Starting Over
Offline practices for instant brain reset.
Life has been stressful lately. Work has been intense. I am officially one step closer (and only two steps away) to the finish line of my Actuarial exams journey and have naturally been struggling to find the time to write.
The last two weeks made me realise how convenient it is for me to reach for my phone when I am in desperate need of numbing my brain. Doomscrolling makes you forget about deadlines, those never-ending “to-do” lists, for a short while. The problem is that the minute you step back into reality, your brain is more stressed than it was before. Scrolling on your phone isn’t the solution to all your problems, rather a way to defer the problems you still have to deal with, just not in that second.
I want something sustainable to reset my brain, especially on days I struggle to breathe. I want something that calms the chaos within me and instantly creates space for peace. I want to feel this way without looking at my phone.
We often wait for the sunrise, a new week or even a new year to start over. The truth is, you can start over right now. The very instant you feel overburdened. When your mind wants you to give up, but your heart wants you to keep going. Right when you notice the chaos slowly heading towards a burnout.
Here are ways you can simply but meaningfully hit reset on your brain when you need to start over
A fifteen-minute walk.
A midday shower.
A brief pause to listen to a song (any song) before resuming your work. Trust me, those four minutes can flip your mood real quick.
Yoga.
As someone who sits at a desk all day long (sometimes for as long as 12 hours) with no time for yoga, doing some basic stretches once every few hours allows me to start over. A still body leads to a still mind. A kind of stillness that drains your energy. What you need in life is the opposite of that stillness. More energy. More peace.
A thirty-minute nap.
A quick 5-minute break to clean your surroundings.
Deep cleaning. More often than not, removing physical clutter is directly proportional to less mental clutter.
Journal. Your thoughts find a structure when they are expressed on a piece of paper, something that can instantly calm your anxiety when the mind is occupied.
Slowly read a page of a book. Make sure not to rush it like every other task. The aim is to pause, not feel productive.
The 5-5-5-5 rule. Five deep breaths: Inhale for five seconds. Hold for five seconds. Exhale for five seconds.
Words that moved me last week..
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1 and 3 work for me all the time. Thanks for sharing my meditations. Also, all the best in the remaining 2 steps in the Actuarial exams.
back to square one let's go queen