A guest article from career coach, Marian Sample.
If you’ve been feeling a bit deflated recently, now could be the perfect time to think about the things you love to do and work out how you can boost your energy levels by building more moments of joy into your daily life.
Are your batteries fully charged, or in need of a boost?
Whatever your age or occupation, many of us now spend lots of time sitting in front of electronic screens for long periods each day. This is especially true as working from home has become more widespread.
In my work as a coach, I’m used to being home-based; often connecting with clients remotely via Skype, Zoom, or any one of the many online tools now available to us. But what’s new is spending so much of my time in this way.
Many activities like seeing clients, keeping in touch with friends, connecting with my book club, doing a yoga class, ordering shopping, watching plays, competing in pub quizzes, reading books, and a myriad of other things have moved online.
This new, largely online world can be exhausting – and it’s often difficult to maintain a barrier between work and leisure. While working remotely can provide greater flexibility, it can also blur boundaries and result in us never truly switching off.
In my experience, many of us are searching for productive and meaningful ways to spend our time outside of work. You might be looking for ways to add new routines to your daily life or create a better work-life balance. Or, perhaps you’re rethinking your career choices or considering how you’d fill your time in retirement.
In any of these scenarios, I’d encourage you to spend some time reflecting on the things you like to do and what brings you joy, as well as how you can introduce more of this into your current circumstances – however challenging they might be.
What gives you a sense of satisfaction, purpose, or fulfilment?
As a coach, this is an exercise I often use with my clients. It helps them to consider what’s important to them, what their values are, and what gives them a sense of satisfaction, purpose, or fulfilment. You can complete it on your own, or maybe discuss it with a friend. Once you’re finished, take some time to reflect on your answers.
To begin the exercise, start by creating a list of 15-20 things you like to do with your time. Then, looking at each activity in turn, consider these questions…
- How long has it been since I last did this?
- Does it cost money?
- Is this something I do on my own or with someone else?
- Is it fast or slow-paced?
- Is it mind or body-related?
- Is it job-related?
Now, as you sit and look at your list and your answers to these questions, consider what they’re telling you about your current situation.
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with this? What changes could you make – no matter how small – that would move you towards a more (or even more) satisfied frame of mind?
Time to get creative and increase your sense of satisfaction and purpose...
Do you love walking in the hills, but haven’t been hiking for months? Can you commit to putting aside a day this month to get into the countryside, take a picnic, and reconnect with nature?
Maybe you’d like to visit a spa and treat yourself to a massage. Or, if you can’t get to a spa, perhaps you could allocate an hour or two to hide away in the bathroom, light candles, play some soothing music, and put on a face mask while soaking in a hot bubble bath. You could also give yourself a pedicure to recreate some of that spa feeling.
If you like to travel, why not start planning your next trip abroad? Or, if you’d prefer to stay closer to home, you’ll be amazed at what you can find on your doorstep. Try to put the same effort into researching what to do in your hometown as you would if you were visiting for the first time, and you may be surprised at what’s available.
Looking at your list, if most of your activities are job-related, and you’re not currently working or are planning not to work, then ask yourself: how can you recreate those work experiences in ways that are unrelated to your job?
If most of your chosen activities are done with other people or are fast-paced and physical, what does this tell you about possible future career or life choices? Or, if you like to do activities alone that are slow-paced or mind-related, what does that say? What hobbies might you consider? What volunteering or new work could you get involved with that’ll provide similar experiences to those you listed and create the same feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment?
Looking after and being kind to ourselves is an essential part of self-care. It’s sometimes tempting to focus on all the things we can’t do. But I’d love you to get creative and think: what can I do that I enjoy that will get those endorphins flowing, even just a little?
For further reading, head over to the healthy mind section of our website. Here, you’ll find articles like How to learn the skill of optimism and 10 practices for self-exploration.
What gives you a sense of satisfaction, purpose, or fulfilment? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.