Off Days And Stuff Days

No human ever before has felt 100% all the time. Even if you're as energetic as I am (especially on the dance floor), there are some days where you'll fold into a ball and collapse under general exhaustion. Wed, Thurs and Fri last week were pretty untypical for me. I was at the end of my bed, tired, fed up and grumpy. My to-do list looked and me and I looked right back at it. When I tell you that I did the bare minimum, believe that. Now, this was weird for me because I build in days to chill every month. But I guess I have just really overexerted myself recently. However, literal flip of the switch, Saturday, Sunday and today (Monday) have been completely different. Saturday I actually had a client shoot (don't tell Boris) and that was an all-day affair. Plus I then had 2 consultations and some content creation on top of that. Then Sunday I had a friend's birthday party, which took a lot of energy plus some urgent emails much later in the night. Today? I have slashed through tasks like no mans business today and caught up on everything I missed. The reason I'm sharing this is because it's important to recognise what's going on with your body and mind so that you can respond to it accordingly.

Now, I'm not a doctor, so this is certainly far from medical advice, but there are a few tell-tell signs that I use to be able to monitor myself better:

👉🏾 Check your eyes

When I say this, I don't mean like an optometrist would with charts and lenses. I mean, when you wake up first thing in the morning, blink 5 times and see how your eyes feel. If they're struggling to open then that's a signal to maybe take it a little easier today (if and where possible). If your eyes feel fresh and reinvigorated then push yourself to do a little more than normal so that the stuff days can balance out the off days.

👉🏾 Track how much you're peeing

Again, might sound weird. On off days, it's super easy to not take care of yourself i.e. not drink enough water. But besides not drinking enough water, it's also important to keep an eye on how often you're visiting the bathroom. I've found that stress inhibits my internal organs to the point where I won't have to pee for 10 hours+ without even thinking about it, even if I've had my usual 2L. Strange, but might be a red flag for you.

👉🏾 Move your body

When I'm not doing too good, the worse thing for me to do is to actually lay on my back. This is probably more of a psychological thing, but then it could just be me being weird again. When I lie on my back, I feel completely helpless. But, honestly, I feel much more in control on my front. Don't ask me why, but maybe it might be worth rethinking your workspace on the days you're feeling a little bit rough, so see how best to position yourself.

Not strictly science, but they're definitely signals my body gives me as to what state I'm in. I know it's not always easy to indulge when you do feel a bit rubbish, but allow yourself the grace because your bounce-back will be epic.