8 Days Well-Rounded People Schedule Into Their Month, According To A Clinical Psychologist
By intentionally scheduling just eight days into your month, you can stop yourself from burning out or getting stuck on auto-pilot.
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A | Shutterstock In this time when productivity is prized above all else and work-life balance is often ignored, it’s easy to begin feeling like you’re simply stuck in a never-ending vicious cycle. This can lead to burnout or feeling like you’re in auto-pilot mode. Not only is this unpleasant, but it’s also unhealthy. Professor Ira E. Hyman, Jr., who has studied the effects of being on auto-pilot, concluded that it is not a safe state to be in when writing for Psychology Today.
Clinical psychologist Amanda Hilton understands this feeling of going through life simply doing what it takes to get by. That’s why Hilton took to Instagram to share a list of eight days you can schedule each month to ensure you avoid feeling stuck in the daily grind. These scheduled days “prioritize intention and balance” and are the keys to keeping well-rounded people going.
Here are eight days well-rounded people schedule into their month so they don’t get stuck on auto-pilot:
1. Life admin day
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We all know life admin tasks — things like clearing out your inbox, responding to messages, and attending appointments — are an inescapable and essential part of life.
These tasks can be so tedious and time-consuming that a study from Brightpearl found that the average adult spends eight hours and 48 minutes on them each week.
Devoting one day to completing these tasks could make a major dent in that amount of weekly time, if not reduce it completely. Furthermore, taking time to focus all of your attention on just admin-related activities is likely to add to your productivity.
Where you would normally be distracted by work, family, and other obligations demanding your attention, setting aside time just for life admin is sure to prove beneficial.
2. Back-burner day
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“Give attention to those ‘someday’ projects you’ve pushed aside,” Hilton encouraged. She said this could include anything from starting a project to starting a book.
While we like to think we are putting off these things until later when they are more convenient so we can address more pressing needs, doing so is really just a form of procrastination.
According to McLean Hospital, “Procrastination is connected to negative functioning and risks to mental health … Procrastination is even linked to physical illness.”
Doing what you’ve been putting off for later won’t just fill you with a sense of accomplishment but will also be beneficial for your health.
3. Zero-agenda day
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In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s tempting to schedule out every minute of the day. But Hilton suggested we take some time to step back from all of that. “Spend the day with no plans, doing whatever feels good in the moment,” she said.
INSEAD Business School noted, “When you allow yourself time to do nothing, you give your brain a chance to process experiences, consolidate memories, and reinforce learning. Your resting state is a powerful tool for regulating your emotions and maintaining the ability to focus. Rest will also help you make better decisions and be more productive.”
Although this may sound simple, it’s not. Writing for Psychology Today, clinical psychologist Francine Toder acknowledged that, for many, the thought of doing nothing or living a day with no plans can cause anticipatory anxiety. Still, it’s worth it.
4. Break a routine day
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We tend to crave the stability of routines, and they certainly are good for us. However, doing the same thing day after day can also lead to getting stuck in a rut. Hilton said doing something small, like changing up the location you work from, can make all the difference.
Clinical psychologist Lisa Firestone told Psychology Today that it’s key to occasionally step away from what you’ve become so used to. “Habitual behavior, by nature, can cut us off from feeling,” she said. “Moving through a series of them can set us on autopilot throughout our day, which can lead us to lose touch with ourselves and our immediate experience — be it sensory or emotional.”
5. Offline day
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Going completely offline in the era we live in can sound downright impossible. But if generations of people before us did it, why can’t we? Hilton said it’s good to “disconnect from screens … and fill your day with analog joy.”
UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Magazine listed several reasons why this can be so beneficial, including sleeping better, cultivating deeper connections with others, breaking bad habits, boosting productivity, and being aware of what’s happening in the present moment.
Who wouldn’t want to reap these substantial rewards from spending just one day offline?
6. Nostalgia day
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It’s time to “revisit activities you loved as a child … to reignite a sense of wonder and joy,” according to Hilton. This can take the form of pretty much anything you used to love, from baking to watching a certain movie.
Social psychologist Dr. Clay Routledge told PsychCentral that nostalgia “increases positive mood, self-esteem, feelings of social connectedness, optimism about the future, and perceptions of meaning in life. Furthermore, nostalgia motivates people to focus on cultivating meaningful relationships and pursue important life goals.”
7. Dare day
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While it may seem intimidating, “dare day” isn’t nearly as frightening as it sounds.
“Challenge yourself to do one small thing outside your comfort zone, whether that’s trying that new class, saying ‘hi’ to a stranger, or ordering something you’ve never tried before,” Hilton said. Instead of playing some sinister game of truth or dare, it’s all about leaving your comfort zone behind.
Stepping out of your comfort zone, Harvard Summer School said, can help you more easily achieve goals and increase your self-confidence. And it can mean a boost to your performance as well.
“The idea of comfort zones is rooted in research conducted by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908,” they said. “They developed the Yerkes-Dodson Law, which states that performance increases as stress increases, and performance decreases as stress decreases.”
8. Personal manifesto day
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“Reflect on your values and create a personal manifesto or set of affirmations to guide you for the rest of the year,” Hilton advised. While many set aside a bit of time — maybe a few hours — to accomplish this, Hilton thinks it’s worth taking a whole day to focus on it.
Clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of New Mexico Jennifer Crawford said it’s imperative to make sure the goals you set to guide yourself are SMART — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
You should also know the reason why you’re choosing to set those goals. When you acknowledge the reason and how it will benefit you, your goals become a little easier to stick to.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.