Hello, my friends! It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken.
2016 has been a strange year and although I started the year in a blogging frenzy, my life turned upside down in May and I needed some time and space to sort myself out. This is largely why I haven’t blogged in over six months. In that time I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve made some excellent life choices but I’ve also fallen into some unhealthy habits, and now I feel like I’m working my way back to finding balance. I’m not there yet, but I’m getting closer.
2017 is just around the corner, and while I’m very aware that a lot can change over the course of a year, I want to start the new one in the best possible way. Here are some of the things I’ve learned that work best for me.
Accept the reading slumps
This is easier said than done, but I’m really working on it. I didn’t finish a single book during October. It’s one of the longest months of the year, and still… nada. Nothing. Zip. I started three books but didn’t get invested in any of them to the point where I wanted to finish them, and that for me is incredibly frustrating. I pulled myself out of the slump by ignoring the books that I thought I should be reading, and went back to books that make me happy. I’d love to be the person who has read all of the year’s biggest releases by the time the year is over, but I need to accept that that’s just not me.
Treat myself nicely
There aren’t many things in this world that make me happier than a bunch of fresh flowers. (If those flowers happen to be purple, then that’s even better.) I regularly buy myself flowers, and I definitely recommend it — don’t wait for someone else to do it for you! Spring and summer are my favourite months of the year for flowers, so when I was approached recently by Flowers Across Sydney to order a bunch of complimentary flowers to check out their services, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I ordered the Pastel Garden Posy and I was beyond impressed with the quality of the bouquet.
They deliver to most Sydney suburbs, and even have a daily bouquet that seems to be larger than the bouquet offered by similar services. Treat yourself to a small (or large!) bunch of fresh flowers and put a smile on your pretty face!
Rest
This is also easier said than done, but it took a massive lifestyle upheaval to realise how chronically under-rested I was for so long. Even now, months later, I have days when I still feel like I’m playing catch up. My body was under stress from many mental and physical angles, and unwinding the damage this caused to my state of mind has been a big challenge over the past six months. Listening to the body and taking time to rest is always an important thing to do, but if you’re like me and have suffered from illnesses in the past like chronic fatigue and glandular fever (I’ve had both, hoorah!) then rest is extra important. I’ll be making this a priority moving forward.
Hydrate
I appreciate how important a healthy diet and regular exercise are to help me feel as good as possible, but significantly increasing my water intake has made a really big difference to my overall wellbeing. I drink a lot now, between three and four litres a day, and it’s a life-changer.
Plan
I’ve adopted bullet journalling, and while I’m yet to perfect my system it’s a big step towards having all my goals and plans written down in the one place. I’ve always been a compulsive list-maker, but I now take the time twice a day (once when it begins and once before it ends) to review my list of tasks to make sure I don’t forget anything.
On that note, I do plan to blog more and I’m working towards having a blog schedule for the first time in over half a year, so hopefully you’ll be seeing more of me again soon. I hope you’re all well and have been taking care of yourselves.
