5 Wellbeing Lessons That Will Power You Through the Next Quarter
Be a curious scientist that experiments and goes with the flow
The Easter Bank Holiday arrived at the best time.
Three months of 2024 have disappeared at a scary pace.
In the UK, we’ve all been aiming for the long Easter weekend to focus on other things.
For me, I’ve had some much needed solitude. I am writing a specific article on this right now, so keep an eye out for that.
It was going to be my post for the week but I realised Lesson #1 is much needed right now. See,, I do put these suggestions into practise myself!
For others, this is a social weekend with friends, families and festive foods.
Either way, Easter has coincided nicely with the end of Q1. One of my goals for this year is to take frequent reflective pauses and meaningful action from these.
That’s because it’s super easy to get into auto-pilot mode.
Before you know it, the weeks have disappeared and you wonder what you have to show for it.
Make Time For Reflection
What really frustrates me is making the same mistakes over and over again.
Unfortunately, there are some unhelpful habits I still haven’t managed to shake off, e.g. perfection procrastination, delayed sleep.
That doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying, and I’ve realised that’s the key theme of today’s post.
Keep calm and carry on.
Even with the ups and downs, we have more control over our actions than we think.
This means we don’t have to blindly follow the same activity forever without change if it no longer serves us.
If you’re reflecting on your Q1 2024 or feeling wobbly in general, this list aims to give you the boost you need to hold fast, adjust and keep going.
Top 5 Lessons I’ve Learned the Hard Way
Lesson #1: It’s OK to adapt your routine if it wears you out.
I had a lot of obligations in Q1 - executive day job, solopreneur, Diploma student, fledgling content creator etc etc. I tried to stick to a weekly schedule but I got exhausted.
As a recovering perfectionist, making changes to my routine was painful, but I had to give myself grace and time to meet my obligations sustainably.
So far, it’s helped to take some of the pressure off - I’ve moved post days, when I write, or do business admin.
There are still deliverables to complete, but if I feel better, there’s a higher probability I’ll get these done sooner rather than later.
I can still go back to my previous schedule once I stabilise my weekly systems - I decide the routine.
Adjust your schedule - just for now, not forever, if needed.
Lesson #2: Focus on defusing your thoughts.
This is a great tool from Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and helps us detach from our thoughts, especially the sticky, tricky ones.
Here’s an example: ‘I’m failing at writing good posts on X.’ This thought is painful. It makes me want to give up. That’s not going to help me build an audience and help people, is it? It’s counter-productive and tries to protect me from failure.
What can I do instead? Cognitive defusion helps us get distance from our thoughts without having to change them or look for evidence for or against.
These techniques are helpful in certain cases, but we can decide not to believe our thoughts. They aren’t reality. They are random opinions, even though they are powerful.
Instead, we can say: ‘I’m having the thought that I’m failing at writing good posts on X.’ See how that shifts things slightly? It takes the power of the thought down because we observe ourselves doing the activity. We detach ourselves from it.
Remove power or pain from thoughts by creating mental distance.
Lesson #3: Sleep is always the priority.
Linked to Lesson #1 my main opportunities to write or coach are in the evenings after my day job. Mornings are often taken up by working out or commuting to the office.
Although I have always been a night owl, who also wakes up earlier than a couple of decades ago (I blame the cats), it was harder to meet daily obligations and disrupted my sleep wind-down routine.
What’s the main sign I’m getting into unhelpful habits? I fall asleep on the sofa. Now, it’s ironically the best deep sleep for a couple of hours. But then I have to peel myself off the sofa at 1am and get ready for bed again in a different location.
It’s highly disruptive and those early sleep hours help us process emotional experiences from the day! I need to protect the sleep process as it’s vital for good health.
I’ve used the past week to notice the habit triggers leading to disrupted sleep. This is it: as soon as I get the urge to ‘lie down on the sofa and watch TV for a bit’, I know that’s my cue to go upstairs and get ready for bed instead.
Notice your sleep cue triggers and honour them.
Lesson #4: Remember the process, not the outcome, is key.
Another one I have to remember over time. I’ve even written an article about it, using the Stoic Archer as an example. In our metrics-driven society - some more useful than others - we are drawn to outcome-driven metrics as a measure of ‘success’.
In my Supply Chain-related day job, this is valuable approach as we link financial and performance metrics to measurable outcomes. But as a solopreneur and content creator just starting out, it can be a distraction.
I want to build a sustainable business and systems that helps people and gives me financial and time freedom. These are underpinned by consistency and assessing what works better than what doesn’t.
I remain curious about the process as that is under my control, versus the outcomes that aren’t. I then take meaningful action without tying myself up in knots.
Sustainable consistency means I practise the skills I want to develop, versus flip-flopping if I was purely driven by certain outcomes.
Build consistent systems that are adapted by meaningful data.
Lesson #5: Good friendship is golden.
I’m lucky that I have great friends. I don’t see them enough so most communications are remote. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but all relationships need to be nurtured.
In some particularly tricky phases this year, a good chat with a friend has lifted my spirits in ways I hadn’t imagined.
It’s important not to take that for granted. One of my Q2 goals will be to nurture these social and relationship connections with more intention.
This aligns to my values and means I can be there for others the way they have been there for me.
Relationships can’t only go one way. We have to remain grateful for them and they deserve to be nurtured.
Prioritise your valued relationships - this makes a life well lived.
There are other lessons I could have shared but these are the key ones that I’ll use in Q2 2024 as they will impact all aspects of my business, relationships and life.
When we don’t have as much time as we’d like, focus on the 20% activities that drive 80% of the benefits - in other words, the 80/20 Pareto Principle.
This drives a more efficient and impactful approach under pressure.
Conclusion: What To Take Into Q2 2024
If you just want the 5 Lessons before leaping into Q2 2024, read this:
Lesson #1: Adjust your schedule - just for now, not forever, if needed.
Lesson #2: Remove power or pain from thoughts by creating mental distance.
Lesson #3: Notice your sleep cue triggers and honour them.
Lesson #4: Build consistent systems that are adapted by meaningful data.
Lesson #5: Prioritise your valued relationships - this makes a life well lived.
Remember that you don’t have to overwhelm yourself and do these all at once.
Prioritise the 20% that have the most impact, pick some actions to experiment with, and test them out.🚀
What lessons have you had in 2024 that you’ll use to power through Q2?
I love the clarity and actionability (word?) of these ideas and so well expressed. The adapting idea is one I resonate with in particular ; experiment and adjust for what works and what doesn't instead of doggedly trying to "Make" it work when it doesn't (which is what I tend to do *smack*).