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Hello, friends! Today I have a looser episode structure for you. Simply me sitting and talking to you about a few things that are working for me right now. They are super random, but all represent things in my life that are helping me get through. Enjoy!
Before we jump into what’s working for me at the moment, be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter for access to free goodies and lots of helpful tips and advice. I cover a whole host of topics and areas in the weekly emails which I am sure many of you will be able to relate to. So if you haven’t yet, please head over to duffthepsych.com/subscribe and sign up!
Despite everything that’s been thrown at us in 2020, I am actually doing okay at the moment. As I mentioned, I wanted to share some of the things that have really been working for me, helping to maintain focus, keep clarity, and generally just helping to get me through. They are pretty random, but hopefully you will find some of these useful and might want to apply them in your life!
In no particular order they are:
- Whiteboards – I believe you should always have something with you to jot down thoughts and ideas that spring to mind. Whiteboards are great for this and I have been using them myself to create content boards. If an idea pops into my head, I write it down for later!
- Waking up early – I’ve always been a bit of a night owl, but my life has fundamentally shifted and I no longer have the horsepower late at night that I used to. So I needed to find another way of getting some time to myself to focus. Going to bed a little earlier so I am able to get up at 6 am has really helped! It gives me an hour of time in the mornings where I can sit and have my coffee while I focus on some projects or outlines I want to work on. It’s been nice to have that time for myself and I want to try and keep that going.
- Coldbrew – a quick and efficient way to get my first-morning caffeine intake! It saves time and stops me from making excess noise in the morning!
- Supplements – I’ve been taking certain supplements to help with energy levels and sleep which I think are helping with my day. Please do talk to your doctor before you add supplements to your diet.
- Exercising – Physical exercise helps with both physical and mental wellbeing and it is something that really helps me. It elevates my mood and also gives me time to think. I try to keep it as simple as possible to help with motivation and sticking to it over time. And it doesn’t need to be perfect!
- Having grace with myself – It’s okay if things don’t happen perfectly all the time. Sometimes I am not going to be able to get everything done and that’s okay. Try to give yourself the grace you would give to other people.
- Audiobooks – I love audio content! I am always listening to things and it allows me to multitask while also helping get through monotonous tasks like washing the dishes or the work commute. It also gives helps to keep your mind active and away from negative thoughts. I always try to give time to my thoughts, which is where journaling and things come in, but other times I don’t want those thoughts taking over, and audio content is a great tool to help keep those thoughts at bay.
- Verbal journaling – This is essentially just talking to yourself, but with intention. I do this a lot in the car when I’m on my own and it’s a good way to verbalize your thoughts and work with them. Basically, I imagine I am journaling, but instead of writing it down, I speak it out loud. Saying it out loud gives me an active way to process that information. It helps to clarify things and be a bit more analytical about it. Talk through the narrative of what’s happening to you.
- Timing activities – Pulling out the stopwatch and timing how long a job or activity takes you. Time for me is very relative and very tied to my emotions. Sometimes I catch myself trying to talk myself out of activities which are a chore because it will just be too much. When I catch myself doing that I time myself doing the activity to see how long it actually takes. Usually, these things don’t take long at all, and timing them gives yourself the chance to recalibrate your brain and realize that it isn’t actually that much of a hassle.
- PBAP – Pause, Breathe, Anticipate, and Plan. This is especially helpful during transitions between activities and tasks and is something I find especially useful. It helps to make transitions more intentional and gives you a minute to pause and prepare for the next task.
- Boundaries – I have been trying to honor my boundaries more and recognize that I am allowed to have boundaries. This is something that is very important and has definitely helped me in recent times. You’re allowed to have them and you’re allowed to enforce them.
See. Told you they were pretty random. I think you’ll find some helpful tips in here though. Let me know what you think!
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