Valuing our downtime
The truth about resting
Well hello, moodlers!
This is Debs from Take a Moodle with Me. I write about moodling (yes, its a thing!) and finding small pockets of time in your everyday life to connect or reconnect with yourself.
I was chatting to a friend the other day about to-do lists and how they seem to rule our lives. They are ubiquitous and the items on them never seem to get done. I find myself transferring to-dos from one week to the next so often! Mine also contains a multitude of things that need to be done on weekdays.
Yet...
My day (well at least from 9 to 5) during the week is filled with "work": that big thing that brings in the pennies.
When the weekend comes, I often find myself trying to fit in everything that has been on the list all week, rather than recharging/recuperating from the week or doing nurturing things.
Am I the only one who does this?
What a vicious cycle.
Where did we learn to do this?
I've decided to try and break this cycle
First:
As I sit down to make my list for the week ahead, I will put "Do my paying work" at the top
And completing that each day is surely enough?
Second:
When someone asks "What did you do at the weekend/last night?"
You ashamedly reply, "Nothing."
What you actually mean is that:
you did nothing that could be classified as "productive" (because we are expected to always be productive, aren’t we?)
or
you weren’t busy as our always-on-the-go culture makes us think we should be
Elsie Owen (@the_peoplepleasing_therapist on Instagram), a therapist who helps people prioritise themselves, posted a reframe - a list of alternatives to "doing nothing".
Because, in fact, we didn't "do nothing", instead we:
Rested
Chose not to make plans
Recovered from the week/day
Shortened our to-do list
Took a nap
Had a day with ourselves
Recuperated/recharged
Had some time out
Spent time with ourselves
What would you add to this list?
I slowed down
I made some art
Today I choose, valuing myself and my time over busyness and hustle culture
What do you choose today?
The card art
Card 43 from the pack of 50 “Choose … over … “ is a collage on top of some neon pink and green watercolour blobs (that's the only way to describe them!) There is also a spiral cutout - spirals are one of my favourite shapes! Dots were added with acrylic pens and black markers.
Until our next moodle, remember to “do nothing” without guilt!
What next?
If you’re wondering what to look at next, maybe click on one (or all) of these:
What is a moodle? It’s a dawdle, a stroll, a meander - to notice, appreciate and go where my curiosity takes me.
Introduce yourself and your favourite way to moodle in this thread
Find a list of all the art cards I’ve written about so far
Visit my profile to see my Notes, who I subscribe to and recommend
Head to the About page to find out a bit more about the project and a little bit of backstory