5 Things I do daily to stay sane.

This isn’t about being productive.

Image Source : Pixabay

There was a time when I used to listen to dumb shit on the internet from influencers in the wild and get carried away.

Productivity gurus who wake up at 3.30 am and so on and so forth ( I saw a lot of other dumb stuff too ) . I worked myself to exhaustion working 14 hour days on the company I had started just before the pandemic hit.

What compounded my anxiety was the fact that it was an event company, which completely conked off when the lock down was announced.

Long story short I started consuming more content online which messed me up and eventually led to burn out, a bad one. Ones own mind is a funny thing.

I have had to consciously work on getting out of that mould of comparing myself to others and trying to get a one up on my previous day self and just doing things for the fuck of it, thinking that I am going to take so much action that it would be impossible to fail.

Since my epiphany, I have been putting into practice things I do daily that help me stay sane, and I am hoping these can resonate with you too should you need them.

2 Cups of Black Coffee worth of uninterrupted reading.

This is impossible not to do for me AND I read anything. Anything that appeals to me at that point.

It could be an article, a blog, a book if it interests me. It is just about what appeals to me at that moment.

I wake up ( Whatever time, usually 7), make my coffee, light a smoke and drift with what I am reading.

Here is what it does:

Reading is a visual experience. I am literally creating scenarios in my mind when I read, and what that tends to do is kick start my imagination, which has no limits. That energy tends to reflect in everything I do everyday.

A 4 Km Walk — Daily (Usually around 8.30)

After getting done with my reading, I put on my track pants and head to a park near my place.

I can afford a state of the art gym, I prefer to go to the basic one in the park.

I walk at a steady 1 km / 12 min pace and continue to do so until I hit the mark.

Here is what it does:

Mentally stimulates me as much as it does physically. Continuing to fuel my imagination with ideas before the hum of the day begins. At this point I am usually visualising how my day is looking and I often end up compartmentalising and separating what I am dreading from what I am looking forward to.

3 Times a week, I follow it up with weight training in the gym inside the same park.

It is unbelievable to think exercise has become a must have for me out my own will and not because I haaave to.

I Deal with the shit first.

All the stuff that I am not looking forward to in a day is what I attack first the moment I am ready.

This gives me an immediate sense of achievement, especially if there are unpleasant convos to be had.

I make sure those are had first, I may be guilty of urging people to have those convos at a time not convenient to them, but hey this is about what keeps me sane.

Here is what it does:

It helps me deal with stuff when I am at my most alert. Stuff that can f*
ck things up if allowed to linger.

Set Aside at least 2 hours to work on my agency, Ting Tong Marketing.

I run an event management company, and while most of my time is spent on pitches, meetings etc etc, I have to at least spend 2 hours thinking and brain storming with colleagues about what else we can do to add to our value proposition.

And when I do that, it keeps life exciting. Helps me think strategically and do things that can help us grow.

Treat myself for small wins

I have a chocolate ice cream bite or a piece of a protein bar or any other small treat and watch youtube, history or mystery or something entertaining (nothing heavy ) at night to dumb myself down a bit and slow down.

I used to treat myself with alcohol, but then it got too much and I found myself using it as an escape, so cut it out daily.

A Notable Mention.

I delete Instagram from my phone during weekdays. It is an incessant amount of garbage that comes your way if gone unchecked.

These are just some of the things that work for me, I have obviously excluded time spent with family and stuff, because that is a no brainer.

Doing these help me complete my tasks far more impactfully and quickly. Quality over quantity.

We live in a noisy world and we each need to do our own thing to keep ourselves sane.

Now imagine how awesome it would be if we share those ideas with each other. What do you do to stay sane?

Let me know in the comments.