities if you have more time in your day or feel you need more positivity in your day, BUT try not to decrease the number of activities, even if you are too busy or have had a bad day and don’t feel like doing it that day – as often, it’s on these types of days, that you will benefit from completing these activities the most – even if you don’t feel like it – I can guarantee you will feel ten times better once completing them.
What is positive for you?
Once you have settled on how many ‘positive things’ you are going to include in your day, the next thing is to work out what you consider to be ‘positive’ for you. This is truly personal to you. Yes, there will be things that we all enjoy and love, but the beauty of you choosing what is best for you, is just that, its you choosing for you. The things you choose to incorporate in your day do not need to be time intensive, once again coming back to the same principle we discussed above, your activities need to be manageable and easy to incorporate into your day. I have popped below some ideas of what small twenty minute actives you could incorporate into your day.
- Read your favourite magazine
- Bath with your favourite bath soak
- Extra long shower whilst singing at the top of your lungs
- A walk in your favourite walking spot
- Video call with Family and Friends
- Pamper session
- Call someone who is in isolation by themselves
- Exercise
- Decluttering that space you always put to the back of your To Do List
- Reading a new book
- Pottering in the garden
- Listening to your favourite album or finding a new album/artist to listen too
- Checking in on an elderly neighbour
- Baking a cake
- Cooking a new recipe
- Learn something new – musical instrument, foreign language, make up technique, knit
- Draw or paint something
- Start on a Jigsaw Puzzle
You can choose to do the same activities each day or change them everyday. What works for me, is during the week whilst I am working, they remain pretty much the same and in the weekend, when I have more time on my hands, I mix them up and try and do a few more positive activities then I would in the week, so that I come out of the weekend feeling great and hopefully elevating the start of my working week.
What is positive for me?
- 25 minute morning run or exercise at home
- 20 mins ‘calm before the storm’ coffee and book read
- Eating healthy and enjoying me time during my lunch break
- Sitting outside and listening to birds
- Cooking dinner and eating with my partner
- Sunset walks
- Video call with friends and family
- Doing something that is a benefits someone else
- Looking at flowers
Influencing others
Once you have got in to the habit of completing this for yourselves. Have a think, can you encourage others to do this, your children, your other half, friends and family and most especially any older relatives who are in ‘shielding isolation’ for twelve weeks? Sometimes, completing lists and discussing this with others, can help keep you motivated to keep it up as well as providing the motivation to encourage others. This period of ‘isolation’ ironically, should be less about us and just ourselves, but more about ‘us as a collective community’ and where we all should try to build others up and be helping others more than we did before.
I’d love you to share what you would include in your day that is a positive benefit fo you? Did you try this? Did it work for you? What changes did you incorporate to make this most beneficial for you? Share in the comments, I would love this to be a space where we can learn from others and then try those things and see if they in turn made you have a better day.