How is your week going?
Have you ever found a system that worked really well for a while, but then you got bored?
Causing you to move away from a tried ‘n’ true, effective system?
Well, I have done plenty of zigging and zagging in my life. There’s also plenty of things I’ve stuck to.
But recently, I started to feel bored.
And this time, I thought, “Oh, we might have a problem, because I’m really reluctant to let go of what’s working.”
So lately my mission has been to
figure out a way to satisfy the part of me that feels bored
so I can keep doing what is working consistently instead of quitting.
First I collected my best thoughts and inspirational pieces of writing to help me feel more fired up to do things.
Then I printed these motivational words and made a physical notebook with them.
I could leave it on my desk to open up each morning to be inspired and motivated (without being tempted to go on social media).
Feeding myself with inspiration daily was really making me feel fired up for several weeks.
And for a time, l even looked forward to the practice each day.
But over the last week I began to notice a sense of boredom creep in. Noo!!!
And I’m really not okay with it. Because feeling more motivated is super important to me right now.
I have a mountain of things that I’m trying to accomplish in the two businesses and my life.
This system has been working to get things done!
I don’t want to lose what is working but I can sense my willpower losing a battle to boredom.
So how to solve this?
First I figured, okay if I’m feeling bored, let’s mix things up.
I thought that what I really needed was a sense of novelty.
So I found ways to combine something new with what was already working.
Some of the things I did were:
-move everything around in my notebook so the pages were in a new order.
-find fun, artistic printables from other creators that I could add to my book, like coloring pages and templates from Canva.
(BTW apparently, you can type anything in Canva and find a worksheet that you can print out or customize.)
-set new little goals like writing gratitudes each day, and going to the gym once a week. I made a cute worksheet for each one using canva (see above).
All of that was kind of fun.
But I still felt a bit bored.
Next, I started to intentionally set up the next day up the night before:
-put sticky notes on certain pages on my notebook to direct my attention there the next morning.
-set up inspirational podcasts the night before on my computer, so all I had to do was just click play on that episode.
-dug up inspirational books I hadn’t looked at in a while and set them on my desk.
I was really committed to making this practice of motivating myself each day stick.
I am really committed to making this work because I have been getting fired up, getting things done and I don’t want to lose that.
However, even though I made all those changes, sometimes the whole thing still felt more like a chore
and less like a reward like it used to be.
This is the point where usually I’d just giving up.
And yet it’s been so effective, I cannot possibly let it go.
I’ve just got to figure out how to make it work.
One reason I’m so attached to my system is because now I’m regularly reviewing those priority thoughts that I don’t want to forget.
These thoughts came up in my journal, ended up in my digital archive, and then I printed them because
they’re just THAT important that I want to put them under my nose daily.
Ideas like:
-feeling safe is important to me making progress.
-I’m allowed to rest and I deserve it.
-I should track my time and delegate more in my business.
These are all ideas that I could have and then forget for another few years.
Correction: I have had them and then forgotten them for years already at this point. Probably more than once.
But now they are entering not only my thoughts, but my actions on a daily basis.
If I didn’t remind myself of them daily,
I am sure that I would be relearning the same lessons over and over again for years to come.
But instead they’re actually starting to become a part of my everyday life…
SO I AM NOT GIVING UP!!
This Monday was particularly productive and I was referencing a list of priorities in my notebook all day. I had to teach a class in the evening so it was a long day.
And then Tuesday morning I saw the notebook sitting there and was like, “UGH I’m so bored.”
And I realized, you know what,
what if this feeling isn’t actually boredom?
What if this feeling is being tired, or rundown?
Or maybe it’s from being overstimulated, coming down from way too much excitement?
The last week in American history has been insane, actually the last few weeks.
It’s been like a pot of hot water about to boil.
I felt like I had to check on it every five minutes to make sure it’s okay.
I’ve been on social media more than usual
to keep myself abreast of what’s going on and see what other people think.
I don’t find social media to be good for my mental health in general. And the news has been very intense.
So this was a lot.
I think that that’s why
when I try to sit down, get focused and do things, I feel ‘bored.’
But maybe I’m just tired or burnout and
I’m craving all of those exciting emotions that I get from social media and news crises.
It’s like being addicted to a stimulant and expecting that rush every day, and then crashing when it’s gone.
If it’s not there, things feel boring,
but at the same time, I’m kind of burnout from it.
I don’t really want more of it, but a part of me wants what isn’t healthy.
Trying to sit, calm down and look at my little notebook full of familiar wisdom feels boring
even though it is 100% the healthiest thing I could do for myself.
But this made me realize that the solution to my problem isn’t ADDING novelty, it’s about SUBTRACTING something else.
Sometimes we need to add a new ingredient to a recipe to make it taste better, but other times you just need to remove an ingredient.
So I think I need to cool it on social media and scrolling.
I need to take a breath and just get reconnected with slower pace of life to calm my nervous system down.
Then perhaps it will be easier for me to find joy in the little things again.
So that’s what I’ll try next for a few days or even the whole week.
That’s my update. Perhaps it is relatable?
Maybe you can add novelty or subtract overstimulation to help you do something.
If you’re in the digital organization club. I’ll be seeing you very soon.
