Look Forward to Tomorrow
How to set yourself up for a great day
As the days get darker (and oh have they been), it’s easy to start to feel like you’re slowing down, or sleepy all the time because the evening basically doesn’t exist and you feel like it’s midnight even though it’s only 5pm. Oh, just me? Well, you know what I mean.
I’ve found myself sleeping in more - which as an entrepreneur with the ability to create my own schedule might sound like a good thing, but it actually makes me feel under-productive for the day and just plain lazy. Not going to lie, the darkness this time of year makes me slightlyyyyy down, I mean SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a thing after all.
I’ve found myself sleeping in more - which as an entrepreneur with the ability to create my own schedule might sound like a good thing, but it actually makes me feel under-productive for the day and just plain lazy. Not going to lie, the darkness this time of year makes me slightlyyyyy down, I mean SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a thing after all.
Even in my bouts of depression, I continue to push myself to move forward, and I’ve found that there are a few things that help in allowing myself to continue functioning, the most important thing being…
Giving myself something to look forward to.
What does this mean exactly? You know that feeling the night before a trip when you have to get up early at the buttcrack of dawn to get to the airport but you just can’t sleep because you’re SO FREAKING EXCITED? The key is to pick something - either an event, thing you’re going to do, or person you’re going to see and get just as pumped about that as you would for your 7am flight to Rome.
Giving yourself something to look forward to allows your brain to have a momentary journey - you get to go through the phases of excitement and anticipation to completing whatever this item is. And whatever you look forward to, can be as large or as small as possible.
For example, I look forward to making my coffee and completing my journaling, reading, and meditation in the morning. It sets me up for the day, and oftentimes is the only time I have to myself (super introvert here, hello!).
Here are some other awesome things you can do to look forward to tomorrow:
Set up your outfit for the day
Dream about your morning hot beverage (because ya girl loves tea and coffee)
Get excited about seeing your coworkers (if you like them)
Get excited about a task you’re going to complete tomorrow, imagine it being done and how good you’ll feel
Get excited about your workout
Get excited about breakfast, lunch, or dinner (I’m guilty of breakfast far too often, for a long time I couldn’t wait to go to bed just so I could have breakfast)
Plan your day and get excited about it
We are going into an unprecedented winter - on top of the typical struggles people often have during winter (cold, dark, & SAD), the pandemic is also putting us in a position where we have extra stressors such as lack of normalcy, shut downs, and quarantines leading to more people feeling isolated, it’s more important than ever to find things to look forward to. People say it’s the little things in life, but right now the little things are more important than ever for your mental health.
I promise you, even on your darkest days, there’s something to look forward to tomorrow, however big or small. Another great way to have something to look forward to is by taking the time to show gratitude every day. If you need guidance with gratitude, download my free gratitude e-journal.
