Last week, honestly, was blah for me. I had a couple nights of teary anxiety attacks, I didn’t sleep a ton, and my motivation was pretty much on the floor. Frankly, that motivation thing is probably partially a result of it (almost) being the end of the quarter. But a lack of sleep and an abundance of stress didn’t help. Nothing specific about the week seemed all that bad, but… well, something was off. It can happen in the busiest of times, and it can happen when there’s not a lot on schedule – and it’s no fun.
Also, I feel a little fake when I write things about managing anxiety and then they don’t work for me. That’s reality, though. They work a lot of the time, but sometimes they don’t.
But anyway. Last week? Not great. My goal heading into the weekend was to reset, even if only a little, to get back into a less-blah place and come into the week feeling good. Obviously, I still had to do some responsible-person things (namely, homework), but I made it a point to take a day for myself.
It was wonderful, and I really hope you can do the same. Even if you don’t have a whole day, though, I stumbled across some strategies that I think can help beat blah-dom in a shorter amount of time.
Experience something new
If any of your blah feelings are coming from being stuck in a routine, switching up that routine is an excellent way to combat that boredom.
For me, my new experience was heading to a different local farmers’ market on Saturday morning. I walked about 10 minutes down the street after breakfast and looked at pretty produce and talked to the vendors and just enjoyed the gorgeous weather.
And marveled at goat milk soap…
Real-Life Blah Buster: Even if you don’t have time to go out and explore anywhere in particular, you can always look up online tutorial for new hobbies, try out a new workout, or cook a new dish. Switching up your routine is a great way to take you off autopilot and enjoy your day a little more.
Rest
A huge portion of my blah feelings come from being exhausted. I spent a lot of Saturday afternoon curled up in bed watching movies. I dozed a little. I reveled in being a little bit lazy.
Real-Life Blah Buster: We tend to be go-go-go, right? Give yourself an hour (or more) to stop going. It’s not easy, but it’s refreshing.
Head outside
Assuming it’s a nice day, that is.
I walked to the lake on Sunday morning and just took in all the smells and the bright sun and shimmery water. It was a bit hazy toward the city, but it’s still hard to feel like life is blah when your view looks like this:
Real-Life Blah Buster: Go lie in the grass! Or just take a quick walk or jog in the fresh air. Look at the sky! Snap a picture. Smile because the world is big and beautiful.
Get creative
When I’m particularly busy with school, I let my obligations take precedence over my creative outlets. This is natural, but it leaves me feeling like I have so much I want to say/write/make/do that I feel overwhelmed by it and have a hard time focusing on my responsibilities. Make sense?
This weekend, I took time to take all the pictures I wanted (or a lot of them), to sketch outlines for future blog posts, and to scribble down recipe ideas. Now, my mind feels a lot less bogged down with all the creative stuff, so I feel freer to focus on my to-dos.
Real-Life Blah Buster: If you don’t have a big chunk of time to devote to creativity, make smaller chunks more frequently. Journal for 10 minutes a night, color for five minutes when you wake up in the morning, or stop and snap a few pretty pictures on your afternoon walk. Whatever makes you smile!
Enjoy the familiar
Wait, didn’t I just tell you to try new things? Yes. But hear me out. Even when you’re bored with parts of your routine, you can probably find some of your “usuals” that you really enjoy. Remembering that you do love those can change your attitude toward your routine as a whole.
Me? I love that I eat Chipotle regularly. I do absolutely love to cook, but sometimes it’s really nice to have someone else put together a big, satisfying bowl of food for you. Bonus: no clean-up.
I also always enjoy Peanut M&Ms and ice cream, even though I have them fairly regularly. So, I partook in some of my favorite foods and enjoyed every bite.
Real-Life Blah Buster: Walk (or drive) your favorite route home, do your favorite workout, or eat your favorite foods. The key: don’t just do it passively. Think about your favorite familiar things and the reasons you enjoy them so much. Be grateful for the awesome stuff.
Linking up with the lovely Julia for Mental Health Monday. Thanks, Julia!
How do you bounce back when you’re feeling blah?
What was the best part of your weekend?
These are all things I do! And I think they’re so underrated at times. In college the “familiar” for me was going to Whole Foods and eating dinner outside. Sometimes it was just enough to pull me out of a dark(ish) spot 🙂
Going to Whole Foods is a great way to get out of a funk 🙂 I’m super excited that there’s one opening up near my school for next year!
This weekend was blah, so in between the rain on Sunday, I went out to my old grade school and “played” on the playground! Hahaha! i.e. swings and monkey bars (which I was too big for 😛 )
I’m sorry your weekend wasn’t great 🙁 I always love playgrounds – swinging is my favorite!
When I feel blah, I call or text someone new. I also might plan a day trip for the future to give myself something to look forward to 🙂
Having something to look forward to is such a good reminder that “blah” times pass and turn into better ones 🙂
I have dinner with awesome people and pour my heart out to them 😀
You’re the best ❤️ You talking about getting a real “weekend” made me think, “Well, I can’t have a full weekend right now, but I can do a day.” Thanks for listening, and I’m so happy you reset this weekend, too!
I love your farmer’s market pictures–they are just gorgeous and make me so excited for the summer to go to the market near my house! 😀 Getting outside is key for me when I’m getting stressed out about schoolwork; it helps me put things in perspective. These are all great tips! I also think it’s important to let the people closest to you know what’s going on in your life when you’re stressed, if only so that you feel less isolated.
Thanks, Claire! I’m hoping to go to more farmers’ markets this summer – it was fun 😀 And I absolutely agree – sharing my thoughts and getting outside both remind me that there’s a (great) life beyond my stressors!
Love this post! These are some awesome tips to help beat the blahs.I relate to you on your anxiety, as mine as been spiking up too. I am going to try some of these tips and I love that you went to a farmer’s market: going to things like that really puts me in a good mood or getting creative! Have a great start to your week girly
Thanks, Lyss! I hope you find some anxiety relief this week ❤️
So sorry to hear you had a tough week lovely. I do have something sweet that should be arriving on your doorstep any day! I completely agree with the “get outside” one. Admittedly I don’t really love walking my dogs, but I always do it when I start to feel anxious. I think the combo of getting outdoors and making them happy helps me feel happy!
I look forward to that 🙂 And I don’t always love walking my dog either (she gets so slow sometimes), but I find that when I finally get outside and see her start trotting along, I relax pretty quickly!
I totally understand the blahs Ellen, and I’m glad you were able to get outside, because that is one of my favorite ways to just clear the fog and re-focus. Sometimes, the world just moves 180 mph, and my body and brain and spirit and soul can’t keep up with it all. It’s SO good to just step out of that ‘treadmill’ and remember what life is really about. <3 Thank you girlfriend! :))
Stepping off the treadmill… I like that. Sometimes, you just need to move at your own pace!
Isn’t it a little odd sometimes how we just feel ‘blah’ but there isn’t one specific moment to pin point it? Totally happens on the occasion! Great tips to combat and I do love the ‘enjoy the familiar’ thrown in too for a little of bit of known comfort!
It IS odd and totally annoying 😛 Why can’t we feel great 100% of the time? 😉 But ultimately, life is pretty good.
I feel you on the blahs, girl! I go through moments every now and again where I just seem to get in a funk. Jesse was having one of those weeks last week after we found out we didn’t get the house he fell in love with and it took him so long to snap out of it! I even tried bribing him with his favourite foods but nope – apparently everything tasted like disappointment because he would have rathered we’d be eating in our own kitchen and yadayada.
My go to blah buster is definitely a good workout. Exercise endorphins can do no wrongs for me. Unless i have a crappy workout – then multiply my blah mood by about 15.
Aw, I’m sorry you didn’t get the house! 🙁 Are you still looking then? Good luck!
And YES to a good workout (and absolutely NO to a bad one). I totally get that.
Sorry you’ve been having a rough week. Is it week 9 at UChicago? Such an exciting but stressful time of the quarter. I’m glad that youve found strategies that are like actually workable for your life, though! Those lakefront views are breathtaking and can really shrink anxiety down to size. Best wishes!
Yep – 9th week. So close, especially since next week is short because of Memorial Day and reading period! Good luck to you, too!
It’s okay to have those off days, girl! Dont beat ourself up too much about having them. I love your constant seeking of a better day though!
Thanks, Julia. It’s always a good reminder that off days are normal 🙂
I’m sorry your week was pretty average. I love how you made this post out of it though. I do pretty much everything you said when I’m feeling meh. The best part of my weekend was going for a burger date with my brother. We used to fight so much as kids, but now we are all grown up we have become really good friends, so it’s always nice to hang out together.
Awww it’s so sweet that you have a good relationship now! I think almost all siblings fight as kids, but the luckiest ones grow up to be best friends 🙂
Your advice to try new things but to also stick to the familiar is soooo true! When my boyfriend and I broke up (the ultimate blah fest for a couple weeks for sure), it definitely helped to go on new adventures with friends (like the farmer’s market…great minds think alike!) while also sticking to my favorite quiet night routines.
Ugh, that is not a fun transition, but it sounds like you did it the right way to me. That (plus tears) is pretty much my break-up strategy. And aren’t farmers’ markets such happy places? So much good stuff!
Aw I love this! When I’m feeling blah, it’s usually because I’m just plain exhausted so I like to nap/sleep and just take some lazy time for myself. Which means Gilmore Girls, yummy food and comfy sweats 🙂
The best part of my weekend was probably girls night out with my best friend. We’ve both been on different schedules so I hadn’t seen her in a month and it was so nice finally catching up again and just letting loose!
Your lazy time sounds perfect. 😀
Aww catching up with good friends is the best! So glad you got some girl time!