Welcome to our May Newsletter.
How are you doing? As we enter May, I am becoming aware that the summer is near, and so is the midway through 2023. Time flies, and this month I am having many conversations about achievements, accomplishments and deadlines.
- How do we rest and still get stuff done?
- How do we move forward and complete our tasks while also making time for restoration?
- And how do we avoid giving in to the temptation of apathy in such challenging times?
- How do we move forward softly, riding the waves of the grind, productivity and other expectations of modern times?
- How do we take one step at a time in what sometimes feels like a decisive storm?
- And how do we use digital technologies to support our fight for good wellbeing in those landscapes?
Plan
I plan, practice healthy habits and make time for strategy time (“how am I going to get this done?”), not only completing tasks. I dedicate the first hour of my working day to admin, planning, and strategising, which also allows me some time for slower work on those heavier days.
Resist resistance
I also like to think about all the psychology I have studied so far, and since we are ever so mouldable, subjective and shaped by our stories, sometimes, when I am stuck or tempted to do nothing…I do the opposite. Oftentimes, in my experience, the sense of energy comes after, not before, I start a task. So despite all my cells shouting: “Nope, today is not the day!” I sit down and start one task, then another one. Softly, one task at a time.
Prepare for milestones
When I have an important task or project to complete, I focus on just getting that one thing done. The rest can wait a day. In fact, I enjoy having a personal highlight on my task list. Getting it done makes me feel good.
Celebrations!
When I am stuck, I think ahead to when the challenging task is done. That’s why I prefer to use David Allen’s term “things to get done” instead of “things to do”. Listing things I have to “get done” makes me feel more committed to the outcome and the celebration that will follow: a nice cup of coffee or a moment on the swing in our garden.
This month I encourage you to reflect on everything you achieved yesterday, last week, last month, last quarter, and last year…and use those accomplishments to motivate you to move forward softly. Think of all those moments as personal wins, and just imagine how nice it will be to sit down next week, next month, at the end of December to list and celebrate the things on your current “to get done”- list.
At Voxel Hub, we are moving forward softly.
I have now finalised the structure of my weeks to make a reliable space for counselling, so I am now open to offering this new service. If you know any adults who need free or paid counselling support, please direct them to our main website. I also offer affordable sexual abuse counselling through the local service, Kinergy.
We continue creating supportive content for you all on our blog, social media, in ebooks and during our monthly talks, too, so please check our news now and again.
We have finalised the causes we support this year, too: aside from our usual ongoing donations towards RNLI and planting trees across the globe; we are offering free support to the newly formed Therapy for Social Change (TaSC) Network and to the Incredible Edible Bristol.
That’s all from me; I hope you have a good, restful and accomplished month!
My favourite topic this month
This month I am exploring geek therapies, so instead of a long list of links, I am going to direct you to the accreditation I am working on at the moment. The Geek Therapeutics is APA approved, and once you sign up, you will have access to a wide range of CPD (Continuous Personal Development) courses on cyber-psychology in practice. You can find the platform here: https://geektherapeutics.com/ and the core book here.
Resources & Offerings
As a generation who did not have access to the Internet in primary school, I still enjoy the free access to information so today, I am listing the free online events happening this time of the year:
Mental Health & Well-Being Global Summit
The Expanded States of Consciousness World Summit
Enjoy, and let me know what’s missing from this list.
Events:
This Friday you can join the next Therapy for Social Change (TaSC) Network talk with the incredible Susie Orbach. To sign up for a free ticket, go here.
We are announcing our upcoming free talks over on Eventbrite, so just follow us there.
Thank you for reading our Newsletter. Talk to us online, check out our blog and let us know what else you would like to see here in the upcoming months.
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Photo by Flavio Amiel on Unsplash
