Battling the blahs…

One of the best things about staying home with Diego is that there is no dress code. We can lounge in our pajamas late into the day, and we often do. Days like that are fun, cozy and generally unproductive save for the bare minimum. I love those days. Now that I am not working I don’t have to get up in the morning and dress up for work. I dress differently now than I did when I worked at an office. When I go out I favor jeans rather than dress pants or skirts. I wear sandals or flats instead of heels.

The lack of a set routine does have its drawbacks, however. There’s a general outline of my day but there’s nothing I absolutely have to do by a certain time. In my case, too much freedom has resulted in a lot of disorganization. It’s something I’m working on. Being disorganized affects every part of our lives. Messy homes often mean messy lives. I feel a lot more in control of my life when my house is in order. I’m not saying I keep my house perfectly put together, but there is some semblance of order on a day to day basis.

Somedays I feel very blah about myself. I just don’t feel like I have it together and have zero desire to be productive. In essence, I feel lazy. How can we give ourselves a little boost on days when we just don’t feel up for much? I have found that sometimes taking some time for ourselves works magic. I’ve started to do my hair everyday. I have curly hair and I normally just tie it up in a bun or wear it loose. I never really style it and I don’t really like to straighten it. This week I started playing around with my hair and I’ve really liked some of what I’ve come up with. Amazingly, something as simple and as silly as our hair can really make us feel better about ourselves.

On days where I feel especially unmotivated I’ll even apply a little makeup. I have never worn a ton of makeup as an everyday thing but I do like to wear it. When I worked I wore some mascara and concealer everyday. I just feel it makes you look put together and helps to enhance your features. Now, I am just playing around with it and experimenting with new things. It’s been a lot of fun and best of all it makes me feel more productive. I can’t explain it except by saying that when we spend a little time on ourselves we feel good about ourselves and this translates into so many different things. Sometimes we feel tired and just blah, but a change of clothes can also mean a change in attitude.

My tips for battling those meh feelings:

1. Change your clothes! Are you unmotivated in your pajamas? Take a shower and put on something different.
2. Listen to music. A good tune can change your disposition. You can even use one song per chore. After a few songs you’ll have cleaned up an entire room.
3. Spend a little time on yourself. Grooming is important. Hair, makeup, eyebrows, nails. Remind yourself that you matter and are important. Whether you have kids or not this is something we should all put into practice.
4. Take a nap. If you’re tired and sleep deprived no amount of pampering will resuscitate you. If you can, take a nap, it will greatly improve your mood.

Here are three hairstyles I wore this week. They all incorporate a braid as a little accent. The pictures aren’t very good but hopefully they will give you an idea about how to style them.