Taking time to slow-down... for your July reset

Mundy’s song July has been hanging around in my head these past few weeks.

For the first time in quite a while, I’ve intentionally taken a bit of a break, and this slower-paced period has been a refreshing lens through which to view things.

The go-slow of this down-time has been a very welcome reset for the nervous system.

I knew that I was tired, that there wasn’t a whole lot left in the tank, and a rest was needed. But it’s only after stopping that I’ve realised the extent of my ‘fight or flight’ automaticity. It becomes the norm, sneakily creeping in. You’re tensing your shoulders and holding your breath more often than you realise, bouncing from challenge to challenge, pillar to post.

My baseline stress had begun to rise to a level that caused almost a hum of normalised dis-ease in the background by the time I’d put on the ‘out of office’. It’s been lovely to reverse this somewhat, and I must say time is magic in this regard – time and space, I think, really are the key to undoing this and setting the nervous system to rights again.

The more I think about it, the more I’ve come to realise that this has been the closest thing to a real rest I’ve experienced in quite a while.

Usually, time off is booked for things like Christmas preparations or travel, and of course while these things are lovely and enjoyable, they also require all planning cylinders to be firing, and are followed by a picking up of the pieces afterwards, with life admin waiting to be caught up on, while simultaneously hurtling back into routine.

That’s not to say that I’ve sat around doing nothing this past month either, there has been no day completely empty - but the time has been filled with all the good stuff, and room to breathe in between. There’s been quality time spent with family, trips to the Dock Beach, playdates with copious amounts of ice-cream, and later than normal bedtimes, followed by morning lie-ins with no real repercussions.

I’ve also got around to jobs on the life admin list that had been there for what seemed like forever, and I’ve seen the bottom of the washing basket a little more frequently than normal too. All these small ‘achievements’ have been great for a dopamine boost, and to help me feel like I might actually be ‘winning’ at life!

Some of the biggest highlights this month though have been the tickles on the couch to extract those precious belly-laughs, the time spent doing Spiderman jigsaws, or painting robots and monsters, princesses and rainbows - time that I would usually dismiss as not having enough of to give.

The sandy feet and suncream smell, the tours of the playgrounds, the car windows rolled down to counteract faulty aircon, with Pink Pony Club blasting on request. A trip to the Marquee, shouting on the Rebels, making core memories, and the renewed perspective of what really matters over and above the rat race, the grind, the relentless to-do lists.

I’m delighted to say that my cup has been well and truly refilled, as have those of the rest of my household.

What I’ve been realising too is that rest isn’t just about stopping. It’s about tending to your needs – all of them. It’s about living outside the enclosure of the routines and homework, meetings and drop-offs. It’s about taking a breath – literally and figuratively! – and pausing for long enough to truly ‘see’ one another, and to feel like yourself – not a cog in the system, or a piece on the proverbial chessboard. About being spontaneous and tasting a little freedom from what can sometimes feel like the shackles of the ‘shoulds’. This, I already ‘knew’ theoretically, but experiencing it in practice has been the reminder I really needed.

I’m hoping to take a little slice of this rediscovered ease into August/September with me. Taking more regular breaks rather than powering on through will make a huge difference going forward, and is something I really hope to implement. It doesn’t need to be a huge block of time either, a few days in a row can work wonders.

Seeing the difference that connection with loved ones has made to my wellbeing has also been an important reminder. These are the meet-ups that get pushed down the priority list when we get swamped in work because including them in a typical week can be challenging, but they’re just so worth it. And finally, getting ahead of the diary demands blocking out this protected time well in advance, which is what made this slower month possible, so that will hopefully be my approach going forward.

“Oh my my my, oh my my, my, oh my, my, my, my, my July!...”

Thank you for the much-needed reset!