How to Be Less Tired

Full lives lead to empty tanks.

Most parents I speak to are running on empty, if not all day, usually by the time the morning routine is done and certainly by dinner time.

Recreation is seen as ‘downtime’. But we’re getting this wrong.

The prefix of that word is re. Re means again.

We repeat, so we do it over.
We reimburse, so we put the money back where it was.
We remind, so we tell someone what they previously knew.

We re-create, so we literally create (or organise or energise) ourselves all over again. If your tank is empty, schedule daily moments of genuine re-creation to facilitate recovery.

How?

Don’t look at your phone. There is no re-creation happening. It’s energy-sapping, and it’s brain-draining. (This means no games, social media, Pinterest, email, or new sites.)

Don’t watch another episode. There is no re-creation happening. It’s entertainment, but it’s not restorative.

Do something truly re-creative in the two minutes that you’re stopped at the lights. Breathe and inhale both air and silence.

Do something truly re-creative in the 26 minutes that your child is at swimming lessons. Read. Go for a walk. Talk to a friend.

Do something truly re-creative in the 8 minutes that you are waiting in the school pickup line. Meditate. Count your blessings. Journal.

Low-quality re-creation empties our tanks. High quality re-creation fills them.

How to find more quality time

Time confetti: it describes the tiny moments we have each day that flutter down in unplanned, random ways.

When we have

• brief moments of waiting in line,
• brief moments of sitting on hold,
• brief moments where the last task is completed and the next task is yet to start,

we are the ones who determine the quality of that time.

We can use those moments to flick out our phones and watch something, like something, share something, or comment on something. Or…

Or we can use those moments to connect, move our bodies, slow down and mindfully take notice, go a bit overboard and learn something (duolingo anyone?), or offer to help someone who is overwhelmed.

Time-confetti moments can be annoyances, or they can colour our days with the things that matter most.