Do Double by Doing Half

Picture by Richard North

My tasks these days have become a little less glamorous than they used to be, but I still have chores and things I want to accomplish each day. The only problem is that I don't always have the energy to do it all at once anymore.
Rather than not doing anything at all, or delegating to my dearest husband (who would do anything I ask him, but how unfair would that be?), I split up tasks to make them more manageable.
I start by just doing half of what I have to do. And then I cut whatever's left in half again.

Say you have to finish a report, write a blog post, do a load of ironing. Tell yourself that for now it will suffice to just do half the report/blog post/load of wrinklies. After that you deserve a break (grab a cup of coffee or practice corpse pose for a couple of minutes). When you come back to the second half of the task, do the same thing. Cut it in half again, and take another break. Keep doing this until whatever's left of the task is so small that you would just rather finish it right away. 

So which task did I have to use this on? I almost feel embarrassed to tell you, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I'll do it anyways: I had to slice 4 loaves of bread by hand yesterday, and it just seemed like too much to do at once. I sliced two, took a break, than one, rested for a bit, then the other. I still got the job done quite quickly since the break times took no more than 5-10 minutes, but I didn't feel stressed and rushed because I took care of my myself in the process.

What do you think? Wanna give it a try? Let me know how it went!

5 Easy Steps to (Re)generate Energy

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Today my mom said something that struck home for me. She said that she felt that it just wasn't her day. She lacked the want or the energy to do pretty much anything. She wouldn't be my mom if that meant she'd actually not done anything. Of course she still went on to cook lunch, take care of laundry, go shopping for a parasol with my dad and went out to eat in the evening. Still, it bothered her and she was thinking of ways to fix that problem. Since I often encounter the same issue, I thought we might not be the only ones and that there must be some things we can do to remedy this kind of situation.

1. Prevention.
   The best way to not have to fix a situation is to prevent it. I find that it can help to plan your day early in the morning or the night before. Make a rough sketch of how you'd like it to go and let that be your guide throughout the day. You can read my previous post on how to visualize your day.
   
2. Stay hydrated.We often forget to drink enough water, and it shows. Water makes up a huge percentage of who we are and what we can do, and lack of energy is one of the major signs of dehydration. Try to keep a bottle of water with you at all times to remind yourself.
   
3. Move often.Feel like you've run out of energy? Get up and move around. It'll get your blood flowing and thus bring more oxygen to your brain and muscles. Can't get motivated to move? Think of an appealing reward such as more couch time but without the guilt once you get some work done.
   
4. Crank up the music. When you are energized, your heartbeat increases. When your heartbeat increases, you get more energy. So how do you raise your pulse? Put on some music that has a good beat. It'll also pump you up mentally. If it gets you dancing you've scored double!
   
5. Breathe deeply.Close your eyes for a couple of seconds and focus on taking deep breaths. The deepest ones you can take. Imagine the air revitalizing you from the inside out, reaching every part of your body. Remember to push your belly forward when you inhale, so the air fills your lungs completely. This is another great way to pump oxygen through your system. More on breathing in this post from a while ago.

These are just a couple of ways I like to regain my energy when I'm in a slump, but there's tons more. What do you do when you feel like every bit of energy has leeched from your body and you need a boost?

I love to hear tips from others in case I run out of stuff that works at a given moment.

Take Time to Set Up

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I love to do a whole range of different activities. I enjoy writing, crafts, reading, playing board games, to only name a few. Each activity comes with its own set of necessary tools, and the tip I want to give today is one that will save you time whatever it is you need to do or enjoy doing.
One of the most important things for me when it comes to a task, is getting a proper start. I don't want to start making dinner only to have to head out for onions 10 minutes later. I don't like to start ironing only to find I forgot to get water. You get the idea.

So how do we avoid this? You make sure to take the time to set up properly. It only takes a couple of minutes (provided you don't have to run out to buy onions), but saves you lots more time and will make you much happier.

When you think of the activity you want to do, try to mentally run through the different steps in your mind. With each step, try to see in your mind what you're using and get that ready. If there are a whole lot of steps, take time to write down a list of what you need now so you can always refer back to it later.

It also helps to keep your materials together. If you enjoy knitting (like I do), don't keep your yarn in one room and needles in the other. Make sure you have it packed together so you can just take out the whole package at a time. 
It can help to keep a bottle of water next to your iron board, keep your cleaning materials together, your pencils and erasers. Organization is key here. 

BUT don't make the mistake of always taking out ALL the materials that are kept in one place. You don't need a meat cleaver to slice tomatoes. You don't need a head set to write an email. 

Getting your stuff ready ahead of time especially matters in activities like cooking, baking or painting, where your hands get too dirty to start rummaging around for stuff once you've gotten yourself all messy.
Are you someone who takes time to set up everything or do you find yourself running back and forth for the first fifteen minutes?
Feel free to comment below!

Improve Your Sleep with 5 Minutes Relaxation

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Sleep is one of those things that pregnant women and young mothers learn to say goodbye too. After a while, a solid night's sleep seems like a faraway memory, although a very fond one indeed.

During the course that my husband and I have been taking, however, the midwife showed us some relaxation techniques and I am always pleasantly surprised at how well I sleep after these exercises. I've learned that letting go of tension you build up during the day is key to falling asleep easily and resting comfortably (at least until the next bathroom break).
Below I'll give you some of the tips that she gave us for relaxing your body in about five minutes. No excuse for lack of time here.

Settle yourself down on the bed in a position that is comfortable. Most people will lay down on their back or their side. Breath slowly letting each exhalation go completely before breathing in again.Let your mind wander over the different parts of your body and first tense the muscles, to then release them. Start with your face and make a big frown, tensing all your facial muscles. Then slowly let your face relax completely, paying attention to every single area. In the same way go down your jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, stomach, and so on, until you reach your toes. Feel the tension drain from every part of your body with each breath out. 

Even if you don't use this to fall asleep, it can feel great when you find you have a nagging pain somewhere. Often this is the result of muscles that are too tense because of sitting in the same position or making the same motion each time.

Let me know if it worked for you!

Easter for Everyone

Posting has been a rare activity lately, I'm aware, but I'm not abandoning the blog. I'm just on pregnancy-birth-baby sabbatical.
In the mean time I sometimes lose track of all the tips that I've offered you throughout the year (it's almost the first anniversary of this blog), so I reread posts from time to time to remind myself.

Today I want to talk about Easter. As many of you know by now, I'm not religious, so Easter for me has no special meaning. What do I get with Easter? Lots of memories from the time I was a kid, mostly including chocolate (I'm Belgian, what did you expect?).

This year I celebrate Easter with my mind on new beginnings. Easter usually falls in that time of Spring when the first blossoms are blooming and the birds are building their nests. As I'm building my nest to welcome our baby into the world as well, I love to look outside and take a moment to notice the incredible power that inspires all this new growth.

After a cold, gray and harsh Winter, it's sometimes hard to imagine where Nature gets the energy to start all over again and create new life from seemingly nothing. But we know that the death from Winter is no more than a cover for the dormant life underneath. Deep within the roots of plants and within the bodies of sleeping animals is a patient power waiting for the right moment to break out and make a new start. 

After months of darkness and a lack of sunlight, we often feel drained as well. Keep in mind though that we also have this reserve of energy deep within us waiting to burst through. Observe yourself, mentally and physically, on the first sunny Spring day, and you'll know what I'm talking about. Know that this power is there to tap into whenever you want, just create that image of the coming sun in your mind and you'll start to feel your spirits lift. Go outside and be amazed at the buds bursting from the branches.

I'm going for a walk to do just that! Happy Easter, no matter how you celebrate, and a Happy Spring!