I took yesterday (and today) off originally to move house… but that’s not happening – yet!
So, I decided to still take the time and to use it to recharge and de-stress.
Life is super stressful at the moment – what with the imminent house move, changes at work, a few health niggles, some family health concerns etc. etc. LIFE stuff!
Nothing that no-one else isn’t experiencing too, I’m fully aware of that.
So, knowing what I know… which I now know also becomes less and less the more I know, (haha, there’s a paradox!) I set about making some plans of how to use the time in a way that recharges me.
And this is how I spent it.
I got up slightly later than my normal 6am. Bliss.
I did my normal routine of coffee and Wordle (plus Connections, Waffle and Mini!) and shared my “scores” with Frankie (something we do every day). Side-note: I hit my 100 streak in Wordle (with a score of 5) – I have 119 to beat my own streak!
I tend to exercise first thing (mostly to get it out of the way!) and yesterday I walked the 3 miles to Kew Gardens along the Thames to visit the annual Orchid Festival.
It was drizzling and I listened to a podcast – another amazing one!! This one was with Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place and neuroscientist TJ Power (strong name).
Everyone must listen to this podcast! Children need to hear this stuff too. I am fascinated by neuroscience. And this one is particularly accessible.
Typically, my favourite neuroscientist and podcaster is Dr Andrew Huberman (who does get a shout out in this podcast too) but he is quite detailed and deep, so not for everyone, particularly if you are time poor.
In short, TJ talks to Fearne about Dopamine, Oxytocin, Seratonin and Endorphines (DOSE) – the four happy hormones.
I learned tonnes of new stuff that I can apply straight away into my routines! I will also look to incorporate some of his thinking and tips into my work…
You won’t get any spoilers here – listen to the podcast for all the nuggets – but, it did inspire me to write this blog (I haven’t written since August last year!) and it has inspired me to think about how I’m getting my daily DOSE of these happy hormones.
Back to my day… and the next stop was Madagascar 🙂 AKA Kew Gardens for the Orchid Festival, which was stunning. No more words required… photos instead.
After, I had a little walk through Kew Gardens which despite the grey, wet day was looking beautiful with signs of spring all around me.
I then decided to run the 3 miles back home in the rain (a hit of Dopamine and Endorphins, right there).
Arriving home wet and soggy I sat down to write this blog inspired by the podcast, nature and time by myself.
After a short Yoga with Adriene session, shower and breakfast (at 1pm 😉) I headed back out to visit a friend’s art studio to be inspired by their beautiful prints and wallpapers.
On the walk there I realised that until that point (4pm) I’d spent all day by myself and I’d loved it!
As an introvert (most people don’t know this about me – I didn’t know it myself until a couple of years ago!) I need this time alone to recharge.
But us introverts also need social connection too and it was good to connect with Amy and Adam and be inspired around their beautiful art.
And from art to pizza, my day ended with my friend Luci… at Napoli On the Road in Chiswick. We enjoyed a good catch up and yummy, award-winning pizza! My topping – Cheesewick… any guesses as to why?! 😉
All in all, I got a good DOSE of all of the happy hormones today.
I feel recharged after some quality time alone out in nature. I stepped it up (25k steps covered). I connected with lovely humans. I feel inspired to write again.
How do you recharge? Why not take a day off and do something that 100% focuses on you?
x
Not The Mayo Clinic 