A Project A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

I mean, maybe.  I’m not a health professional so keep eating those apples.

Onwards.

Are you in a bit of a rut? Feeling out of sync or out of sorts lately?

It’s normal to go through periods when your energy and motivation wane.  Throw in a global pandemic that robs you of a sense of control and security over your life and chances are, you’re becoming quite familiar with that rut. Maybe even a little comfortable there.

The days can be really long, especially if your employment is paused or in question. We’re all fatiguing under the weight of the rules and expectations and disconnection that go along with this new normal that has been thrust upon us.

How many new cases today? I look forward to the day I don’t ask this question anymore.

We are growing listless and restless. And bored. We need different surroundings, fresh dialogue, and opportunities to dress fancy and wear heels again.

This is a call to action, friends.

While much remains out of our control for the foreseeable future, I am here to remind you that the power to inject a sense of purpose, and accomplishment, and satisfaction to your days still lies firmly in your hands.

There seems to be a trend happening these days around 30-day challenges.  A few that I will never do might be interesting to try include the cold shower challenge, the no spending challenge, and the digital detox challenge.

To be clear, what I am suggesting here is not a 30-day challenge.  Not exactly.

Ok, maybe it is.

Yes, it actually is a 30-day challenge.

My 30-day challenge, however, isn’t based on the merits of making you uncomfortable in order to grow.

Growth be damned.

My challenge is more about giving your Inner Productivity Junkie a little something to sing about and your mental health a little boost.  No matter how many hours you may spend on the couch in a day, no matter how comfortable you are in that rut of yours, this challenge is going to give you a little push to inject some fresh energy back into your days and give you a reprieve from all the time you are likely spending in your head.

So here it is:

Tackle one small project per day, for 30 days.

Simple, right?

I never said I was fancy.

The first project can even be making a list of the other 29 projects.

To further support you, I have included a few project ideas below. Some might apply to you, some might not. Some are 5-minute tasks, others will take the better part of a day. The beauty (and effectiveness) of this is in the personalization.  Make it yours, Friend.

Home

1. Change up the framed photographs you have around the house.
2. Organize your linen closet.
3. Cull your junk drawer.
4. Create a ‘Mama Mission Control’ wall.

   

5. Tackle your bathroom cabinet – be ruthless!
6. Create a vignette of some of your favourite things (think books, vases, candles, photos). Just looking at it should make you happy.
   
   

   

   
7. Clean every light switch in your house. (BORING, to be sure, but what a sense of satisfaction!)
8. Rearrange the furniture in your living room/bedroom/office.
9. Find 100 things from around your home that you can get rid of (and then take them to a donation centre same day).

Work

1. Clear out your work email inbox. (This might take some people more than one day.)
2. Update your resume.
3. Do a detox of your digital files.
4. Clean your computer screen and keyboard.

Random

1. Read through your friend’s blog from start to finish. (wink wink)
2. Try an intimidating recipe. Hello, sourdough bread mania!
3. Organize your saved Instagram posts into collections for easy finding.
4. Cull your Instagram/Facebook contacts.
5. Organize your photos on your computer. (Get comfy, baby, this one will take all day.)
6. Detail your car.
7. Start a gratitude journal.
8. Finish the family photo book from 2018. (I’m looking at you, T.D.)

Relationships

1. Write a love letter to your best friend.
2. Prepare cards for friends and family who have a birthday in the latter half of this brutal year.
   
3. Print some recent photos and mail them to your parents/grandparents/siblings.
4. Make a list of your partner’s and/or child(ren)’s most endearing traits and share it with them.

Health and Beauty

1. Drink 2L of water. (Good grief, not all at once!)
2. Learn how to use that TRX contraption that is hanging in your basement.
3. Figure out how to use your flatiron to curl your hair.
4. Take all your expired medications and vitamins to your local pharmacy for safe disposal.
5. Learn how to contour properly.

   

We know that things won’t be like this forever, but we also know that it will probably be a long time before we are back to business as usual in many areas of life.  It’s understandable if you’re running on fumes – life right now is exhausting in a strange, new way. Just don’t let yourself hang out in that rut for too long.

Put down your phone, haul your fine self off the couch, and pick a project.

Let me know if you need my mailing address for that love letter.