41 Comments
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Delaney Langdon's avatar

Yes to all of this!! I have a tendency to associate "bad days" with "days I can't get ANYTHING done", but with my chronic illness it's become to important to strive to get small things done everyday, without pushing it (!), so some of these reframes you mentioned are super valuable <3

Allie Dunin's avatar

It's so difficult to differentiate between bad days and days where you can't do anything, but I honestly find that even the smallest thing can make such a big difference! I'm sure there are plenty of others that would also be really helpful.

TheCozyEmpress's avatar

You speaking my language! I have a daily routine on repeat. Learned it from the Navy.

Allie Dunin's avatar

A daily routine is what keeps me sane!

J.C.R.'s avatar

Your writing has a way of bringing beauty to mundane life, like dust motes catching the light. Love this piece. Will especially be trying the first and third suggestions.

Allie Dunin's avatar

Thank you, that's so sweet of you! I try to make my days about bringing beauty to mundane life, so it's lovely to hear that it comes across in my writing too.

sam's avatar

This is the most perfect timing as I have really wanted to be disciplined about a routing moving into the new year. I’m normally a big fan of planning and control, but my days have been a little chaotic as of late and this is such a helpful structure. Thank you for writing!

Allie Dunin's avatar

A balance between chaos and control is exactly what I need in my life right now, so I'm glad my ideas were helpful!

Debra's avatar

all seriously good 👏 thank you

Allie Dunin's avatar

thank you so much for your sweet comment 🫶🏼

Kristen Noorlag's avatar

Yes to all of this!! I really enjoyed reading this post as I realize I’ve actually been doing a lot of these things intuitively just as a matter of survival especially on days when my fibromyalgia has flared. Thank you for confirming what my body has already shown me really works.

Giovanna🌺's avatar

Loved all those tips, can’t wait to try them all!💗

bigandsmallreads's avatar

I’m rarely at my best and it takes me about 2 weeks off work to get there!

Danielle Wraith's avatar

“A system that only works on good days isn’t really a system it’s a hope” stopped me in my tracks. This is such a practical reframe of productivity that actually honors how real life feels.

Piata Wormald's avatar

I love all these suggestion. The key is to be gentle isn’t it.

I always think of the Tortoise and the Hare story and remind myself that it’s best to go steady and slowly rather than push through and burnout x

Andrea's avatar

This could have helped me in the darkest stages of grief.

Zoë Ellen Joffe's avatar

this put into words what i have been feeling. thank you so much for this resource!!! LOVE

Zara Nusser's avatar

This post came just at the right time! Thank you for writing this and sharing these tips 🤍

Marie-Pier Rochon's avatar

These remind me of a podcast I heard recently with James Clear (Atomic Habits) where he says the days when he shows up, and does a "habit" but at its very minimum (rather than the ideal day version) are the ones we should be the most proud of, because it meant we still showed up even with little capacity.

Impact Over Noise's avatar

I love all of this - because I have a tendency to expect perfection from myself all day every day it's really easy to get in a hole and be unable to get out; these tips really make it easy to stay on track and not feel like you've just failed completely for the day.