The Lotus In The City

As it was hangover central at Chez Fabulous this weekend and it’s been another busy day today, we’ll be aiming for quality over quantity when it comes to I Am Fab this week. In fact, there may be mostly short dispatches from Fab Towers over the next few weeks, as I settle into a new project which is shaping up to be quite time-consuming. While I may ambitiously hold the Type A personality intention of trying to fit it all in, it’s realistic to assume that something’s got to give, at least in the short term. Writing’s my first love, though, so nothing’s going to shut me up for long!

Having been lured back into the corporate world on a full-time basis for the next few months, I’ve had to get very focused on how to sustain the practices that keep me sane and be very disciplined in keeping those commitments. For me that means plenty of time in the morning for meditation, without which I could give Lucy van Pelt from the Peanuts comic strip a good run for her money in terms of grouchiness. It’s safe to say that setting aside that time is not only a benefit to me, but also to my colleagues, who get to face someone with at least a basic sense of serenity in the morning, not the grumpy cow I would naturally be without it. Some people are morning people and I’m so not one of them.

During the day, I’m making sure I get time out for a coffee or lunch away from my desk, because pushing yourself to keep working without a break is completely counterproductive. Even a few minutes walking in the fresh air is enough to clear your head and re-energise you. When you exhaust yourself by pushing yourself without a break, your ability to concentrate is weakened and everything takes so much longer to do. The worst thing a busy person can do is assume they’re too frantic to take even a few minutes to recharge – ploughing on regardless isn’t the smart thing to do, it’s actually a risky strategy that means you’re more likely to make mistakes or overlook things because your ability to focus is impaired.

Of an evening, because my work involves a lot of strategising, meaning there’s a strong mental focus, I’m carving out a few sessions a week at the health club to do something that gets me back in my body to de-stress and switch off. Believe me, this is happening because I’ve learned that it’s essential to my well-being, not because I have any ambitions to be a gym bunny. I’m a dyed-in-the wool, card-carrying lounge lizard, but even I have to face the fact that moving your body is the best way to shake off the workaday blues.

So that’s my personal recipe for staying sane in a nine-to-five world – what’s yours? Do you have a structure that supports you to feel at your best even when you’re working flat strap? I’m all for freedom, but discipline can be your best friend when you’re trying to cope with a busy lifestyle. What are the practices (and they don’t all have to be hard work) that would make your day go a little easier? Can you promise yourself firmly that you’ll make the effort to go out for a decent coffee, rather than sit at your desk with the miserable machine version? Is there a park or even a local bookstore nearby, that you can sneak off to for a little peace and quiet on a frantic day? Do you have a health club membership that you’re not using? If so, why not use a bit of carrot and stick psychology on yourself by booking a treat like a massage or facial after a yoga class?

Pay attention, too, to what you find yourself doing impulsively, because that’ll be a clue to what needs expression in your life. This weekend, I found myself buying up big when I stumbled on a supply of brightly-coloured Antik Batik sequinned kaftan tops. You could call that shopaholism rearing its ugly head, but I realised that for me it symbolises the need for creative expression – if I’m not doing as much creative work as I’m normally accustomed to, then subconsciously I’ll find a way to express myself, even if it happens to be by filling my wardrobe with rich hippie style clothes.

The bottom line is that you’re the one in charge of your own well-being, so it’s your responsibility to pay attention to your own needs and find a way to fulfil them. If you don’t make time to take care of yourself, no-one else will. Get your priorities right and make sure that you’re taking the steps to build a lifestyle that helps you to feel fabulous, however frantic life gets. Drop the guilt if sometimes you just can’t fit everything in – a fabulous attitude is a flexible one. And if all else fails, go buy a few kaftans … it works for me!

Click through to the Coach Fabulous advice column by using the link in the Favourite Sites section on the right or by going to http://coachfabulous.blogspot.com. For alert emails on new postings, email subscribe@iamfabulous.co.uk. To contact me, email coachfabulous@iamfabulous.co.uk. All material © 2007 Alison Porter. No article may be reproduced in full or in part without the express permission of the author. (Originally posted 23 Apr 07)