I had a whole list of them planned, all revolving around the theme, “Reboot.” I was going to reboot my health by exercising more, meditating daily, and eating clean. I was going to reboot my career by focusing on an element of my writing that I haven’t given much attention to, in recent months. I was going to reboot the book I’m writing by committing to daily writing.
Then, 2018 hit with a vengeance. I’m actually having trouble believing we’re less than three weeks into January. The whiplash that 2017 gave me has not let up so far, and I find myself wondering how I can stay faithful to these resolutions for longer than a month. It’s exhausting, taking care of yourself when you have so many other people to take care of.
I wish someone would write a book called, “The Life-Changing Magic of Improving Your Life in Tiny Increments, Without Losing Your Sanity.” It’s a catchy title, isn’t it?
The moment I feel like I’ve gotten ahead with one element in my life, something else crops up. I know that’s called adulthood, to a certain extent, but there seems to be no point at which I can get off this ride and regroup. Hell, I can’t even keep my house clean for more than a few hours, it seems. The fact is, being an adult has always been hard, but the insanity of the 24-hour news cycle, the increase in kids’ mental and cognitive challenges, social media, extra-curricular activities, the ever-present distraction of technology, and jobs that don’t seem to end at 5pm all make me (and many of my friends) feel like it’s all too much.
There has to be a way to be gentle with yourself without completely letting your responsibilities go.
What I’ve decided to try, in order to be good to myself but still accomplish more than I have been able to in my current state of exhaustion and overwhelm, is to implement a 5-minute goal. A minimum of five minutes, every single day, will be devoted to one of the things I planned to commit to. Maybe that means five minutes of meditation or five minutes of organizing my office or making a meal plan for the week.
Five minutes. Every day.
This isn’t exactly a lofty goal, but my hope is that by prioritizing just five minutes to follow through on commitments I’ve made to myself, I will create a habit that can be expanded upon. For example, promising myself that I’ll exercise for just 5 minutes will likely lead to me exercising for longer than 5 minutes, but if it doesn’t, I’m not left feeling guilty. The same goes for organization, or time spent on my book, or even meal planning. I can set myself a timer on my phone, and when five minutes is up, I’m allowed to stop.
This feels more achievable. Kinder.
What could you commit to doing, if it meant only five minutes each day?
