What a year, ya’ll! 2020 has been rough. Honestly, I didn’t feel the weight of it all until around October. I was trucking along doing alright and then the anxiety of it all just hit me. I was getting irritated over minor things. I felt like I had to finish a task immediately or the world would come crashing down….even though I knew it wouldn’t, there was just this feeling like it would. I felt like I was losing my mind one minute at a time; like my brain truly might explode. I couldn’t stay focused on a task, would forget what I had started working on, mentally exhausted, and just….ugh!
I knew something had to give. I couldn’t figure out why this anxiety popped up out of nowhere so I tried to layout and evaluate all that I had going on. Professionally, my business was going in 4 different directions. I literally had 4 tentacles of my business going in opposite directions. Like a compass that couldn’t find north…headed in no clear direction. No wonder I couldn’t focus on a task.
Socially…..um, what social life? Ha! I’ve been trying to do some coffee dates and safe distanced dining with friends, but let’s be real. For me, it’s just not the same as going all out and hosting a dinner party. Y’all know I love a good tablescape, so hosting a supper club is how I thrive! Missing that so much.
From home life perspective, it’s been quite the adjustment to have my hubs at home. I do love when we are both home and can sit down and eat lunch together. But on the other end, it’s hard for me to clean the house and do all my projects for blogging, vintage booth, etc. without being a distraction to him.
Spiritually, I’ve been doing two bible studies this semester. I’ve loved both of them, but it really is a challenge to do two studies at one time.
After realizing “yeah, this is a lot.” I started to make some changes and adjustments. Here’s what I’ve done…
1. Reigned in my professional life. I had to let one area go and limit another. It was hard choice, but nothing was getting my full attention and I don’t like doing things halfway. I want it done well and things were not my best.
2. Spent time organizing. As you can imagine, with me sourcing vintage finds for my booth and for clients, those items tend to take over my home. My garage is certainly dedicated to furniture, but the platters, vases, lamps, etc. have a tendency to take over my dining room table and guest room. I spent several hours one Saturday cleaning up my guest room and dining room. I also invested in some light duty shelves to store these items in the garage and I’m trying to truly dedicate the garage to vintage booth items. Still figuring out the best place for fabric and pillow storage. I’m thinking I need to clean out the guest bedroom closet for that and that will be another weekend project.
I also spent some time investing in some good “equipment.” When I would go to the shop to stock my booth and needed to take along tags, wood furniture polish or felt feet, I would just grab it and throw it in my purse. I’m working on storage bag solution that I can grab with me everytime. This is in the works and will likely be another blog post soon–stay tuned!
3. Tried Equilibria. I’ve seen several bloggers share how much they love the CBD brand Equilibria so I thought I’d give it a shot–what could it hurt at this point? I think it helps and I just had a call this week with a dosage specialist. We’re altering my routine and I’m eager for this to be part of the solution. I’ll keep you updated after I’ve tried this routine for a little while.
4. Talk with a counselor. Y’all, don’t let some stigma of talking to a counselor keep you from getting some mental stability. Let’s be honest, talking to someone can be so helpful; whether that’s a parent, friend, mentor, anyone–it helps. Talking to a professional can be eyeopening! It’s someone who knows their stuff and they are an excellent person who is removed from the situation that can be honest. It’s such valuable insight and perspective that truly teaches you so much about yourself.
5. Created margin. This goes back a little bit to number 1. I was doing so much professionally, that I couldn’t keep up with house stuff. Imagine my vintage overflowing in the garage and house and on top of that clutter, a messy home. Gross! I operate so much better when the house is tidy and I wasn’t giving myself time to do that. I’ve cut back a little so that I can dedicate some time to house chores and routines. Sometimes it’s only ten minutes, but that little bit of tidying up goes a long way in overall effective schedules, productivity, and mental health.
6. Put down the social media. This is so hard and something that I’m still trying to find a balance too. I really want my business to be based largely online. I know that it’s important to interact with other accounts online, but that takes so much time. I could seriously spend all day engaging with accounts and friends online in an effort to boost my online business visibility. I had to hit pause on some of that for a little while. If you’ve only received a double tap/like response in a DM or I haven’t been able to comment on a post, I’m sorry! Just taking a little bit of a break.
7. Better quiet time. As I said previously, I am involved in two bible studies this semester. I’ve loved doing them and learned a lot, but I was focusing more on getting the homework done than spending time with the Lord. I still learned a lot, but I had fallen out of the routine of my coffee, devotion, prayer time each morning.
I’d love to know more about what you’re doing to healthily cope with the 2020 anxiety jitters! Please share more in the comments so this can be a resource for all!
