What makes you happy?

When the second lockdown hit in 2021 I was living alone in a tiny apartment in a new suburb. I had no friends in the area, and I quickly exhausted all of the available men who were up for a socially-distanced walk on Tinder. Unsurprisingly, I found myself in a slump.

Of course, you don’t need a global pandemic to find yourself in a slump. Sometimes I find myself in one for no apparent reason at all. If that’s you right now, keep reading.

One of the best slump-lifting things I did during lockdown and continue today was my list-writing practice. Every week on a Monday morning I would write a list of all the things that would make me feel a little better.

Here are a few of the things that made it onto Nakie’s list. Some of these are trivial and a little silly, some are rather serious. Balance is everything!

• 2x ocean swims this week
• Start a puzzle
• Plan something new to look forward to
• Donate to a local charity
• Buy takeaway from a local business and personally thank the chef
• Bake muffins with some of the hundred frozen bananas I have in my freezer
• Plant something in the garden
• Ride my bike around the block even though it’s rusty and a bit sh*t
• Write a letter to my grandparents (or anyone who is at least 20 years older than me)
• Re-watch Finding Nemo (objectively brilliant film)
• Go for a walk around the block and pick up every bit of rubbish I see
• Buy myself a cake. A whole cake. (I still find it CRAZY that as adults we can just do this whenever we want???)
• Spring clean my wardrobe. The overwhelm from overconsumption is real.

This week we encourage you to write your own list. You might need it now, you might not, but it’s a great resource to have on-hand. Send us an email with yours if you do! It can be scribbled in crayon or just in the notes of your phone. We’d love to share it in another email. 😊

Have a great week,
Nakie

P.S. Writing a list doesn’t always bring you out of the slump, so if you’re feeling blue and you want some help, give a Beyond Blue counsellor a call on 1300 22 4636.