6 Ways to Give Yourself a Mid-Year Boost
“What you resist, persists” – Carl G. Jung
Mid-year is the time of the year I find myself needing a boost. In the beginning of the year, we’re still buzzing with energy from our holidays and ready to get to conquering the year. Towards the end of the year, you realize you only have so much time left to get yourself into gear before the holidays roll around again and we start fresh with a new year. That leaves us with mid-year equidistant from both the January-New-Year motivation and the OMG-it’s-almost-December shock.
The mid-year slump hits me hard creatively. I set out at the beginning of the year with big plans for my blog and a full editorial calendar. My ideas flow easily and the motivation to get to work is there. But as the month’s pass, I slide down into a rut. The ideas dry up a bit and my drive slows to snails’ pace. I’m no longer so sure about all the things I had planned and believed in. Self-doubt sets in.
It’s not the best of feelings. But in my experience, it’s best to go with it and honor these low energy times. Embrace your ups and downs and make the most of both.
You might find this is the perfect time for you to re-evaluate all that you’ve been working on since January. Revisit the goals you set at the beginning of the year and decide if the strategy you set out to achieve those goals is really working for you. It could also be time to take a small break from what you’ve been up to and try some new stuff. That can be very invigorating and will definitely help you get your groove back. Take your low energy stints as a time for you to relax and recoup, to gather your thoughts, and to get back on track or set forth in a new direction.
If like me, you need a bit of a boost mid-year there are a couple of ways you can make the most of this time without fighting it.
Shake Up Your Routine
If you always drink coffee in the morning with a slice of toast and walk to work the same route, bust out of that routine and try something new. Drink tea and have some fruit for breakfast. Eat at different places, cook new recipes, try new ingredients. Walk to work on a different route or ride a bike instead. Whatever comfortable habits you’ve created all year long shake them up with alternatives. You don’t have to give anything up permanently just try out a new daily routine.
Try A Different Exercise Regimen
Whatever your current exercise regimen is try something different. If you’ve been doing hardcore cross-fit try something lighter like yoga or walking. And vice versa, if you’ve been doing a lighter exercise like yoga, try a box fit class or karate. As I said before, you’re not looking to make permanent changes here. You can go back to or keep doing whatever you’ve been doing to date just throw in something completely different to juxtapose your normal exercise regimen.
Change Up Your Reading
If you’ve been reading mostly from a certain genre, topic or viewpoint try something totally different for a while. This is a great way to get the juices flowing and find some new inspiration. Read what you wouldn’t normally read, bring out those long and/or difficult reads you’ve put off for so long. Read the opposite viewpoint of what you would normally read. Challenge yourself to new reading through different topics and authors.
Go Somewhere New
Pack a weekend bag and hit the road to spend some time somewhere local you’ve not been before. If you have the means and the time, travel somewhere more distant you’ve always wanted to go. Keeping it local has its advantages, though. You’ll get to experience something new close to home and connect with new people who are in your community or geographic vicinity. Get a refreshed perception of what’s around you and those living there. You may find renewed inspiration and joy for where you are.
Get Creative
If you have a creative hobby like photography or painting, go out and do more of that. Also, try new creative hobbies. If you don’t have one, now is the time to find one. Creative hobbies are important breaks from your normal grind and give you the freedom to think and express yourself in different ways. It can be as simple as drawing instead of writing. The important thing here is that you do something creative, you don’t have to be good at it.
Do Nothing
Yip, do nothing. Sometimes that’s just what you need. Don’t feel guilty for spending a bit of time doing nothing. Go into the garden and just sit. Go where you feel comfortable and just be. I’m not suggesting you use the time to allow your mind to run amuck working you up into an anxious mess – none of that. Just be, don’t think about the past or the future. Just enjoy this moment of peace doing nothing.
Try one or all of these. It’s completely up to you. Whatever you do, though, don’t be disheartened by times of low energy. Be gentle with yourself and don’t feel bad for taking the time you need to get back some of that joie de vivre. Life is cyclical – there are ups and downs. It’s what you do with those times that makes all the difference.
How do you give yourself a boost when you feel less motivated?
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