I’ve been in a weird funk for nearly two weeks now and I can’t pinpoint exactly why. Instead I’ve been indulging myself by doing my favourite things to try to shake it off, Taylor Swift style.
Here are my suggestions to ease yourself out of it…
Buy yourself a bunch of beautiful flowers. I’ve written recently about how indulgent and glorious it feels to buy yourself flowers. I love having bunches scattered around the house, brightening the rooms with a burst of colour. We currently have a mix of tulips and daffs decorating our living room and bathroom, and I can’t help but stop and admire their beauty whenever I’m near them. I give them a plump, I feed them water and I watch them bloom.
Go for a walk to clear the fog. I’ve been making the most of my lunch hour and pounding the pavement of Victoria with work mates. We’ve been exploring the area, walking to Westminster Abbey, snapping the architecture, nipping into independent book shops, admiring funky pineapple lamps in antique shops and noting all the Insta-friendly doors. It’s been good for my mind, my productivity and feels luxurious to make the most of that hour, taking the time to step away from the screen.
Spend some time with people who make you smile. My dad nipped round for a cuppa a couple of Saturday’s ago to admire our DIY skills and help us out a bit. That Sunday I went for a big ol’ pub lunch with my mum, auntie, cousins, partners and babies. It was a raucous of Lego, snot, cuddles, mischievous smiles and piss-taking at the expense of my glitter trackies – more on those in a sec. This week it was the turn of my in-laws for dinner, wedding photo viewing and a celebratory pub lunch.
Throw yourself into a much-needed DIY project. I love starting a new project. I like the process of list making, ticking things off and the satisfactory feeling you have when you can see something transform in front of you. We started work on our maisonette a while ago but are notoriously bad at not finishing rooms. This year we agreed we’d spend one day per weekend getting shit done. We’re so close to having our bathroom 100% finished it’s ridiculous. I’ve also discovered that painting woodwork is my forte. It’s so satisfying.
Invest in glitter trackies and wear them with your craziest jumper! After a spectacularly shitty day, I hoped on to ASOS, my Mecca, stumbled across these glitter tracksuit bottoms and bought them instantly. They arrived the next day and I wore them the day after that to said family lunch above. They aren’t particularly flattering on my frame but who gives a flying f**k, because when paired with a multi-coloured striped jumper, silver glitter socks and my sequin Converse, I felt so fabulously sparkly and comfortable, I couldn’t have cared less. Expect to see a lot more of them. The novelty will take a while to wear off.
There you have it, the five ways I try to knock myself back into order. How do you shake off a funk?
P.S I could have included the bunny but I have other plans for her.
P.P.S They don’t involve leek, carrots and a large stew.