April 2017 - 5 Minute Reboot

Five by five: Reboot your mood

By Tehkella | April 25, 2017 | Comments 2 comments

We’ve all been there – maybe you are there right now. You’ve been in a funk for days, and life just seems dull and grey. Your motivation is way down, and it’s a struggle to even watch TV. Does this sound familiar?

It can be tough to lift that cloud, but there are some simple things you can do for an instant mood reboot. You only need five minutes. Try these out – do one, two or all five!

1. Take a quick stroll

When I’ve been sitting around feeling sorry for myself, it’s an instant mood lifter to get out of the house and get moving. Start with five minutes and see where it takes you. This isn’t an exercise regime, this is about a change of scenery. So if you are feeling down, put on your walking shoes and hit the footpath. Even if you hate exercise, you’ll have to agree, a five minute walk will feel pretty good. You can even do more than five minutes if you are up to it.

2. Make a salad

Do you eat your five serves of vegies a day? I usually don’t, but I’ve started including a basic salad with most of my lunches or dinners. I don’t love it, but it only takes a few minutes to make, and I know it’s doing me good. I will never be satisfied by replacing meals with salad, but this way I’m adding goodness in to what I eat. If you really hate salad, combine it with number 3!

3. Have a coffee (or tea or hot chocolate)

A warm beverage is balm for the soul. If you don’t like warm beverages, we can’t be friends (just kidding, I’ll still love you husband). A warm beverage will also make your salad less eurgh! If you want some extra bonus mood points, have your hot drink somewhere you wouldn’t usually, such as outside in the garden.

4. Bond with your pet

If you are fortunate enough to have a pet or four in your life, take five minutes and go and snug with them. They love us and want to hang out with us, and let’s be honest, we sometimes take our furbubs for granted. Brush them, play with them, and generally remind them you love them. The happy purr or bark in return can’t help but make you smile. Repeat every day forever!

5. Play some music

I often forget how good music makes me feel. I can go days without listening to something and when I finally do make an effort, I’m always uplifted. So turn on your music device and listen to a couple of (preferably upbeat) songs. Add some crazy dancing for an extra lift. This one is especially good if no one is there to make you feel silly! Music is life.

Did any of these help your mood? Post in the comments and let me know what works for you!

Woman in sunglasses enjoying life with Kyoto's Golden Pavillion in the background

Exercise: your life accomplishments

By Tehkella | April 17, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

What even is life?

So you are about to hit a milestone age and this has you questioning everything: What have I done in my life? Why haven’t I made it? What will be my legacy? Will my life mean anything?

These are normal feelings and questions as you transition from one point in life to the next. They can hit you at any stage, not just at the big 30, 40, or 50.

If you let yourself wallow too long, you can begin to feel like there is nowhere to turn. But that’s just your mind playing tricks on you. You’ve lived probably a few decades by now. That’s a lot of time. You’ve done amazing things.

If you are feeling like life is speeding by and you haven’t done anything yet, and you are running out of time – take five minutes from your panic, and do this exercise. Do it right now.

You will need:

Pen and paper or a blank document and keyboard (or use my template [Word 22Kb])
Your brain, for a nostalgic trip down memory lane
Possibly a box of tissues, you never know

Exercise: recording your accomplishments

Think back to your life up to this point. What are some things you’ve done that you look back on fondly? What are your proud of? What happened to make you the person you are today? Let’s write them down.

There’s no set criteria here – it should be personal and meaningful to you. What might be important and life-changing to one person, might be ordinary to someone else. That’s okay. This is for you, not anyone else.

At the end of five minutes – or longer if you are on a roll – look back over your list and you’ll see just how awesome your life is already!

If you are struggling to think of things you’ve achieved, instead think of things you are glad have happened to you – and maybe that will help you shift your thinking.

Print out your list and put it somewhere safe. When you are feeling stuck, take it out and have a read through. Maybe you have some new accomplishments to add to it!

My list

Here are a few of mine (in no particular order):

Performed music live, on the radio, online, and on TV as both a soloist or in a band – and won a few karaoke competitions too!
Travelled to a few different countries, including at least one non-English speaking one – which broadened my horizons and my mind
Taught myself HTML from scratch in the late 90s, and taught others online – I became an internet pioneer!
Learned a few phrases of different languages – enough to get by at least!
Graduated university as a mature-age student – I have a Bachelor of Arts in Internet Communications
Married my amazing husband – and picked up some awesome extra family as well (I love you guys!)
Survived the death of my brother when I was in my early 20s – grief can teach you many things about life
Adopted and loved many wonderful catties – enriching my life every day!
Bought my perfect house – but always working on improvements!
Discovered my green thumb – and have enjoyed the fruits (and vegetables) of my labour!
Been consistently employed since leaving college – in a range of roles that have given me a wide amount of experience, and the chance to make lasting friendships
Made friends with people the world over – many of which have left an indelible mark on my soul (my Faery!)
Started writing a book – and now I’m writing about writing the book too!

Thanks for reading, and I hope this helped you shift your perspective a little. Feel free to share some of your life highlights in the comments if you are brave. Life is wonderful!

See you next time!

Time is relative

By Tehkella | April 17, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

Do you have a spare five minutes? I guess you do, as here you are, and you know what? You won’t even need that long to read this.

In our increasingly busy lives, it feels impossible to do the things we need to do, let alone those we really want to.

“I’d love to write, but I don’t have time…”

“I used to enjoy playing the piano, but I just don’t have time these days…”

“I remember when it felt like I had all the time in the world, but now I barely have time to think…”

Does this sound like you? I can relate!

For a long while, I agonised over wanting to do it all, but never feeling like I had the time to dedicate to anything.

Well, reality check: that’s a big pile of rubbish because there is the exactly the same amount of time as there always was. The governments of the world didn’t all spontaneously agree to make a day last any less. There are still 24 hours every single day, and each of those 24 hours still has 60 minutes. The universe didn’t suddenly change.

What did change was my perspective.

And perspective, like time, is relative.

You can do those things. You can find the time. Stick around, and I’ll show you how.

You only need five minutes.