I can't seem to keep things in focus in the last month. My thoughts and actions are on auto pilot. I've been following the same schedule every day - the daily pandemic pattern that was set early on -
Step1 - Get up, get ready for the day
Step2 - Check on kids, remind them to eat breakfast, plan their school time for the day
Step3 - Make tea, make oatmeal, empty the dishwasher, tidy the kitchen
Step3 - Sit at the table at my computer - start working
Step4 - Work all day, take a break to eat lunch, feed kids, go for a quick walk if there's time (rarely is)
Step5 - Workout around 5:30 alone or with colleagues, make dinner, workout with daughter, clean up, work more while watching Netflix with Nathan.
Step6 - Go to bed
Repeat. Every. Single.Day.
That describes a good day. The days when the kids are here. When the kids are not here, it's pretty much the same, but add in more work, maybe even some meltdowns.
The monotony of it all is making it increasingly harder to deviate. Harder to accept zoom calls with friends, get in the car and go for a ride, etc. etc. Anything that is not in the schedule is not happening. I've started 6 blog posts in the last 6 weeks. I've finished NONE. I have started 2 new songs on the piano, not making any progress. This is out of character.
I started unpacking the why behind this in the last couple days. My answer - inertia. Newton's first law of motion. Being the science nerd that I am, I was disappointed in myself that I hadn't thought of this first. -
"Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia.The key point here is that if there is no net force acting on an object (if all the external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant velocity" - grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/newton.html
I translate this into practical terms as follows - there are no net new forces acting on our lives at the moment. Zero. None. This is making it very difficult to increase / decrease / deviate from the daily norm.
I am finding this incredibly difficult. My soul is yearning for those external forces to come into play again. Those random conversations at work, with members at the gym, gatherings with friends, at the corner store. Connecting with people! All human connection is an external force acting upon us that lifts us up (usually). Even negative communication is sometimes welcome (for some).
Does this resonate with you? Perhaps it's just me? Are you yearning for more connection? If so, head over to the align.Empower Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/align.empower. I'll meet you there.
In any event, thanks for reading.
Keep up the great work,
xo
Sharyl
This ^^ was a great day! Looking so forward to getting back on the bike.