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Am I relaxed yet?

A playlist & tips to help you wind down from a productivity addict

By JuliaPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
2
Am I relaxed yet?
Photo by Eric Nopanen on Unsplash

Since the pandemic started, I realized more and more how much I needed some “me” time. I had long been hustling and running from place to place, and now I felt the need to just… stop. However, like any productivity-addict, here is how I felt about relaxing:

I tried many things, from lighting up scented candles to foamy baths to meditation. And as much as I tried to concentrate in the moment, it all felt like a waste of time. Shouldn’t I be spending this time in a more productive way?!

It took me some time to adjust and accept that I could, in fact, take some time just for myself. I later realized that doing this would actually increase my productivity levels down the road. It’s about working smarter (and you need to feel rested and calm to do that), not harder.

Well, learning to relax was a bit of a process. Here are some things that helped me the most:

Picking the right time of the day

Knowing what time works for your schedule and your body to unwind makes quite a difference. Even though I snooze my alarm approximately 2-3 times before I finally get out of bed, I do consider myself to be a morning person. The early-ish morning time, when most people are still in bed and my surroundings are mostly quiet, is my favourite time for relaxing.

I created a little routine that feels indulgent and brings a good start to my days. Instead of commuting (perks of WFH), I can take my time in the morning to brew a nice cup of coffee, journal and...

Listening to music (with good noise-cancelling headphones on)

This was a huge game-changer in my ‘relaxing’ journey. I’ve always loved music; it helps me to tune into whatever vibe I am feeling in the moment, to forget about my worries and just feel the beat.

Wearing some comfortable noise-cancelling headphones can help you to tune out any background noise to focus even more.

Here is the playlist I created specially for slow mornings:

You may notice that I’ve got a few different genres in there. I’m highly eclectic when it comes to music, and transitioning from one genre to another actually helps with my mood transitions.

As soon as I start my day, I want to feel exactly this: A glimpse of hope, but overall, I want to take it pretty slowly. So my playlist starts off slowly and inspirational, with a bit of a dreamy beat. Dabbing onto a bit of electro, it then dives into acoustic and instrumental music.

Then, going onto more pop-like songs allows me to sing along, lifting up my mood instantly. The playlist finishes off with a higher electro beat that mixes some meditation-like sayings on top of it: “Don’t try to identify the sounds you are hearing… Simply allow them to play with your eardrum…It’s all just sound”. This last song helps me to focus on the moment -- that is when I close my eyes and just envision the day ahead of me.

Accepting that I need “nothing” time & minimizing social media

Last but not least, just realizing that I am a human being and need to recharge, has helped me immensely. Sometimes I just do nothing, and that’s totally fine. I used to feel guilty about this, but now I am just happy to be able to have time for myself.

By Roy Muz on Unsplash

I’ve seen so many people doing very cool things during the pandemic, producing content online, exercising, and much more. I realized I was spending a bit too much time looking at other people's apparently cooler lives on Instagram, so I set up some reminders within the app that tell me when I've reached my daily limit. So instead of pressuring myself into showing the cool stuff I’ve been doing on social media, I decided to just be more present in the current moment.

Incorporating a little "me time" every day has helped me to feel so much more energized and connected with myself. Then, I can leverage my slightly more peaceful mind to be even more productive and present throughout the day.

self help
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About the Creator

Julia

I am no artist.

• Bits of poetry, anecdotes, language learning, travel tips & mostly daydreaming.

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@julias_everywhere

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