How to Salvage the Day
I woke up this morning after having slept less than three hours. I had to get my kids ready for school. When I came downstairs, there was diarrhea sprayed all over the floor and walls. My puppy had been sick, and I guess he couldn't hold it back. I sent the kids to school and spent the next hour cleaning up diarrhea. After that, I was exhausted, but I had to work. My morning routine was thoroughly destroyed. It was going to be a terrible day...
How do you come back from having a terrible morning? How do you salvage the day and make it good again?
1. Start over
Go back to sleep. When you wake up again, pretend it's a brand new day and everything earlier didn't happen. Do your morning routine again.
This is the first thing I tried. I'm lucky enough I can work from home and set my own hours, so I can do this. And I failed. I went back and had a nap. Woke up ready to restart the day, went downstairs, and the kitchen floor was spattered with more diarrhea! Time for plan B...
2. Take the rest of the day off
This was my plan B. I cleaned up the diarrhea, informed my boss that I'll be taking the day off, and set a veterinarian appointment for my puppy.
Sometimes the day just takes off in a different direction and you just can't do it according to your plans. That takes me to the next idea...
3. Re-plan the day
Sit down and make a new plan for the rest of the day. What is the main goal for a successful day? My main goal at this point was to help my dog and make him well again.
4. Take a nap
Sometimes your morning routine isn't completely ruined. Sometimes, all you have to do is take a 20 minute nap and everything will be better.
5. Clear your mind
Perhaps you should just stop everything, take a few deep breaths, and know that "you got this."
6. Spend the next hour doing whatever you want
Maybe your mind isn't in the right place for work because you have loose ends and unfinished personal business. Give yourself permission to spend the next hour doing whatever you want. After the hour, get back to work and back and track.
7. Come up with ideas
Follow the daily practice of coming up with ten ideas a day. That's what I'm doing now. (I'm back from the vet and my dog is doing better. I need to go cook for him as soon as I post this list)
8. Take a few minutes and go through S.A.V.E.R.S.
The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod introduces S.A.V.E.R.S., which stands for Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing. It doesn't have to take a lot of time. Spend 2-5 minutes on each:
Silence: sit in silence. you can meditate.
Affirmations: say positive things out loud.
Visualization: visualize having a good day.
Exercise: do some exercise, like pushups, yoga, or jogging.
Reading: read something.
Scribing: write something. Journaling is a good option.
9. Talk to someone
Have a pleasant conversation with someone you enjoy talking to.
10. Eat something
People get grumpy when they're tired and/or hungry. Maybe eating something now will make the rest of the day a little brighter?
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