Take Back Your Day

Oh Monday, you are putting up a good fight, but not good enough!

Sometimes every day seems like Monday. That has especially been the case with me lately. However, it has done me no good to sit here and wallow in it. Last week I decided to say I'M DONE with letting the day(s) defeat me. I took two days off of work to do whatever I wanted....and I most certainly enjoyed them!
It was as if I hit a refresh button. No expectations, no usual frustrations, no one telling me I needed to do something or how to do it. It was so nice.

Then....it was back to the grind. So while it was short-lived, it was amazing. So I ask myself, how can I turn any bad day around to make it MY day? Because, let's face it, we cannot just take a day off of work when we feel like it. I have a bad habit of worrying myself with what I have to do throughout the week (cleaning, washing clothes, going to work, meeting deadlines..etc), and I never just experience the present...I never enjoy the small things given to me in the 24 hours I am living at this very moment.

I started thinking about this as soon as I walked out of the house today to head to work. So I decided to try a few things to take back my day, and so far they are working for me.

I took a new route to work. It changed things up for me. It defied my norm and made driving to work feel as if it wasn't so routine and monotonous. I also turned on music that I knew would give me that extra little push to start my day off right. When I got to work, I turned on music. Music always makes things better (in my humble opinion). I am much more productive when there is music!

I have also decided that when I get frustrated at work I will excuse myself and run/walk the stairs. So, I will either be really skinny soon or learn not to get so frustrated so I won't have to walk/run the stairs. Nothing like some strict discipline :)

One of my favorite changes is the way I greeted and responded to greetings this morning. When an intern arrived and asked how my weekend was, I didn't do the usual "it was good, and yours?" Instead, I highlighted the best parts of the weekend. I told her all about the softball tournament, the movie, and best of all, the gum story. It felt so nice to not be so robotic and conventional.

[Gum Story: Melissa and I were in Target and the cashier asked us if we had any gum. Melissa gave her two pieces of hers, and then signaled to me to put a pack of gum on the conveyor belt. Once we payed, Melissa handed the cashier her own pack of gum. She came out of her lane and gave Melissa a huge hug and said she made her whole day.  It was a great moment.]

Reminding yourself of the good and great things that happened makes for a wonderful trick to turn your day around. I continued doing small things that ended up making big differences. I organized my work space, I took breaks to walk the stairs, get fresh air, or to enjoy a snack. I did stuff for ME. I may be forced to be in a certain environment, but I will not be forced to be miserable. I am blessed to have a job, I am blessed to be given the opportunity to help others through my work, but I am also blessed with choices to make on how my day will unfold.

I recognize the importance to do the small things to remind myself that the day is what I make of it. It is MY day, and so why should I let others claim it? If you feel like this, start changing things up. Eat something different, try a new coffee flavor, spend 15 more minutes getting ready in the morning to pamper yourself, do yoga when you wake up, be extra nice. Get together with your co-workers and have a theme week where you wear crazy socks or have a show and tell. Do something unfamiliar on your breaks - eat somewhere you have never eaten, go somewhere you have never been, sit at the park and count the runners. Whatever you do, do something different. This will be a great break in routine, and it will create a new memory, it will be a topic to talk to others about, it will be YOUR new experience...it will make your dreaded work hours not so dreadful. If you are in a position where you cannot do any of these things, then make your after hours worth your working hours. Before you walk in the door this evening, take a deep breath and leave your work stuff on the doormat and enjoy what is on the other side of that door. Free yourself from anything that happened between the hours of 8 and 5. Take advantage of the fact that there is still time in the day after work just for YOU!

Matt Nathanson sings, "Everyday is the start of something beautiful, and in the end nothing stays the same." So every day doesn't have to be bad, every day doesn't have to be dreadful. Every day is a new chance to take back your day, to rise and accept the challenge to give it all you you've got to make sure your smiling in the beginning, middle and end of your day. If you wake up in the morning it is a gift, so be alive, feel alive and LIVE that day like it was unexpected.

Where Melissa works, they have a quote of the week. I love this idea. I wanted to steal it, but I didn't. Instead, I have come up with a topic of the week. So, whenever we are having a bad day, or see someone else who has a bad day, we talk about the topic to turn things around. I will  let you know how this works out for us in my work environment ;)

Until then, have a great time making changes and creating new opportunities to evolve in the renovations of your daily life. Just remember to start by taking back your day!

Peace and joy,
Beth