Simple strategies to refresh yourself for spring
I used to live on the third floor of a building next to a field and captured many an amazing sunrise and sunset
I'm well-aware that I began the last article about simple spring refreshments of your space with my excitement about how spring had finally arrived.
Well, I was wrong!
I didn't really know about this concept of wacky German April weather, but it turns out it's a thing (you can read more about it over here on Mel's living in Stuttgart blog).
We've had little pockets of T-shirt spring weather dappled in between longer stretches when down coats and gloves were an absolute necessity. As far as I can tell from Instagram, this wacky weather is also occurring in other parts of Europe. It looks like the weather is slowly improving though, and that spring might arrive for good over the next couple of weeks.
The saying about strange German April weather in the original
The google translated form, for the non-German speakers
The good news for us is: it's not too late to get stuck into some spring refreshments! Leading off from my previous post about refreshing your space, today we're going to attempt a spring refresh of ourselves and our mindset. Or at the very least, we’ll reflect on where we're at spring 2021, where we might like to be, and how we might be able to take some small, simple steps to move in that direction.
I like to think of this time as a take two of the year, a new opportunity. The first quarter of the year is over, the days are getting longer, and there is more capacity for activities that may not have been possible in a while. It’s a perfect time to re-evaluate what you want for the year and devise a plan to go ahead and do it.
Simple self spring refreshment ideas
We're going to start with some extremely straightforward ways to rapidly alter your mindset and get you into the spring mode (and then work our way up to the more complex/harder stuff - feel free to skip ahead if you're ready).
Spring is all about new life, change, and a fresh start. So, embrace this by….
Bringing in the new
Books
I love books, so I would recommend finding some new titles that take your fancy.
If you need some ideas, head over to my post on my favourite books of 2020, or check out my Instagram (which is littered with book recs) . You could extend on this and plan out your entire spring (and summer) reading schedule. If you’re interested to dive deep into yourself and your personal psychology, then also check out my Evergreen Bookclub, aiming to connect reading to life. (I know that was a lot of links, but I do believe that books, and the wisdom held within them, can have a massive positive impact on our lives).
Podcasts and Music
Along the same lines, I would also suggest trying out some new podcasts and music.
I know I mention it frequently, but I really love the Tim Ferriss Show Podcast. It's made up of long and detailed interviews with a bunch of different people - so there's something for everyone.
If you want some more specific recommendations, then either comment below or reach out to me here.
Scent
I was spraying on a perfume the other day that I hadn’t worn in a while and immediately I was swept back to a previous time. Smell is such an evocative sense, so I think we can really capitalise on this to make us feel refreshed.
My recommendation: find a new fragrance for spring (or even one you haven’t worn in a while). Alternatively, you could try out a new version of anything else that’s scented: body wash, lotion, shampoo…
Food and Drink
My favourite go-to snack (of any season) is yoghurt topped with fruit.
Design a spring beverage, or a go-to spring meal or snack. Consider what's now in season and what might be nice to incorporate into your food. It’s around this time that I normally gorge on all the summer fruits that are beginning to come back into season. With the warmer weather, it's also a great time to exchange those hot drinks for iced ones.
Sun
Another extremely simple way to begin resetting your mindset for spring is to get out in the sun. Perhaps you could take your morning coffee out onto the balcony or into the backyard, or you could go on a walk, a bike ride, or even a hike.
Practical spring self reinvigoration ideas
Note: These ideas may be a little more complex. As I mentioned in the previous spring refreshment article about tackling our environment, I would encourage you to not try to over-do things this year (of all years). But, here are some ideas if you have the desire and energy.
Clear out your digital spaces
Digital clutter is still clutter, despite the fact that it doesn’t take up physical space. It can still be overwhelming and make us feel scattered and, it can also lead to time wasting (time being a non-renewable resource!).
I normally do a digital declutter during December in order to have everything fresh and clean for the start of the new year, but, by April, things have often started accumulating again. This is a great time to do things such as:
Clear out your email inbox (while you're at it, unsubscribe from things that are no longer relevant or of interest to you).
Delete duplicate photos on your phone (and back up your photos!).
Do an audit of documents on your computer.
Remove apps on your phone that you haven't been using.
Introduce more new
Some beginning of spring goodies that I bought to help with my Shingles recovery (we’ll discuss that another time).
Activities
Write a list of activities that you can do now that the weather is better.
You could even get more detailed and divide up these activities into ones you'd like to do by yourself, ones you want to do with your partner/family/friends, and ones that can be done at home versus somewhere else.
There are some great (pandemic-friendly) ideas on The Best of Both Worlds (BOBW) Podcast. Laura Vanderkam (co-host of BOBW, and time management expert) is a big proponent of making "seasonal fun lists" - lists of activities to be done during a particular season/time period. I love this idea, and with pandemic fatigue affecting almost everyone at the moment, it is even more important than ever to have some fun go-to ideas for when motivation is lacking.
Clubs and Groups
Another idea, which is related to the above, is to consider clubs or groups you can join online:
For instance, Quaranvino does online wine tasting nights.
If you're interested in being creative, then Creative Mornings hosts a whole lot of virtual talks and community events.
What you are drawn to will depend on your interests and what times you're available, but virtually (pun intended) everything you can think of has now converted to a virtual form - so, have a google and see what you can find.
Environment
Explore a new environment. A recent Instagram post from The Guardian discussed pandemic-induced “brain fog” - affecting our memory, attention, and ability to do things and think creatively. In the article, they argue that brain fog has come about due to both pandemic trauma, but also the fact that everything around us is so “samey”.
So, try to beat this fog by introducing novelty (where possible) into your life. Maybe you can't go travelling to a new city, but you could probably go for a walk somewhere new in your own surrounds.
Check out my Instagram post on introducing novelty for some more ideas (there were some great comments).
Online Environment
You don’t have to limit yourself to physical environments. I know a lot of people are sick and tired of doing things digitally, but I think there’s a lot of value in the digital environment. I know that this appears to counter what I wrote earlier about decluttering our digital environments, but, the reason it is so important to declutter first is to then have the space to bring in new things that might be more currently relevant to you.
Find some new exciting people to follow on Instagram (or Twitter, or Pinterest…), some new blogs to read, some new YouTube channels to watch (maybe even something focussed on travel or learning a new skill), even some new newsletters to subscribe to (that are more in line with what your current interests are).
(Note: If you like what you read here, then consider signing up to my Monthly Inspiration Round-up - where I let you know about things I’m currently enjoying and drawing inspiration from. My intention is to provide value to your life but, if you find that it doesn’t do that for you then you can unsubscribe at any time!).
I can’t get enough of cherry blossoms in the spring.
Reflection, evaluation, and making plans
Reflect on the year so far (an exercise of sorts)
First, I want you to take out your favourite writing medium and quickly write down everything that you are happy with/that has gone well/that you are grateful for this year. (Here, we're basically attempting to get a picture of your mental state - but in this first step we're only looking at the good!). Here are some example question prompts:
What goals have you achieved? Or have taken steps towards achieving?
What is something that happened that was a little unexpected but you’re glad it happened?
What is making you feel happy/fulfilled/satisfied/proud of right now?
Next: write down what things haven't worked out:
What did you want to achieve but haven’t (yet OR maybe you’ve now decided that you don’t even want to)?
What's not going well?
What are some things that have been hard so far this year?
Look at your goals for the year (if you have them written down, which I whole-heartedly recommend):
Are there any goals that you've forgotten about?
Any that you haven't been working on but would like to in the next part of the year?
Given all this information, make a plan for the next part of the year:
Which goals will you focus on?
How can you break them down into smaller steps to achieve them?
If you'd like to read more detail about my process of converting goals from abstract ideas to concrete actions, then head here (to my first ever blog post!).
What do you want to have more of in your life?
What do you want to have less of?
Think about strategies to actively add and subtract these things.
Shake up routines and rituals
It's surprisingly easy to get used to doing the same thing again and again and never changing it.
Consider your daily routines - morning, day, evening, night: what are some ways to insert some freshness into these routines?
Some examples: have a meal or snack outside, take a new route to the supermarket, open up the windows in the morning, start going on a post-dinner walk, start a weekly "event" like a Friday beer and chat with your partner.
Think about how you could incorporate some of those things you want more of into your routines.
Okay, so there you have it: my ideas for some simple spring refreshments of yourself/your mindset. I hope this has filled you with some new ideas - we may be a quarter of the way through the year, but there is plenty more of 2021 left to come. Let's find a way to continue refreshing and reinvigorating ourselves so that we can make the most of it!
What’s your favourite self spring refreshment strategy? Do you have any additional ideas to add? Leave them in the comments below.
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If you liked this, you might also want to read:
Ways to refresh your space for spring that are simple and nurturing (the other article in this mini spring series)
The Evergreen Bookclub - connecting reading to life (if you love books)
Simple strategies for making and achieving goals in 2021: how I convert abstract ideas and hopes into concrete actions (if you need some advice with your goals)
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