Fatigued and overwhelmed? You're not alone! These are my most helpful baby steps.

Hi?my friend,

How are you doing??

And I mean, how are you?really?doing?

Personally, I am not on top of my game.?

Not at all.

As being a high-energy, productive person is a big part of my self-image,

having no spoons for anything feels terrible.

Honestly, it scares the ?????? out of me.

As most lists of what to do when you feel like crap

are?way?too ambitious for where I currently am,

I wanted to share how my baby steps look –

hoping that they may help you too

in case you are struggling right now as well.

1. Throw myself a pity party???

Officially, I call this a mental health day, of course. No need to share with everybody that I feel sorry for myself (especially as I know that my life isn't particularly hard). But this is not the Suffering Olympics, and bed-rotting, giving myself time to whine and moan and be as miserable and pathetic as I want to be?does?help – as long as I keep it to a day at a time.

2. Stay off screens???

For me, this means I put a post-it on my laptop that says “DO NOT OPEN TODAY”, don't touch my iPad or Kindle or turn on the TV either. I can't fully do without my phone, but I commit to not checking email, news or bank accounts. Instead, I read a novel, old-school on paper, usually a mystery or literary fiction. It helps with slowing my mind down a lot.?

3. Touch grass???

I often complain that my hubs doesn't like walking the dog. But the truth is, I am glad I need to drag my sorry tush outside twice a day. Provided Lili doesn't find whatever she considers “food”, it's a safe bet my mood has improved by the time I get back. BTW, taking care of my plants (and especially propagating my Chinese money tree!) does the trick for me too.

4. Half-ass a workout?????♀?

It's hard for me (and very rare) to be in a state where I don't enjoy exercise. So I keep paying for my Pilates studio and I schedule classes as if I expect myself to go as often as usually. Which I don't, but as I also avoid late cancels, I still do classes, even if I put in no effort at all or leave halfway through. Same with meditation and journaling – 1 minute counts!

5. Meet people IRL???

My current goal is to get together with friends twice a week, usually 1-on-1 for coffee or a walk. If someone had told me ten years ago that I would consider this goal ambitious, I would have laughed. I used to be super-social and struggled to stay?home?twice a week. But things are different right now, and if two in-person encounters a week are my maximum, that's it.

Generally speaking, embracing “good enough” feels like the best I can do.

It doesn't feel comfortable. As in,?Not. At. All.

But maybe that's my lesson to learn right now. ??♀?

?

How does this resonate?

I hope it's helpful, and I'd love to hear your tips as well!

Send me a DM and let me know.

Love, Micha