I had a juice with pumpkin, orange and nutmeg… for the first time. There was probably also something I couldn’t identify. But it counts as something new.
I don’t know the recipe, but looking online, I came across one in the following site.
The rest of the day I was running around regarding a big presentation for tomorrow. To a new group of people, so I also have covered the new experience for tomorrow 😉
looking for something new to do can be challenging: I try to see what would be possible, and what would be new. Not wanting to learn a new thing but also to do, to touch, to smell.
I will revisit “The Groundhog day” and check some of the ideas the hero had, while re-living the same day imprisoned in a time-loop.
So?
Play an instrument? My ex left with me a guitar, should I learn how to play? Online?
I have promised my colleagues a dance video and I am still far from it- finding that my hair looks savage and other excuses of this kind.
Am I procrastinating for not doing my work?
Could be, since I have a presentation on Tuesday and I am not that advanced.
I might try to prepare a video of my presentation.
Continue decluttering home?
I have opened a few cupboards and closets to take a look.
I have researched internet and asked friends.
I have even asked the cat.
Finally, I consider that my new task was to check how to monetise some skills and here is what I found that creatives can earn money through a side-hustle right away 🙂
yes, I am looking for something new today, while I start working on a presentation I have on Tuesday. And yes, I still learn the rules to play the “Isle of cats”, my new board game.
So, what new? Learn something I have never heard of?
After reading lists, soul-searching and wondering if I should learn something new, or declutter and put some order in my closet, … I end up deciding to check and declutter old magazines, and to cut out inspiring pictures.
This combines a physical aspect and decluttering because I can throw away the rest.
A few hours later:
It feels somehow exhausting, but at least I got something out of these fashion magazines I opened once and then I wasn’t sure what to make of them… wait for the day I will appear as a civilised female, ready to go to work -not at home-?
Apparently loose trousers are fashionable, but while working from home I prefer stretch and comfy.
In any case, I just HOPE that my effort to declutter the pile of magazines today will make me feel better sometime in the near future!
Right now I am moderetaly satisfied with this idea …
Yesterday I decided to try something new every day, for 30 days. And for day 1, I saw a friend in need and decided to help out: I bought a board game he was selling, named ‘ The Isle of cats’.
It seemed like a great idea because I now live with my parents, there is lockdown, and what better than a board game in these conditions? Collaborative, engaging different parts of the brain than watching Netflix etc…
Right?
Wrong!!!
To begin with, I didn’t check the price when I was texting this friend. I was ready to spend Max 30 euros, and it ended up costing 55.
The second problem, when I opened the box I realised it is more difficult than I thought it would be. The Isle of Cats? you will say. For children older than 8? What is your intelligence level April? Minus 8?
Look, all the instructions are in English, and my folks don’t speak English. Then, this is designed in a way that is alien for 70 plus year olds who are culturally wired in a different way.
Something that a British 8 year old might do and enjoy easily, is not what a 70 plus year old from the South of France will enjoy.
So, I started thinking my decision to buy something I have not seen after texting a friend on Facebook was not the best way to act.
I was afraid to be stuck with a bunch of cats in the “Isle of Cats” by myself.
At least, I hope I have helped this friend.
Should I offer it to my god-son who is an 8 year old?
Maybe we could play it together.
So, this takes me to the second day.
I will try something new which will be cost-less.
I went to the garden and picked some wild flowers; I also asked people who were doing some work on the street what they were up to.
At the same time, while looking for a new thing to do I started stressing because I am procrastinating with my work.
How to deal with this?
Blocks of two hours and a break with a treat- can be a treat in the form of a cup of tea.
Actually, my colleagues in London just came up with a great idea!
After trying a “feel good journal”, intermittently for at least two weeks, I can say that the time I most enjoy is when I feel free to let my imagination run wild, with no restrictions nor guilt.
Blogging, journaling, walking around, day dreaming, etc.
If I don’t give myself some creative space, I just don’t want to focus on anything mundane.
This is the truth, and I’d better accept it.
Then, I make one hundred plans, and feel guilty of not fulfilling them all. Or that they go slower than I would have wanted them to.
Maybe this is it: I could just take steps, and stop worrying about the outcome.
Easier said, than done.
What if everyday life is bringing urgent issues to resolve, and we feel a bit stuck?
What if we recover from something, or wonder if we will see the end of the tunnel?
I came to the conclusion, that we need to feed our inner wolves. All of them. To keep the balance.
And to acknowledge what really makes us happy and incorporate it into our everyday life.
Next step, I decided to try a new experience every day.
For today, I have ordered a new board game, to play with my family.
lockdown is a kind of challenge, especially when it brings you back to your parents’ home and makes you face your childhood challenges; adding some parents’ health issues.
At the same time, I realise this is an amazing time for introspection and for learning new skills that will prepare the after time;
Trying new things during lockdown is demanding for the imagination; starting a three week Good Time Journal will be something to follow what makes me energised and engaged; I have started with a list of empowering books and films, and I am advancing with it. I have discovered the Danish series “Borgen”, that I found very interesting, with strong female characters
And the next thing I would like to do is try a Good Time Journal, writing about things that make me energised and engaged, things I love, instead of just writing down a to Do list.
well yes, I decided to read instead of watching Netflix or Amazon prime, or Arte, the French-German chanel, before going to sleep. I have tried some French romantic authors, such as Victor Hugo and Theophile Gautier, also some wonderful Jane Austin novels, an all time favourite.
But if I am to look for something else, what would you suggest?
Yes, only feel good, I am sorry, nothing else will do.
It’s ok to have troubles in the middle, they just need to figure their .. before the end.
Jane Austin is an all time favourite with me… but if we look closer in time?
I tried to check with the equivalent of Netflix “Bridgerton”, but the wishes of a heroine who aspires to fit in without any of Elisabeth Benet’s rebellious spirit so many years ago, is not as inspiring.
Maybe I should check on the book, but would there be anything more inspiring?
Yes, I am still in my hometown at my parents’ place, working remotely. It will soon be a year, and I wouldn’t have thought it possible, if you asked me a few months ago.
So, is it possible to set goals when you don’t know exactly what tomorrow looks like?
Yes, it is.
By focusing on what we can have a sense of : the present, the next minute.
What is we don’t feel like it?
And then if we start with a bad mood what we do gets messed up?
Use a lift-mood activity:
Sing
Jump
Go for a short walk
Read inspiring and feel good books before going to sleep 😉
april4june6: A journal of self-tranformation 