Breathe. Relax. Detach.
When you get into a routine of relaxing and reflecting at the end of each day, you will enter the next day more focused and free from accumulated stress or worry.
Never become this woman with the bagel, phone and coffee.
Unwind, and you'll become lighter in spirit. I mean, imagine that, rather than taking off your clothes at the end of the day, you keep them on. And, in the morning each day you put on clothes without removing the old ones. You do this each day, until you’re wearing layers and layers and layers of musty, itchy clothing. You may laugh, but this is a lot like what’s happening to your spirit if you don’t stop, unwind, and reflect at day’s end. Just as you brush your teeth, you need to unwind.
Continued...
The act of unwinding at the end of the night can change your life. All you need is a short, focused amount of time. It takes no more than 15 minutes each night to review the day mentally and remember some of its most interesting moments.
I can hear the As Seen on TV advertisement now: In just 15 minutes a day! You can change your life! It’s free! It’s easy! All you need is your mind! And peace and quiet! Call now! (Blinking 1-800 number on screen.) Call in the next 15 minutes!
Seriously, though. This is a very special habit you can easily form. Just start to think about your day, during but especially at the day's end, and be present. Put aside distractions, food, the computer, and sit quietly and find yourself again.
Doctors recommend that people who have trouble sleeping shouldn’t drink coffee in the second half of the day, or sodas, and that they shouldn’t be on the computer or watching television (basically anything that stimulates the mind) just before bed. I recommend this, too. The most ideal way to exit the day is calmly, and thoughtfully.
How? Maybe put a notebook by your bed and write down a few lines about your day before falling asleep. Maybe sit down on the edge of the bathtub or on the kitchen counter—and take those fifteen minutes to consider the day you just experienced.
Do this for two weeks, and it’ll soon be a natural habit you can lean on for the rest of your life.
When you check-in with yourself at the end of the day, these are some questions you might want to ask yourself:
What was the highlight of your day? (I think this can also be a good question for parents to kids, as it’s open-ended. Rather than asking, “Good day?” You can ask, “What was the highlight of your day?”) We’re constantly asked to rate our day—people ask how our day is or how we are throughout the day—but rarely is the truth truly being requested. It’s easy to say you had a ‘good’ day, but does it really get to the meat of things? I believe that thinking of your day in terms of its interesting moments and highlights is far more substantial. Your day is made up of hundreds of moments, focus on those when evaluating your day.
What interesting things happened during your day? What observations did you make about the world around you—people, the season, your community, etc? It’s easy to become, while healing, focused on yourself to the exclusion of staying connected to the world around.
What was your least-favorite moment? Think about why. Think about how you might do it differently (if it might have been in your power to do so), or accept it for what it was.
Did you learn anything today? If you read the newspaper or listen to the news, you probably learned something. If you listened to someone tell you about an experience, you probably learned something. It could be simple. Today I learned that if an airport’s website is under construction, Boingo internet can’t connect to the Internet; Boingo needs a host. (This may be small, but it’s just one example of a learned thing.)
Was there anything that came up upon which you need to follow-up, such as sending information to someone or finding a book or movie someone recommended? It’s often surprisingly rewarding to trust and follow up on reading suggestions that colleagues, friends, or even acquaintances make. It gives you an opportunity for exposure to ideas that you wouldn’t have discovered yourself.
That's it! Enjoy.
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