hey so you know that vicious cycle of mental health making you unproductive which makes your mental health worse? don’t worry friend I am here with something that can help
just get one thing done. break the cycle. it doesn’t have to be some big task. in fact it’s better if it isn’t. decide on something that takes five minutes or less. keep it tiny and manageable – the key is to feel like you’ve accomplished something, so when your brain is all, you can’t even do a single thing all day except lay in bed being useless, you can be like, oh but I did do something, brain, suck on that. it might not seem like much at the time but it helps a lot to have something tangible you can point to
do you have dirty dishes in your bedroom? get rid of ‘em. you don’t have to wash them, just put them in the sink with soapy water. done. easy.
do you have a pile of empty water bottles sitting there? good for you staying hydrated. but you don’t need a mountain of plastic reminders. throw a few in the trash or in recycling. don’t worry about chasing down every single one, just pick a number. get rid of 5 or 10. easy, manageable even if you feel terrible. done.
do you need to do something early tomorrow? get something ready now. just one thing. lay out an outfit. fill the coffee maker so you can just press a button tomorrow. pack your backpack or purse. bonus benefit, future you will have an extra few minutes to breathe in the morning.
do you have a pet? spend 5 minutes with your pet. cuddle them. play tug of war. make baby noises at them. your pet loves you. I bet they miss you when you’re sad. you’ll both feel better.
has it been 3 weeks since you did laundry? pick your clothes up off the floor and put them in a laundry basket. don’t actually wash them or even take the basket anywhere. just collect the clothes for later so they aren’t spread all over. it’ll make actually doing them that much easier when you have more energy
did you manage to wash your clothes but not put them away? fold something. fold another thing. and one more. put them away. three things. you got this one.
did you do your one thing? good. I’m proud of you. even if it didn’t make you feel better, guess what? you did a thing. you got something done, you can be done now. you can go back to bed if you want.
I have learned from experience that doing nothing generates its own momentum. The longer you sit on the sofa doing nothing, the harder it is to get up. The best way to break the cycle is to get up. Just get up and do something small, the tiniest thing, it doesn’t need to be important. Some of the best things to accomplish are drinking a glass of water or going for a short walk and getting some fresh air.
This is 100% true for me. When I’m having a hard time, I make goals that are small and easily obtainable. Then the next step feels less scary. I’ve done this with depression treatment, running, and creative projects and it really helped.
Today, February 1st, is the beginning of the so-called Black History Month. I think I’ve said it on here before, but I’ll say it again – no month is a Black history month for me, every second of every minute and every minute of every hour is Black History, but it’s kinda official, so let’s celebrate. I wanna start by bringing to you the story of the Greensboro sit-in’s in case you haven’t heard about them before.
On February 1, 1960, at 4:30pm four black students from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat down at the lunch counter inside the Woolworthstore at 132 South Elm Street in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The men, later known as the A&T Four or the Greensboro Four, went to Woolworth’s Store, bought toothpaste and other products from a desegregated counter at the store with no problems, and then were refused service from the segregated lunch counter when they each asked for a cup of coffee, at the same store.
Following store policy, the lunch counter staff refused to serve the black men at the “whites only” counter and store manager Clarence Harris asked them to leave. However, the four freshman stayed until the store closed that night.
The next day, more than twenty black students who had been recruited from other campus groups came to the store to join the sit-in. Students from Bennett College, a college for black women in Greensboro, joined the protest. White customers heckled the black students, who read books and studied to keep busy. The lunch counter staff continued to refuse service.
On the third day, more than 60 people came to the Woolworth store. A statement issued by Woolworth national headquarters said the company would “abide by local custom” and maintain its segregated policy.
More than 300 people took part on the fourth day. Organizers agreed to spread the sit-in protests to include the lunch counter at Greensboro’s Kress store.
As early as one week after the Greensboro sit-in had begun, students in other North Carolina towns launched their own sit-ins. Demonstrations spread to towns near Greensboro, including Winston-Salem, Durham, Raleigh, and Charlotte. Out-of-state towns such as Lexington, Kentucky, also saw protests.
The movement then spread to other Southern cities including Richmond, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee.
As the sit-ins continued, tensions grew in Greensboro and students began a far-reaching boycott of stores that had segregated lunch counters. Sales at the boycotted stores dropped by a third, leading the stores’ owners to abandon their segregation policies.
On Monday, July 25, 1960, after nearly $200,000 in losses due to the demonstrations, store manager Clarence Harris asked 3 black employees to change out of work clothes into street clothes and order a meal at the counter.These were the first to be served at the store’s lunch counter, an event that received little publicity. The entire Woolworth was desegregated, serving blacks and whites alike.
nothing 