Groundhog Day

Do you ever feel your life is churning along and you do the same thing day in, day out? You get up, eat breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, go home, eat dinner and go to bed and then do the same thing all over again the next day! Sometimes life can become hum drum and repetitive, the days merge and before you know it, you’re getting up on Monday morning and in a blink of an eye it’s Friday afternoon! And what have you achieved? Hmmm, work of course, but has the week all been about that? Maybe you went to yoga or book club in the evenings but feel your week has been still been all about work?

What can we do to ensure we don’t suffer from repetitive day syndrome? Below are a some ideas which could help. None of them are particular difficult or require you to make massive changes. They are mainly small simple things that anyone can do. Have a read and see if anything can help you move from deja vu to whoo hoo! 😁

• Variety in your day

It might seem obvious but look at your day and pick a few points in it to do something out of the norm. Could you do some yoga first thing in the morning, or take a walk to watch the sunrise. Maybe you like to run, why not go for a morning run and have an energetic start. Looking at your journey to work, why not take a different route if possible. If you take public transport is there another bus or train you can take or get off at a different stop, that may not always be possible, but what about the streets you go down? Take an alternative.

Do you always start your day with a coffee, why not try a fruit or herbal tea instead, or maybe a hot chocolate. What about lunch? Do you make your own or are you always buying something that day? Then switch for a day a week if you can, just try something different.

So what do you do in the evenings? Come home from work and chill out on the sofa before ordering a takeaway? Or do you cook each night or have someone to cook for you? Go to your local pub and have some dinner or invite your friends over for a meal. Mix it up.

• Stop doing things just because you always do

Your alarm goes off at 6.30am and you get up and get your morning going. But why not move things around one or two days and get up 30 minutes later. You know those mornings when you accidentally sleep through your alarm and have to rush like mad to get ready and out the door in time to catch the bus, the train or to get the car parking space you really want. You know you can get ready quicker so why not treat yourself to a lie in once or twice a week!

• Move the moveable

There are certain things we can’t change, like work for example it’s fairly fixed in your routine may be the clubs you attend. But what about those hobbies or activities you do in the evening? Do you have set days? Instead of having Monday = Gym, Tuesday = Run, Wednesday = Yoga etc, why not randomly pick one, whether out of a hat or using a random app, If it isn’t set by someone else and you are in control then you can move it. Don’t put pressure on yourself to do specific things each night. Randomly pick or just do what you feel like that evening.

• Hide the Time

Ok so this may not be completely practical, particularly if you have to be at work by a certain time, but it may be useful for the weekend or a day off. Hide all your clocks, watches, phones, laptops etc and do what you want, when you want! Wake up without an alarm, have breakfast when you want, do your day your way! Humans invented time and we are so set in our ways that we forget we can have a life without time restraints. Maybe all you need to do is eat your lunch when you are hungry…and that can shake things up. At work, if you are always in meetings, why not have a day a week where you ensure no meetings are scheduled, but allow people to just drop by with queries. It could mean your meetings reduce throughout the week. Time can be a burden, we feel we never have enough of it and with a groundhog week it can just slip through our fingers. So take it away for a day and see how you get on.

• Ask your Manager or work colleagues to help

If it’s your job that is really causing you the same old same old repeat story, then why not speak with your boss. Is there another project you can get involved in or could you tell them the ideas you’ve had to improve a task? What about the team you are in, could you ask to collaborate on a project to make things more interesting? Maybe you’ve outgrown your role and a new challenge is what’s needed. Is it time to brush the cobwebs from your CV and start looking for something else?

Groundhog days happen from time to time and it can just take something little or different to shake things up and move on. You don’t need to quit your job and go on a soul searching journey across the world, think about making small changes or additions to your day that could genuinely make a difference!

Thank you so much for reading and have a fantastic week. 😍 Don’t forget to look after you!

Love Emma xx