Q4 Blues
The clocks have officially gone back an hour and even though Arizona doesn’t observe daylight savings I feel the change. I feel the need to sleep more, be under a blanket or just stay inside and thats not usually my vibe. The red alarm this time, was a 2 hour nap after work on a Wednesday. By this time I fell off of my workout regimen for about 5 days which was another warning sign to myself that I was slipping under a rain cloud. I needed to shake things up.
1) I dragged myself to the gym. Shoutout to my pre-workout for getting me through and once I put on this new workout playlist everything fell into place. One of my fitness friends sent me a full body workout so I just went with that as my workout for the day. Reminder: Everything doesn’t need to be perfect you just have to move.
2) I made a list of all the things I needed to do. This list has no order, rhyme or reason its a jumble of things that had been floating around my brain as reminders. I haven’t done anything else with this list, that is tomorrow’s problem. Usually I will prioritize the list once I have everything written down. Then its not taking up real estate in my brain.
3) I cleaned ONE area of my home. Having one space that is clean and in order makes me feel less overwhelmed by another pile of items out of place. I chose the smallest place in my home and cleaned that so I still count that as a win.
4) Ask for help. I do realize everyone does not have this luxury of a supportive friend circle but we have soliutions for that!
If you are miles away a call with someone who genuinely cares, this makes a big difference. Usually I pair those calls with a walk outside so I’m getting fresh air while catching up and moving my body ( a triple threat).
If you do have someone you can ask for help it may be helpful to consider something that comes easy to them. My partner is great at folding clothes so I asked him to help with that, then we put said clothes away together. Its a simple task but it makes a huge difference.
Another example of how I have utilized help over a distance was asking a friend for recommendations to patio furniture. She is a wonderful decorator and loves diving into various sites to help me get my space together. I texted her saying “hey girl! when you have a moment can you share some recommendations for patio furniture. I need a rug, umbrella, and cushions for these chairs, I’m trying to stay under X dollar amount.” This took a few things off my list.
5) As the holidays approach, for many this can be a joyus time of year but for others its when the raincloud decides to sit right over your head. What tools do you have that you can put to use? I look for items that provide comfort, spend time with people who put a smile on my face, lean on my schedule (whether I want to do these things or not) and I give myself grace to know it may not be 100% but just showing up to follow the schedule is a WIN.
For years, I felt alone with these Q4 blues but with a professional therapist in my corner I have worked to build my survival kit on getting through storm. These are things that have worked for me over the years. Let this post serve as a friendly reminder you aren’t alone and the Q4 blues will pass.
*I found my therapist on Psychology Today. They have some great filters for the different services and specialties that are offered. With everything on 99Finds, this is what works for me, take what works for you.
