Motivation Mondays are usually all about reasons to feel good and keep progressing in life, and I absolutely want you to do just that, but due to recent events I want to take this Monday to remind you: it’s okay to slow down.
I overworked myself, basically. I’m trying really hard this year to be successful at everything I’m doing, and I’m doing quite a few things. I started the week feeling incredibly productive and ready to tackle anything, as I said in my Wednesday post, but by the end of that day I crashed.
I keep doing that, too. I keep working really hard from Sunday to Wednesday and then just crashing, and barely doing anything for my assignment due Friday or anything else for that matter. Last week it was so bad that this is the first time I’ve been off the couch since Thursday. Aside from one run I went on on Saturday, I’ve been “working” on assignments and not completing them in time, opting instead to spend what little focus I had on countless episodes of Grey’s Anatomy (med school is still an option, right??).
If I would just slow down a little and focus on each individual assignment instead of stressing about the big picture all the time, maybe I’d be able to make it through the week without an entirely unproductive mental health day (or weekend).
If you’re working hard but stressed out and burning out (I know quite a few people who are), slow down. Some easy ways to do this are:
- Be realistic about what you can get done in a day when you make your daily to do lists.
- Take a night to watch a movie with a friend.
- Go for a run in the morning.
- Make sure you have breakfast each day.
- Sleep 8 hours every night.
- Set rewards for yourself so you can relax in-between studying.
- If your hobbies are starting to feel like a big time-commitment/source of pressure, cut back on them and remember you’re doing them for fun.
- Read a book that wasn’t assigned to you.
- Buy a coloring book. I love coloring books, they’re great for anxiety.
- Drink tea. Warm drinks are great for calming you down and helping you focus.
- Take (limited) tv breaks.
Take some time for yourself, but don’t stop entirely, because it’ll be that much harder to get going again.
Your goals and dreams are important, and hard wok is necessary for big results, but your mental health is just as important. If you’re like me, and you hate the feeling of wasting an entire day (or four), slow down every once in a while instead of crashing altogether. I promise you’ll feel better for it.
dream.think.work. 