Dog-Tired
Lessons from the puppy & Metacognition
I failed.
(I can already hear my therapist asking me to reframe that sentence)
I haven’t quite succeeded yet.
Because last week, I vowed to locate my ‘off switch’ and pivot just a smidge towards it.
Instead, I revved the engine, full-throttle in the opposite direction.
I created (from scratch) & published an eBook for ADHD entrepreneurs & business peeps*
I learned how to plaster walls (badly)
I appeared on three podcasts & recorded two of my own
My sleep average is sitting stubbornly at 5.1 hours per night
*You can access that awesome eBook for free if you subscribe.
By any measure, this is not tranquility.
I can tell I’m tired because that negative narrative is creeping back in, after months of silence.
In a few weeks, I’ll move house (again) & will embark on my most audacious ADHD endeavour so far: renovating a big, crumbling old Italian farm with no money & no idea.
Something’s got to give.
I get little pings of dopamine every time I tick another achievement off my list and that’s great in small doses. The feeling can become addictive, but like most addictive things, it can all go off the rails very quickly.
That used to happen a lot. Chasing dopamine always ended in tears. But these days, I’m older & wiser. I’ve got this ADHD thing sussed (that’s a joke, BTW, but I am getting better at it).
Since diagnosis, I’ve worked on building my metacognitive muscle and now I need to test it’s strength.
Because if I keep this up, there’ll be an almighty energy slump that could last for months.
And so, in a profound act of adulting…
God I hate that word. You sound so cringe.
Shut up and let me type.
Oooh! Someone’s tired.
In a profound act of behaving like an adult, I’m going to learn from my past mistakes. I’m going to remember all the times I’ve crashed & burned. I’m not going to expect a different outcomes by doing the same thing, again & again.
I’m going to slow down….
And treat myself like a dog.
I’m going to eat three nutritious meals every day.
I’m going to get lots of fresh air, but not hang out in the hot sun too much.
I’m going to take naps.
I’m going to take myself for a walk every, single day.
I’ll hang out with my pack
I’ll take a timeout when I’m overstimulated.
I’ll have a bloody good wash sometimes
As much as that last one is gross to admit, being a gremlin-hobbit over the laptop 18 hours a day is not exactly conducive to good hygiene.
Although this feels horribly, excruciatingly difficult for me, I’m going to work less & have more fun. And because good intentions alone have never helped me succeed before, I’m going to ask you to be my accountability buddy.
What this means -
I’m taking a podcast pause after I’ve released the episodes already recorded.
For the final episodes in the first series, I’m not going to go down a podcast-editing rabbit hole (who knew it took so long… except all those other podcasters who told me exactly this).
I’m going to give up making pretty pictures for Instagram, and just post whatever I’m doing that day, no glossy filters.
I’m not going to learn how to use TikTok.
And I’m going to take a full day off every week (probably Saturdays) and not do anything on my laptop.
Wish me luck, check in if you see me posting things at 2am, and remind me of this list when I inevitably forget. Because like Wilson, sometimes I need someone else to do some human-thinking for me.
*Here’s the awesome eBook, if you haven’t yet checked it out, subscribe and it’ll be in your Welcome Email. If you already subscribe and haven’t received a copy, just give me a shout & I’ll ping it over to you.
