Author: Christine

Christine http://www.mombie.com I'm a writer/storyteller/director/creativity & lifestory coach with a black belt in ITF Taekwon-do. I read voraciously and I write like my fingers are on fire. I'm the founder and Co-Chair of the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl and I'm the current president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival. I bake a mean chocolate chip cookie.

Working Outside

I can’t decide if it is easier or harder to get things done when this is my view.

A photo of potted flowers at the corner of a patio deck.
Image description: the corner of my backyard deck across from my chair. I stood up to get a better angle. The focus of the picture is an arrangement of pots of flowers, some are on a wire rack, some are on a table and some are on the deck floor. The flowers include begonias, a variety of dahlias, some marigolds and others and they include pink, purple, red, and yellow flowers. The corner of my blue yoga mat is at the bottom of the photo and my shed, trees, and some green grass with a large patch of sunshine in the middle is in the background.

Smooth Sunday

Yesterday’s experiment was a success.

At the end of the day I felt both relaxed and accomplished and I didn’t feel like I had pushed myself too hard.

I have no specific plans today so I am going to keep my brain mostly unleashed and allow myself to move from task to task in whatever order makes sense.

I’ve already put some clothes on the line, dusted a few shelves, and did a little reading.

Now I’m going to read a bit more while I drink my tea and then I’ll dust a few more shelves.

I’m really hoping this approach not only helps me relax but also helps me get used to working on a task without the need to ‘get it done before I forget.’

PS – I know that relaxation and housework don’t really go together but housework needs to get done and this approach keeps me from spending my whole day hyper-focused on it.

Yesterday

Letting my brain off its leash

A few weeks ago, I watched a video from the YouTube channel ‘How to ADHD’ about how many people with ADHD have trouble relaxing.

One of Jessica’s comments was that even leisure activities require focus and concentration so when we are tired and need downtime we may not be drawn to a leisure activity because of the energy costs.

Her suggestion was that since we pour so much energy into self-regulation – masking, deciding where to focus, trying to stay focused, keeping quiet etc – our relaxation might come from ‘letting our brains off-leash.’ And just doing whatever our brains want to at that moment.

The comment made sense to me but it really only resonated this morning when I thought, as I often do, “Today, I just want to do everything in the order that makes sense to me.“

While it is tricky for me not to overthink my schedule and commitments, and hard not to ask ‘Is this the right time for that? Would it make sense to do it in a different order?’ sometimes I can manage it.

And when I can, it feels great.

I truly feel relaxed when I don’t have to fight my own thinking patterns – when I put it like that it feels so obvious! – I get lots of thinks done and I get to rest a lot.

I can’t do it every day because my brain can’t be trusted not to prioritize my laundry over a deadline but on days like today when it literally doesn’t matter when I do anything as long as I do it?

It’s so very good.

Art experiments

I’m trying to get a certain effect with small painted flowers but I haven’t figured out exactly how to do it yet.

I can’t really describe what I’m trying to do but I’m content with moving paint around on paper until I get what I’m looking for.

And even the results that aren’t quite right are still very fun.

Two small paintings of flowers laid down on a wooden patio railing.
Two small paintings resting on a wooden patio rail. The painting on the left has a cluster of thumbprint sized flowers in pink, orange, yellow and blue on white paper with dots in the background. The one on the right is on a cardboard card with a sprinkle of tiny flowers in pink, blue, yellow, and orange on the right side against a background of thin black lines.

Trudging along

This week has been a slog.

No specific disasters, just a bunch of small frustrations wearing me down.

I don’t feel like doing anything but doing nothing doesn’t make me feel any better so I have been letting my habits and routines carry me along.

Tonight, I feel especially grateful for my routine of walking the dog.

If she didn’t need to get out for a stroll tonight, I would have just spent the evening sitting around and that wouldn’t have served me well at all.

Thanks, Khalee-pup!

A photo of my medium-sized, short-haired, light-coloured dog standing with her front feet on grass and her back feet on the sidewalk. She is facing towards the right side of the photo. Her neon yellow leash extends from the lower portion of the photo towards the middle left where she is.