I know I’ve mentioned a lot recently about feeling like I’m in a funk. It’s very likely you’re tired of hearing about it, and well, I am tired of living it!
So on Friday, I took a very much-needed break from my normal routine. All week I’d planned to only work a half-day on Friday, so I got up and did a few hours of work while listening to a new-to-me podcast, “The Morning Toast”, which so far is hilarious.
Around lunch, I decided to actually get ready: put on makeup and a cute outfit. And then I headed out to tackle some errands.
So far, this likely doesn’t seem like anything too groundbreaking, but since I don’t have a 9-5 job, I rarely wear makeup (unless I have a client meeting or am teaching a blog class), and to some, not wearing makeup might seem amazing!
Of course, it saves me lots of time, but… I love wearing makeup. I love putting it on and changing things up depending on my mood. I feel more confident and ready for the day when I wear it.
I also usually just wear my pajamas or leggings when I’m working from home, which is really nice, but I have a closet full of clothes I no-longer wear.
So, I was ready and I headed out to the library — one of my favorite places. I had a book to pick up and I also got season 6 of “Friends” to continue with my marathon and I got season 1 of “Designing Women”. Then, I headed to the grocery for my weekly diet needs…
And then, I headed to my FAVORITE place to go during a holiday weekend: the outlet mall. The outlet mall always has sales on top of sales during holiday weekends and I really love wandering in and out of the stores and seeing how great of a deal I can find.
I bought some makeup — go figure — and skincare items, and then I headed to another place I love: Five Below.
I wanted to get myself some new markers and anything else I could find that might help spark my creativity and get me out of this funk. To my surprise, they had a bunch of outdoor stuff — so I got a few things for my patio, which I am in the middle of “refreshing” for summer.
I also found a 20-pack of colored markers (thin enough for journaling), some face masks, a cute marbled tumbler (perfect for all of my kombucha guzzling) and I treated myself to some Sour Patch Kids.
On the way to the mall, I’d seen a sign along the interstate for Kerbey Lane Cafe — an Austin staple that I’d yet to try — so once I was done at Five Below, I headed to Kerbey Lane and instead of taking it to-go (my initial idea), I decided to actually sit down and enjoy a meal with myself. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that.
I got their vegan queso and a plate of fried avocado tacos… and it was all delicious. I ate while I read a magazine, and by the time I got home, I still had enough time to unload my car and get my need patio items arranged outside.
You know what else I did? I stayed off social media. When I had a 9-5 job, I really tried to limit my time on social media because it was also what I did for work, so I felt like I was on it ALL the time.
I still do have clients that I help with social media, but sometimes I find myself mindlessly scrolling, and I think it’s contributing to my funk — it’s lending a hand to social comparison and it’s taking away from my creativity.
I don’t like this idea of putting my every moment online, so I made a conscious effort to stop. I’m not going to delete my profiles or anything, but I’m really going to try and be more conscious about the time I spend there, and what I’m choosing to consume from others, too.
Being “offline” made me feel so free — it was amazing! Having such a good Friday lent itself to an entirely good weekend. I got some work done, spent lots of time outside, and even did some reading.
Staying motivated and creative is definitely work and it takes practice to know when things are going astray and how to get back on track in a productive way. I’m getting there!
I still post on Instagram (just not as many stories) and I’m pretty active on Twitter if you want to follow me @OrangeJulius7. The next semester of “Blogging for Beginners” starts May 1 at the University of Texas at Austin, and registration is still open.
The Bitter Lemon 