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Make Tuesdays a Choose Day and feel instantly less ‘beginning of the week’ about it
Let’s be honest, Tuesday often isn’t much better than Monday. In fact, research from the London School of Economics found it to be the most miserable day of the week. So we propose reframing Tuesday into Choose Day, where you decide how you’re going to feel and what you’re going to get out of the day.
Start as you mean to go on by doing something you enjoy as soon as you wake up. If your normal routine doesn’t allow for that, set the alarm a bit earlier – even 10 minutes gives you a chance to do some breathing or stretches, write a few pages of a journal, read your book, or whatever makes you feel content. Now you’re feeling calm and alert, set an intention for the day. It might be, “I’m going to listen with an open mind to those I tend to disagree with in my meeting.” Or it might be more about your mindset, for example, “I’m going to think kind thoughts about myself and others.” Writing it down will help to affirm your intention. Before bed, reflect on your intention and whether it made you feel or act differently, noticing any achievements, however small, and how you have the power to shape your day.
To get you started, here are a few intentions you could choose this Chooseday…
1. Choose a change. Walk a new route to work, get your lunch from somewhere you’ve not tried before, or start a TV series that a friend has recommended but you wouldn’t normally have considered.
2. Choose peace. Make this a day when you just let things go. Choose not to respond to an aggressive comment, or to allow something small to get under your skin. Choose to be a bit zen all day and accept whatever life throws at you with grace.
3. Choose new adventures. Make this the day you sign up for that course in Thai cookery, book a holiday, or join a sports team. If you need to start small that’s fine, too. Take a friend on a microadventure. Maybe hire a boat for an afternoon or climb a hill together.
4. Choose to be easy on yourself. Give yourself an extra five minutes in bed, delegate a few chores, choose a meal for dinner that only takes five minutes to prepare and doesn’t involve much washing up. Sometimes a poached egg on toast is its own reward.
5. Choose to be creative. Go cloud spotting, make words from car numberplates, doodle in the margins in your meeting and spend your lunchtime reading a book or painting rather than tackling life admin. Just take every opportunity Tuesday gives you to indulge in some creativity.
Be inspired by new ways to experience every day of the week with our feature ‘Could-do Week’ by Rebecca Frank in our June issue, which is in shops now.
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