No More Zero Days

 The other day, I came across a video about motivation, or making good habits, something along those lines. I was only half watching as I was trying to tidy my room at the same time!

But one point that really caught my attention and has had me thinking for the past few days is the idea of not having a "zero day". You know those awful days where nothing on your to-do list gets done, where you haven't worked on your goals, or just getting things done!

I've had a lot of those days recently! My sleeping habits are all over the place; I'm more awake at night than during the day! I tried to change that, but realised that most of the time I'm sleeping in the day because I just don't want to do things, I don't want to clean or do the garden, I know I have to, but don't want to! It's how depression shows up in my life, not sad, but just no desire to do things! I think I'm still digesting Hannah's situation and, of course, worrying about her!

Also, I feel rather useless at the moment. I've been working since I moved to Japan, usually 6 days a week, now I'm down to 3 classes a week! I know I'm at the age where I should retire, but I have no money! I don't mind that everyone (except Hannah) pays for things here, but I want to travel and buy things for myself, so I need some money!

Also, I worry about my mental health! I don't want to end up old, relying on others for everything. I remember seeing my mother-in-law in the old people's home, just sitting or lying in bed. She never had any hobbies, she didn't read or watch TV much, as she got older, she didn't really have anybody to talk to, all she had was her work, and when she couldn't do that, she stopped, she just existed, not really living! I don't want to become like that. One way to keep one's mind sharp is to read and study!

This is where the idea of no zero days comes in!

I set goals, make plans and then don't follow through. Some days I do okay, some weeks I even manage to do what I plan to do and make my goals. Then I have days and even weeks where I haven't done anything, and everything seems so overwhelming that I just want to give in!

The idea behind no zero days is that even if you can't meet your goal, you can do something. For example, your goal is to do 20 push-ups every day, but today you don't feel up to it. So instead of doing nothing and having a zero day, you do one push-up. Or you have a book that you've decided to read a chapter a day, but today you don't feel like it, so you read just one page; again, it's not a zero day!

I like this idea! Sometimes, actually many times, I feel almost paralysed by all the things I feel I should do, like the chores, gardening, preparing for my few lessons I have that I don't do anything, leading to lots of zero days! But on those days, I can do one small thing, then it's a productive day and maybe doing a lot of little things will lead to better days!

I hope you can understand this. Sometimes we push for perfection, but just being able to do something every day is powerful!

Just a cat photo to finish!

This is what greets me in the morning when I go into the kitchen!