Another fun one for you guys, and also one I hope to learn from you all too. I am someone who likes to explore a lot of hobbies and therefore I have gotten very skilled at juggling my time to ensure that I can do as many of my hobbies as possible, whilst also making sure to actually look after myself.
1. Journalling
I have kept a diary/journal since I was a child and I honestly believe it is the only thing that has continously kept me sane. I do aim to journal every day, and I do notice a change in my mood when I do not get to journal. I am someone with a very busy mind and I have found that being able to to write it all down somewhere helps me to process all of those thoughts. Some of them (if not most of them) are pretty trivial, where I’ve just seen something funny or someone was rude on the train today, but some of them do hint at something deeper that I should be aware of. For example, people are rude on the train all the time, but why was it the occurrence on this day that really bothered me? I find journally helps me to keep track of my emotions and to also recognise when I am genuinely affected by something, and when I am just in need of a rant. Both of which are still important though!
2. Movement
I have also always been an active person and so sitting still is very hard for me. When I do sit still for too long – like when I have a very busy day at work and have to work through my lunch – I really notice the impact this has on my mood. At the moment I am training for a marathon, so that is absolutely keeping me active, but even when I am not training for something, I always aim to do some sort of movement in the day. This could be anything from a long walk after work, a quick run on my lunch break, a peaceful yoga session, a heavy gym strength workout, or even a dance party with my husband in our kitchen whilst we cook dinner. I find that any sort of movement helps to just reset my mind, loosen up my body, and makes me believe that I can truly do hard things.
3. Some form of learning
So, slight brag here, but I am currently on a 1455 day streak on Duolingo for learning French. And this is a habit that I know if I drop it, I will not go back to. But it is also a habit that takes me no more than 15 minutes every day. Over time, I have found that 15 minutes on the Duolingo app is insanely manageable, and it i something I do whilst I am sat on the sofa watching my husband play the Playstation. It’s also a habit that I do not even need to think about, and whilst the app does help by sending me a little notification, I still find the time for even just a 2 minute lesson on even manic days. But I also try to learn soemthing new every day. Even if it is just a new word, or a new author I would like to read, or to hear about a new social justice topic that needs higher awareness. I find that YouTube is very helpful in this: I can stick on a deep dive video about British history and I will listen to this whilst I am doing the chores, or even when I am working out.
Taylor Talks Vegan 