My Monkey Mind….
Do you sometimes feel as if your brain hurts?
Do you toss and turn trying to get to sleep, but you can’t turn off your mind?
Do you find yourself writing a ‘to do” list when you should be focusing on the task at hand?
Me too! Welcome to today’s world of over-tasked, ever-connected, and always-on thinking. It is as if this disease is slowly eating away time from our family and downtime.
Do I have the master answer? No. But here are 6 things I do. Of course, I want to hear your answers too. Please post them in the comments below.
1. Disconnect for Hours at a Time – Step away from your phone! It’s OK, really, to enjoy a Sunday and never check email.
2. Put a Notebook on Your Bedside – If your brain is swimming with ideas, spit them out quickly on the notebook and then clear your brain.
3. Create No Phone Zones – My family knows that there are no IPhones at our meal table. It doesn’t matter if you want to check your calendar or verify a fact, it must be turned off and ignored.
4. Find Escapist Activities – I’m a huge reader of fiction and business books. But, I only read fiction at night time so that my brain can relax into the escapist world of my book. (BTW, I’m finishing up Defending Jacob on my Kindle.)
5. Exercise Your Body – My gosh-darn fractured toe has prevented many exercise dates and made me miserable. Now? I just tape it and go spin, walk, or play tennis. Hitting a backhand takes away tons of pressure from the day.
6. Sleep – Every bit of research is now showing the restorative powers of sleep from living longer to losing weight. Your body needs to power down. The days of pulling an all-nighter are over so cave in to 7-8 hours of restorative sleep.
I know many folks meditate and practice yoga. What are you doing? Please share your stories with me below.
Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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