Creating Your Slow Reset Day

Reset, Refocus, Readjust, Restart - As Many Times As You Need To

This voiceover is an audio version of my Slow Sunday Letter below. It is unedited, so may have some stutters, imperfections, and background noise. I hope you enjoy listening to it anyway!

Welcome to Generosity of Spirit, a space to share my slow and gentle living philosophy. Please do subscribe to join me on this gentle journey of discovery and receive my Slow Sunday Letter straight into your inbox.

Hello, welcome back! In this week’s Slow Sunday Letter, I wanted to return to a practice I have spoken about before - a reset day. I try and regularly work reset days into my life - I aim for once a week, but most often my reset days are fortnightly. Reset days help you slow down, reconnect with yourself, and get back on track to feeling like yourself again. When was the last time you carved out some time just for you? To replenish your energy or creativity? Grab a cuppa, get cosy and let’s plan a Slow Reset Day together…

Take some time to slow down

We all go through times where life feels like it is running away with us- too many appointments, work is demanding, and we have a never ending ‘to do’ list with too many tasks to juggle. Our self-care routine drops off, as we struggle to balance everything, and before you know it – you are just ‘getting through the days’. We feel worn out, exhausted and unmotivated. This is when your mind, body and soul is in desperate need of some attention, and a slow reset day can give you just what you need.

“Take a break, and give your soul what it needs” Audrey Kitching

Prep for your reset day:

You may not be able to commit to a whole day, so even if you aim for a few hours, schedule it into your diary as a non-negotiable and show up for yourself.

When building a reset day routine, it’s important to acknowledge the areas of your life that need some extra attention. It could be mental or physical health, our personal space or general motivation levels. One of my first steps (usually in the days leading up to my reset day), is downloading a brain dump of all of my worries, feelings and needs, as well as my ‘to do’ lists and tasks into a journal or onto notion. Just the process of getting these things out of your brain is so useful, and I like to do this before my reset day, so that I feel lighter and clearer going in.

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Reset Day – Mental Health

Our mental health is one of the most important areas of our life. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the areas that often gets overlooked. A lot of us wait until we are at breaking point before we stop and start taking our mental health seriously. I believe taking care of your mental health is something you must do regularly.

Here are a few tips to help you do a mental health reset:

Journal

The first thing I do when I need to reset my life is a journal check-in with myself. Journaling can help uncover emotions, issues, and unmet needs. I have started using journal prompts recently and this helps so much when your mind is overwhelmed, and you are finding it hard to hear your own voice.

Journal Prompts - Self Discovery

What makes you feel powerful?

Which areas of your life are the most overwhelming?

What’s your favourite way to relax?

What’s one thing that happened last year that made you truly happy?

What is something you’ve always wanted to do?

Describe who you want to be in 5 years.

What things do you need to make more time for?

What have you accomplished in the last year that you’re proud of?

What does your ideal day look like?

What do you like most about yourself?

Take time for yourself

You don’t have to spend a reset day alone, sometimes part of your reset day maybe reconnecting with family or friends, but it is a good opportunity to take some time for yourself. Try to carve out some alone time- a walk, a bath, a drive, or a solo shopping trip. Just a little time in which you can be alone with our own thoughts and start to reset your mind.

Do something you enjoy

As a homebody, most of the things I enjoy are at home. If you are more of an extrovert, you may want to organise a social activity with friends or family. For me, a day at home- reading, doing some arts and crafts, writing, pottering around and cooking is not only something I enjoy, but I love that I can just move at my own pace, and there is no pressure or outside noise. If having a pyjama day is fun for you, do that! If going out and doing something fun with friends or family is something that is guaranteed to lift you up – do that! This is all about prioritising yourself.

Meditate

Meditation does not have to be perfect. Meditation encourages calm and a real sense of inner peace. There are so many different mediations you can try- the important thing is not to feel intimidated. A meditation of 2 minutes can have just as much of a positive impact on your wellbeing as an hour! It doesn’t have to be long periods of deep introspection and silence. It can simply be 10 minutes of deep breathing and tuning in to your body and the present moment. I find that making time for a meditation at the start of a reset day helps me refocus, and it is a great way to start the day with some calm and a greater sense of self awareness.

Practice gratitude

Practicing gratitude can be really helpful when you feel like you need to reset your life. When having a reset day, it is important to reconnect with aspects of you and your life that you really love and feel grateful for. Just writing a quick list of 3-5 things you feel grateful for in the moment (even if one of those is your reset day) is a shift into a positive mindset which will really help shake off any lingering negativity you are holding inside.

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Reset Day – Physical Health

A reset day is a good time to check in with your physical health – sleep, diet/nutrition and exercise in particular. Feeling physically unwell negatively impacts your mental health, energy levels and productivity. We must find the balance in giving our mental and physical health enough attention, both aspects have a huge effect on how you feel overall.

Here are a few steps to help you do a physical health reset:

Sleep

Sleep is our superpower. It is vital to our wellbeing and overall health. Unfortunately, it is also something that is easily threatened if we are overwhelmed or feel stressed. We have all felt sleep deprived, and experienced the effects of a lack of sleep. We all need sleep… and lots of it. Prioritise sleep a little more when you are in need of a reset day. Set a reminder at a specific time on your phone to start winding down for bed in the evening, or create a night time routine to help you relax at the end of the day.

Nourish yourself

Build in some time to rebuild some good food habits in your reset day. This can be clearing out your fridge and pantry, writing a meal plan, doing some food prep or just cooking and eating some good food! What you eat directly affects more than just your physical health – your productivity and mental health are also impacted. Take the time to nourish yourself.

Get outside

Getting outside and breathing in some fresh air is one of the best ways to reset and refresh your mind, body, and soul. I try and get outside every day, and if I can (I live in the city) I try and find pockets of green so that I can reconnect with nature. This allows me to breathe in the fresh air, be present in the moment, and relieve stress.

Any form of physical activity will benefit you on a reset day, but just the simplicity of a walk or just sitting in a park can go a long way. If you can, getting in some movement is a great way to feel healthier, more energised, and refreshed.

Hydrate

It is so important to stay hydrated. Your mental clarity, digestion, energy, productivity, mental health, and physical health all benefit from drinking an appropriate amount of water every day. I try and keep a bottle of water with me, at all times, but particularly on a reset day. Try and drink plenty of water, and avoid alcohol and caffeine.

Take a slow bath or shower

Giving yourself some time to take a long bath or shower is a wonderful act of self-care. Take your time to really care for yourself - your face, your skin, your hair. Take as much time as you need to just be still. It will slow your heart rate down and really encourage feelings of calm and peace. I love having a long bubble bath with candlelight, incense burning and relaxing music playing. After my bath, I take time to moisturise and put on some fresh pyjamas. I don’t look at the time, I try to just be in the moment, and allow myself to truly relax as I take care of my physical body.

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Reset Day – Your Personal Space

Taking time on your reset day to focus on your space and environment is so important. Your environment impacts you more than you might think. I simply cannot begin to relax until I have decluttered my space and created some room for peace.

Here are a few steps to help you do a personal space reset:

Organise your workspace

Workspace organisation is so important. A quick tidy and declutter can be really helpful, and give you the physical and mental space to start working and being productive again. I also really enjoy reorganising my bookshelves when I am in reset mode – just handling my books/journals and reorganising them can be really therapeutic.

Housework

Spend a little time during your reset day to have a tidy up- clean the floors, do some washing, tidy the kitchen and change your bedsheets. When your space looks clearer, your mind and body will start to relax more. Turn on some music or a podcast and let your mind wander as you clean your space. The physical work it takes to clean will also help to start moving that stagnant energy around in you. It is guaranteed to make you feel good.

Create ambience

It is essential for me to create a calming ambience when I am at home or having a reset day. I want to fill my space with calming scents, candlelight, soft lighting, and music. Buy some fresh flowers and open your blinds, curtains, and windows. Not only is this a signal to your mind and body that you are safe and can relax, but it adds to your overall environment and brings with it a sense of mindfulness and peace.

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Reset Day – Motivation

Regaining motivation is something I always look to achieve on a reset day. Once you have spent some time on your mental and physical health, refocussed your personal space, and slowed down your spirit- it will be easier to tap into your motivation and purpose again. We want to finish our reset day refreshed and ready to take on our goals and dreams again.

Here are a few steps to help you do a motivation reset:

Set new goals

Refreshing your goals is a great way to spark up some fresh motivation. We want to be working from a place of intention and allow our passions to drive us. Our goals and dreams will change over time, so it may be a good time to review our goals- move on from old or irrelevant goals and focus on a new wave of goals and dreams.

Plan for the week ahead

I do spend time every Sunday planning my week ahead, but this is even more important after a reset day. It will help you stay focussed and energised. Take time to meal plan, plan when you will be able to exercise, make some social plans and try to strike a balance between work and life. Just writing these tasks and intentions down takes some of the pressure off of you and your mind. I’ve found that taking time to plan the week ahead, I avoid overwhelm and can have a much smoother, happier, and stress-free week.

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Book Lovers Chat

This week I wanted to try something a little different and leave you with a little video about the books I have just read and the one I’ve just picked up! Please do have a watch, and if you would like more videos just let me know.

I have never filmed a video before, so I do apologise if it is rough around the edges, like my voice over audio I have jumped in without too much ‘overthinking’.

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Reset Day – Reviving your slow and gentle pace!

I really hope you have enjoyed this Slow Sunday Letter, and it has got you thinking what your own reset day may look like.

A reset day is all about you, so make sure your reset day works for you. The absolute last thing you want to do on a reset day is overwhelming yourself more. Trust the process of slowing down and being gentle with yourself. So long as you finish your reset day feeling more like yourself, more at peace, with a renewed sense of motivation you have done something so worthwhile for your mind, body, and spirit.

Remember, don’t wait for a breaking point to have a reset day – plan them and make time for them as often as you can. If you cannot have a reset day, make time for a reset morning, afternoon or even just an hour. Take time to check in with yourself, go slowly and gently.

I’d love to hear your thoughts - Do you make time for reset days? Are you going to try any of these tips? I’ll see you in the comments.

Thank you for being here,

With Light & Love

Emily xxx

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