6 Little Things I've Done This Week to Help Me Feel Grounded in an Uncertain Time
In the words of Phoebe Buffay’s birth mother, I’ve been feeling all floopy recently.
One of my very closest friends died from stage 4 cancer last month.
The UK government changes travel rules every week, so I still have NO idea if I’ll make it home for Christmas.
Omicron is rife.
Life feels overwhelming right now.
You probably know what I’m talking about. We’ve all been there, especially in the last 2 years.
When life throws you off-kilter, we’re always told to give ourselves some space in order to process. Don’t force it. Take your time.
Although I agree, I also wanted to find some small things that I could do to right away make the every day feel less like an onslaught of uncertainty. Less up in the air, more rooted to the ground.
These are what I’ve done this week to make myself feel more like myself again. Steal them if you like.
I wrestled myself into a healthier sleeping pattern
Porto, my current home, is a city whose lifeblood runs with wine. So I’ve been having rather a pleasant month exercising my wine muscle for one the first times since I sold my wine business 15 months ago. That means going out and staying out…late.
Fun? yes. Good for you? Not so much. So this week I decided to sort out my sleep. I started to go to bed at 11pm instead of 2am. After just 2 days, I felt SO much better.
I don’t need to tell you how important good quality sleep is for you. If your sleeping pattern isn’t so hot right now, can you work on it?
I pondered my place in the world
The other day I took a walk along the Portuguese coast which is one of the most westerly points in Europe. Looking out to sea, my husband made a comment that there is literally nothing standing in between us and the US, other than thousands of miles of ocean. Not only that, it was the Portuguese who woke up one day all those hundreds of years ago and said dude, I’d quite like to see what’s out there, on my wooden boat.
As we walked further down the promenade, there was a statue of 5 women screaming and crying, looking out to sea. The status is called Anguish Personified and it marks a storm in 1947 that killed over 150 fishermen.
Sometimes, pondering the marvels univerise, of what humankind has achieved, and what devastation we have had to endure, is a solid lesson in gratitude, being happy for what I do have right now. And gratitude grounds.
I routined myself
As a freelance writer who is on no timescale but my own, my routines can go to shit. Most of the time they hardly exist which will see me writing at 5am and sleeping at 3pm and being all the more tired for it.
Last week I decided to establish a weekday routine. Breakfast, walk, write, lunch, write, long walk, write, dinner, film, bed.
It’s working already.
Routines help us make sense of the world and give us control which is all the more important in times of certainty and stress. Even if your day is largely filled with someone else’s routine like a 9-5 job or kids, there are still moments in the day that are yours to do with as you wish.
If your routine is lacking, try a new one.
I started to walk. A lot.
Ever tried to run in Porto? No, because you’re not a sadist. This is a hilly town, where a walk to the shops can see you gasping for air.
And I love to run, it’s my alone time and usually my sole source of exercise. For the last month, it’s been non-existant and it’s started to get me down.
So instead, I started to walk every single day, for at least 2 hours at a time, sometimes more. And walking here isn’t like walking in Kansas - it’s a workout in itself.
I’m already feeling the benefits. Not only do I look forward to that part of my daily routine but I know I’m going to feel better after I’ve hoofed it up 3 or 4 hills.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, even just a walk around the block can clear your mind, get your heart going and give you the space and time to think, breathe and process.
I’ve sat with my face in the sun
Depending on where you live in the world right now, this isn’t always an easy feat.
But sitting in the sun for 10 minutes a few times a week, according to scientists I Googled on the internet, can boost everything from your mood, to your energy to your internal wellbeing.
So if ANY sun comes your way, even the weak Winter kind, stick your face in it. Close your eyes, look up and soak in the free therapy.
I bullet journaled
I used to roll my eyes at journaling because I wrote diaries when I was a kid that served as another level of embarrassment to my adult self.
But I discovered bullet journaling about 6 months ago and I love it, because it doesn’t have to be all soppy and sentimental, which just isn’t me.
A bullet journal is not just a diary, it also serves as a place to keep to-do lists, to track things that fill my energy tank, like writing and reading, and to document whatever I need.
I dip in and out of journaling but when I stick to it, I feel better. It’s like having a personal secretary nestling between 150 sheafs of paper.
Although we like to think that life is marked by the big changes, it’s the little ones that are doing the actual work to make a difference, day-in-day-out.
Life for many of us isn’t easy right now but I like the idea that just a simple sit in the sun, cup of tea and a biscuit in hand can help. There’s magic in the simplicity of journaling, exercising and sleeping. It’s putting gas in the tank.
At least then, when life bites us in the ass, we have the energy to deal with stress and uncertainty.
Happy Thursday all,
Charlie.
A Portuguse obrigada - thank you - for reading. I’ve been a busy bee over at Medium in the last few weeks with plenty of new stories for you to devour over there. I say it every week but the $5 a month it costs - referral link here - is the best $5 I spend every month.