If you’re anything like me, you’re probably attached to your smartphone and spend way too much time doomscrolling, reading the news or scrolling social media. I spent plenty of time in 2020 (and will likely be doing so in 2021) hanging out at the house, not around friends or family. I became a lot more conscious of how I was spending my time, as there’s only so much Netflix, and iPhone scrolling that one can do. I did a lot of reflecting on recharging, and how I feel I’m actually not that good of at it. I find that the time I do spend ‘relaxing’ isn’t actually relaxing and instead is continuing to wear me down. I wonder if I’m not alone in this, and thought I’d lay out some of my thoughts on how I’d like to recharge better in 2021. 

What recharging looks like today

We had a lot going on in 2020, and a lot once again in 2021. These have definitely been trying times, and they’re quite exhausting. I ‘come’ home at the end of my workday (i.e. walk out of my home office into my living room) and after pretty much being on Zoom/Hangout calls for what feels like all day, I’m exhausted. It’s partially the monotony of the day in, day out, and also the unending uneasy of COVID hanging over our heads. 

For me, ‘relaxing’ has basically looked like watching 2-4 episodes of TV per night. This routine looks the same regardless of whether it’s a night or a weekend. Sigh. For some reason I have lost the ability or desire to sit through a whole movie, which is why we normally do TV episodes. Outside of that I often find myself on my phone for part of the relaxing, aimlessly scrolling the news. I don’t have really any social media, so I basically just read the news over and over, which you can imagine how good for my syche that is. 

Why I need to be better at it

All said, I’ve come to learn that the current way I recharge is not really recharging, and I need to get better at it. Mental health has really been more and more in focus, and I’ve come to believe that just as I focus on other areas of my health – physical, emotional and spiritual; I also need to exercise for my mental health. One area I’ve continued to do a good job of this is physical exercise, and I really believe that working out is just as much a benefit for my mental health as it is my physical health. 

Aside from exercising, I believe it’s also critical to focus on recharging. Life can feel like such an exhausting effort sometimes, with a lot going on in both our professional and personal lives. Initially in 2020 I found myself slowing down, which was a good thing, but I found myself replacing that slowing down and naturally recharging with other non-stimulating activities; mostly related to screen time. 

If there’s anything that sheltering in place for so long has taught me – it’s that my mental health is super important. I need to stay positive, focused and energized, and it’s difficult to do if I’m not fully recharging. 

How I plan to get better 

I think for each person, recharging looks different. Before you can get better at truly recharging, it’s important to reflect on what benefits you the most. Perhaps it’s going for a nightly walk, listening to music, reading, writing, or calling friends/family. Try to step away from the screen time and reflect on what actually is going to be beneficial for you. 

For me, a big part of my recharging is writing and reading. I’ve been writing this blog for 8 years now and one of the big reasons I keep at it is because I enjoy it and I feel as if it is a great creative outlet for me and helps me recharge. There’s something about sitting quietly (I’m no good blogging in front of the TV), gathering and planning my thoughts, and writing. The other area I’ve tried to focus on a lot more is reading. I’ve dusted off my old iPad, which really isn’t good for much these days except for the Kindle App, and have started reading more. I had a few good recommendations and have been diving into books again. I try to make it a priority of reading for a few minutes nightly, typically right before bed. It helps me unwind, recharge, and get a better nights sleep. 

I’m also trying to focus on being more present and focused. Whether I’m watching a show or a movie, or even reading the news, I try to focus less on ‘vegging-out” and more on being intentional with what I’m doing. If I’m going to watch Netflix, then I’m going to pick a show I want to watch, and watch it fully. If I’m going to read the news headlines, I’m going to purposefully do it, and then be done. I’ve gotten into a terrible habit of just ‘scrolling’ on my phone, and would like to do better by being more intentional. This sometimes means keeping my phone out of sight or in another room, and definitely turning it off at night. I’m hopeful that these small actions and habit changes will go a long way to helping me actually recharge, instead of just scrolling and binging. 

Summary

It’s so critical for our overall wellbeing that we learn to recharge better. Scrolling and binging is not recharging, and I personally am trying to get better about remembering that, and focusing on activities that are restful and recharging!