A very boring day. Noting productive, in fact, nothing even worth telling, productive is a long shot. I think the start of the say sets up the whole day, I guess. Well, the good for nothing start of my every day is biased. When then day starts well and productive, you know, early rise, shower, breakfast, exercise and work, I get tired early, sleep in the noon wake up at night. There goes the whole day down the drain. And when the day starts on a bad note, well……
Now what on Earth am I supposed to do if the day is always pitted against me. It is obvious why I feel unproductive most of the days. Well, today, despite of 4 to 5 alarms, set up across several hours, I did not get up. Oh mind it, I DID wake up around 80% of the times on my alarm. When I wake up early, I am so happy that I tell myself, “okay I woke up. I am wide awake now. How about I lie down again in this bed and close my eyes for a shot while. Then I will get up and go”. Like that could ever end up well! A couple more hours of sleep follow that.
Morning routine struggles are so irritating to overcome. My productivity guilt starts first thing in the morning. Now how to break the cycle of unproductive mornings? Apparently, the trick is to drink water, a lot of it, as soon as you wake up. The body hydrates and you get fresh. NOT THIS BODY. Water is the new trend everywhere. “Drink water to wake up”. “Drink water to get better skin”, “drink water to stay healthy”, “drink water to slow down aging”. So many water intake productivity myths. Is it even water any more or some elixir of life? These people are going to make Nicolas Flamel out of us now.
Alright, alright, water is important. Drink water people. But not to become superman, just to live healthy and avoid other health problems. So, the thing is, I do drink water, a lot of it. I keep a water bottle filled besides me at all times. I drink it in the morning as well. But I don’t get those senzu bean effects. It is good, but not good enough for me. I go straight to bed again after that.
So, I woke up at 1400 hours. My cousin was at my place. He woke me up otherwise who knows how long I would have slept. I’ll be honest with you. In the beginning, I try to wake up, pull my body out of bed. But when I see so many hours pass by, I am adamant to stay down. Then the late wake up guilt hits. Now it’s a fight. Alright, if sleep is not going to let me go, I am equally stubborn. Now I will also NOT wake up, on my own will, no matter what happens. Quite stupid, isn’t it? Yes, I know, very dumb of me, but I am sleepy, man. What better decision could one make in such a state. Plus, I get into that cycle of ‘why I can’t wake up early’. But seriously, why do I fight with myself about waking up?
Then a normal day followed. Had lunch. Worked a little on my website. Some social media posts. Then life happened. Around 9:00 pm, I get a call that one of my university mates, who lives in another city, is here and is visiting a nearby mall to pass time. I was tired and down, but I got to meet him if he is here from other city, bad manners otherwise, right? So, I get up, get ready, and leave for the mall. What do you know, they had a change of plan? Great! Who’s going to tell me about that? Apparently, no one. I am inside the mall, calling them, and they tell me they are going somewhere else to eat. That was somewhat infuriating.
Well, what could I do about it, I though. I was in the mall. It was near my home and had opened up just a couple of months ago. So, I decided to roam around. Plus, I think solo activities are good for mental health. I don’t know. I just love myself a good window-shopping session. Some people may think I am practicing mindful shopping. Like I would do that if I had the money. Well, I believe I would still not waste money, but I would certainly not just roam around for hours not buying a single thing. I was going all around the mall like a madman. My face expression, my body language, anyone seeing me would think this is either the loneliest or the most chill guy on the planet.
Came back after an hour, had dinner, watched something on YouTube, I have this bad habit of always having something to see on mobile or TV when I sit down to eat. It sets up the mood. Nice food, good, chilled beverage and a good show on the laptop, like a cool day at the beach. See How I handle the cancelled plan gracefully? That’s a win right there (albeit a small win).
Then here I am, writing diary. Nothing amazing here today. No meaningful mindful reflection. Maybe I can leave you with a cliffhanger, something to think about:
“Sometimes, to talk to someone, you just have to listen”
