This week was all about starting anew. My schedule had been off kilter ever since getting back from my London trip. My parents came for a nice visit the weekend following and then my dear friend Brighid from Chicago came to stay after that. And then I got a not-so-fun-visit from the stomach flu bug. Yuck! Even though being sick sucked, I eventually allowed myself to enjoy simply lounging around and doing nothing. Well, nothing except sleeping, reading, catching up on my Martha’s and Oprah’s on TiVo and munching on the occasional saltine cracker.
There was something surprisingly refreshing about canceling my appointments for the week and just focusing on rest and relaxation. I rarely allow myself to indulge in a big chunk of “me-time” like that except for when I’m officially on a vacation. Once I regained my health, I felt energized and ready to reclaim my time and space. My take-away: schedule in an “unofficial week-long home vacation” every now and then. They cost nothing and the rewards are priceless!
This week, I ritualized my fresh start by:
- Doing tons of laundry – gotta love the feeling of fresh new sheets and towels (especially after having been cooped up in bed for most of last week!)
- Obsessively cleaning my desk, my bedroom and the kitchen
- Putting the inflatable bed away to transform the guestroom back into the sacred space of my meditation/yoga/coaching room
- Finally catching up on my bookkeeping – yay!!! (had been many months behind with reconciling and was feeling blocked financially)
- Practicing yoga in my backyard on Monday
- Whipping out a brand new toothbrush and switching the flavor of my toothpaste (ahh, the simple pleasures)
- Taking a hike in the redwood trails near my house with my friend Kate and my dog Emmett
- Creating a visual timeline for my creative endeavors (see picture above)
- Updating my quarterly business goals
- Finally posting about my last week of the 29-Day Giving Challenge
- Returning to my blog!
Whew, I feel back in the land of the living again and it feels great! I’m motivated to work on my creative projects while also giving myself time throughout the week to have mini-vacations.
How do you reclaim your time and space? What would a fresh start give you?
love all your fresh starts! gald to have you here inspiring us 🙂
well, first of all, i have to admit that i am TOTALLY curious what your little post-it notes say! 🙂 i have been looking for a way to manage/organize/make-sense-of all my projects and it looks like a very useful system you have there!
i also really like the idea of setting quarterly goals. AND i like the ideas of getting caught up with bookkeeping to clear out those blocked areas. well, actually it sounds like you’ve done a LOT of clearing out! isn’t it weird how being sick can make you feel so much BETTER once you get better? i’m glad you gave yourself the time you needed to rest, rejuvenate, and reorganize. i’m walking away from this post feeling like a have several new tools to help my life run a little bit smoother. thank you for that! 🙂