Mindful Living Therapy

08/31/2022

Today's lesson on how to get things done is all about being biologically resourced. This means getting enough sleep, not going too hungry before eating and having rest/free time. And no, it doesn't count as rest/free time if you spent the whole time feeling like you should be productive. You actually have to give yourself permission to let tasks go and focus on doing whatever you want to do for rest/free time. Today's tips may not immediately help you to get something done, but if you do make improvements on these three areas, you will soon find that your body feels more motivated to be productive. If you need strategies to get something done right now, parts 1 and 2 have some other tips.

08/15/2022

Here are some more strategies to help you get done whatever you need to do. Most of this information comes from support for people with ADHD but it's helpful for anyone really.

Schedule it - if something really needs to be done, figure out when you can make the time for it and put it into your calendar. This can help you to stay organized when you're juggling multiple things. Putting it in your calendar now to do for later can reduce mental load and anxiety about needing to do the task. Also if you're not already using a calendar, this could be a good step to start.

One day at a time - plan what you need to do for today or the next day. Planning for longer periods of time certainly can be done in the future but if you're struggling to do tasks right now, planning too far ahead can increase your mental load and anxiety which then leads into more overthinking and procrastinating. Short-term planning will help you to focus on the here and now to get you started with a task right away.

Reduce expectations - again, this is to help with reducing mental load (see a theme here?). If you're thinking about how you need to do cleaning/organizing everyday, just the thought of that may be too overwhelming to get started. If you just plan to do 30min of organizing today, that's a much more realistic task to get started on.

I hope these strategies help someone to get something important crossed off their to-do list. In part 3, we will look at more long-term strategies to help you stay motivated in an ongoing way.

08/11/2022

RAN is an acronym I learned from an awesome therapist friend who knows a lot about ADHD. This strategy can be useful for anyone that procrastinates initiating tasks or finishing tasks. I've been wanting to make more social media posts for a while but since I didn't NEED to, I just couldn't get started even though I wanted to. I will share how RAN helped me.

Reward - look forward to giving yourself something enjoyable once the hard task is done. Once I'm done making some posts, I'm going to watch an episode of Stranger Things.

Accountability - plan what you're going to do and when then tell someone about it. I've told several friends and colleagues to check out my social media as I will be making new posts.

New - go to a new environment (work outside or at a coffeeshop or just a different room), put on a different outfit, sip a tea or listen to music while you work if normally don't, These are all ideas for something new to get your brain slightly more interested in a task that might feel like a chore. I downloaded a new graphic design app to play with which got me more interested in making new posts.

I hope RAN can help you cross off something from your to-do list 🏃‍♀️🏃🏾😃

This is just a start. I will be sharing more useful tips to help you get things done.

08/10/2022

Hello internet World, my name is Simone Si. I am the owner and Clinical Director of Mindful Living Therapy. We are a team of Registered Social Workers and Registered Psychotherapists providing support for anxiety, depression, trauma, disordered eating, self-esteem and relationship issues.

Our team is growing so it felt like the right time for me to get more active on social media. This will be a way to showcase what we are all about at Mindful Living Therapy.

Here is a bit of info about me: I've been working as a therapist for 11 years. My biggest passions in this work is helping people to manage anxiety and develop healthy body image. My lived experience of working through these issues and still working through these issues is why I love this work. Life is really about progress not perfection.

Work is only a small part of my life. I really enjoy free time, naps and have so many hobbies that I forget what my hobbies are sometimes (houseplants, singing, piano, guitar, reading, caring for my dog and parrot, foraging, hiking, camping, swimming, wandering outside aimlessly, cooking...I think that's it for right now). I care deeply about the environment and feel too much often (hence the naps which work as my "turn off the world" button). I'm really good at being my authentic self and I want to spread loving energy wherever I go.

Stay tuned for more to come from me and my lil' business.

02/01/2020

There is no magic number of steps or length of exercise time that's the best. More is better than none. Beyond 7500 steps a day, there appeared to be little additional health benefit (based on study of women). That's about 20min a day of walking. So don't worry about how you'll start exercising or what is the perfect way to go about it. Just start anywhere and walking is a great, convenient way to go!

If your New Year's resolution is just trying to maintain a base level of health, or starting a path to more exercise, 10,000 steps may be too many.

11/24/2019

Sometimes we feel we must be hard on ourselves to create change but there is another way: understanding the needs that drive our behaviour, giving yourselves attention and care in order to meet those needs in another way and finally, giving ourselves patience in the process to lead to change.

11/16/2019

Letting go of what doesn't serve you pt. 2

11/16/2019

Letting go of what doesn't serve you pt. 1