Recently, I've been thinking a lot about how busy I've become. I'm juggling my day job, my own cottage business of tutoring, blogging, going to the gym, reading, writing, doing my photography course, sometimes I think the list feels endless. However, I'm one of those people that likes to be on the go all the time and I struggle to to switch off and this can leave me feeling burnt out. I've been trying to figure out how to fit in some downtime into my schedule and these are my favourite ways to relax:
1. Go to a coffee shop and read.
Going to have a coffee in a coffee shop always feels like a real treat for me for some reason. I like to order unnecessarily complicated drinks and people watch. I've found that reading there is also a lovely way to relax; I can't seem to justify spending my time at home reading because it seems like there is always a million things on my to-do list so going to a coffee shop for an hour or so gives me time to unwind. I've also started taking some work to a coffee shop and although this isn't essentially switching off, it makes a sometimes tedious task seem less draining.
2. Taking a bath.
I'm still fairly new to the whole idea of taking a bath to relax. I'm a shower girl as it's so quick and easy but I've started to take a bath on a Saturday evening (rock and roll) with a bath bomb and found I easily wile away half an hour or so, not thinking about anything in particular, which is great. I'm definitely going to try and have more leisurely bathes!
3. Baking.
Baking, for me, has always been one of my most favourite ways to relax. I love it when I can spend a whole afternoon baking five or six different cakes. I put on some music and whisk, beat, and ice. There's also the added bonus of being able to eat the cakes afterwards!
4. Take a walk.
As I've said before, I live in Suffolk which is quite rural and when I get the chance, I jump at the opportunity of being able to make the most of that. I enjoy going for a walk, especially on a warm summer's evening, and breathing in the fresh air. I'll often take my camera and that makes me focus on the smaller things out there in nature that we normally rush by and don't notice. I always feel so much better after going out for a short walk and it's something I hope to be able to do a lot more of now the evenings are getting lighter.
5. Running.
When I run, I completely switch off from everything else around me and find I only focus on my (pretty laboured, let's be honest!) breathing. It's even better when I run outside as I concentrate on my feet hitting the ground. I've never really had that before, my wind always has something whizzing around distracting me. I'm still struggling to get back into my exercise groove after my operation and my current lifestyle mean that I can feel very unmotivated and don't want to go to the gym. It's something else that I always feel so much better after doing though, and I need to try and remind myself of that every time I complain about having to go to the gym!
What do you do to unwind?
1. Go to a coffee shop and read.
Going to have a coffee in a coffee shop always feels like a real treat for me for some reason. I like to order unnecessarily complicated drinks and people watch. I've found that reading there is also a lovely way to relax; I can't seem to justify spending my time at home reading because it seems like there is always a million things on my to-do list so going to a coffee shop for an hour or so gives me time to unwind. I've also started taking some work to a coffee shop and although this isn't essentially switching off, it makes a sometimes tedious task seem less draining.
2. Taking a bath.
I'm still fairly new to the whole idea of taking a bath to relax. I'm a shower girl as it's so quick and easy but I've started to take a bath on a Saturday evening (rock and roll) with a bath bomb and found I easily wile away half an hour or so, not thinking about anything in particular, which is great. I'm definitely going to try and have more leisurely bathes!
3. Baking.
Baking, for me, has always been one of my most favourite ways to relax. I love it when I can spend a whole afternoon baking five or six different cakes. I put on some music and whisk, beat, and ice. There's also the added bonus of being able to eat the cakes afterwards!
4. Take a walk.
As I've said before, I live in Suffolk which is quite rural and when I get the chance, I jump at the opportunity of being able to make the most of that. I enjoy going for a walk, especially on a warm summer's evening, and breathing in the fresh air. I'll often take my camera and that makes me focus on the smaller things out there in nature that we normally rush by and don't notice. I always feel so much better after going out for a short walk and it's something I hope to be able to do a lot more of now the evenings are getting lighter.
5. Running.
When I run, I completely switch off from everything else around me and find I only focus on my (pretty laboured, let's be honest!) breathing. It's even better when I run outside as I concentrate on my feet hitting the ground. I've never really had that before, my wind always has something whizzing around distracting me. I'm still struggling to get back into my exercise groove after my operation and my current lifestyle mean that I can feel very unmotivated and don't want to go to the gym. It's something else that I always feel so much better after doing though, and I need to try and remind myself of that every time I complain about having to go to the gym!
What do you do to unwind?
I don't think I've ever taken myself and a book to a coffee shop and I have no idea why!! It makes perfect sense to get away from all of the 'to do's' at home.
ReplyDeleteI do like a run to unwind and I quite like knitting - i'm not yet good enough to be able to do it mindlessly so I have to forget everything else just to produce a bit of knitting. Works for me.
M x Life Outside London
It's such a lovely way to relax - give it a go! I really want to learn how to knit... I think that concentration is great for when you just want to focus on one thing for a while. X
ReplyDeleteI love heading to coffeeshops with a good book. I like heading out for walks too! I do walk a lot to unwind, usually with a good podcast playing. I try and take some down time each week and get off the social media, I know what it is like to be busy all the time!! xx
ReplyDeleteJasmin Charlotte | UK Lifestyle Blog