I’m back! Sorry for the blogging hiatus but I got so caught up in the World Cup…ha, imagine if I was actually like that.
I’ve not been entirely unproductive for the last few weeks – in fact I feel like I’ve been busier than [insert some topical simile here. Probably something about either Coulson or Suarez] – but sadly, apart from daily exercise, I have let most of my #100days pledges slip. I kept hoping I could do some retrospective blogging and catch up, but at this point it seems easier to restart the 100 Days from roughly where I left off, and extend the project to finish at the end of September. (As well as giving myself time off for Latitude and Pride I’m now also including Labour Party Conference and my sister’s wedding.)
I’ve committed to GFDI again for another 10-day stretch, so if I don’t:
– get up at 7am
– exercise
– write something
– try an AYOP productivity tip
– and blog about it
…every day for the next ten days, I will lose £100. (GFDI lets you set prices in £s now. No longer can I hide behind the exchange rate!)
You might remember that I was tackling some of AYOP’s productivity tips in themed batches – the last time I blogged it was Sleep Week. So yesterday I was trying to find a theme for this week, when one jumped out at me.
I should explain first that I was in the worst kind of irritable mood yesterday. Everything was annoying me. Everyone at work, everyone on Facebook, everyone on the bus. My computer was too slow, my earphones were too tangled, my jeans were uncomfortable. I tried listening to an album of calming nature sounds on Spotify and the birds got on my nerves. It was one of those days – and with a lot of rushing around between work and meetings, I was worried it was going to be one of those weeks. But no longer! I hereby declare this:
De-stress week.
Yesterday’s tip was “Invest in stress relief strategies that actually work, like: exercising, reading, listening to music, spending time with friends and family, getting a massage, going for a nature walk, meditating, and spending time on a creative hobby. And today’s is meditate. Yes, really. So I shall be going to a meditation for beginners class in between a run and a Labour group meeting, and I shall update you all later on my progress toward enlightenment.
Grace Fletcher-Hackwood 