Don't Overthink It - Anne Bogel Page 0,47
if we establish the right direction.
The right morning ritual encourages us to approach our day with intention. If we begin by purposefully drinking coffee, practicing gratitude, and journaling, we will conclude that time feeling calm, centered, and ready to take on the day with the big picture in mind. This early morning ritual frames the day and focuses the mind, two valuable practices for those who wish to avoid overthinking. We won’t feel rushed or harried. We’ll be present. When we don’t intentionally set our focus, our minds wander wherever they want—and that can be scary business.
A word of caution. It is possible to inadvertently adopt a ritual that focuses your attention on the wrong things, fueling overthinking. Perhaps your morning ritual involves browsing news sites while you drink your morning coffee. Your intentions are good—you value being an informed citizen and want to begin the day knowledgeable about current events. But instead of feeling focused on your priorities, you feel info-bombed and spend the rest of the morning fretting about the headlines.
If your morning ritual sends you into the day feeling stressed and scattered, choose quiet reading material instead, something that puts you in the right headspace. What you choose to focus on matters. Your morning ritual sets the tone for the whole day, so avoid rituals that set you up for overthinking, thus robbing you of the meaning and peace rituals can bring.
Rituals Help Us Reset
As our minds inevitably wander throughout the day, our rituals can gently nudge our thoughts back to where they belong. For many years, I religiously followed a 2:00 p.m. ritual. Whenever I mentioned my unusual midday break, people were intrigued and quizzed me for details.
Back then I spent the mornings working as fast as I could. My mental and physical energy would predictably fade in the early afternoon, and by two o’clock I was toast.
I’d turn off my computer, make a cup of coffee, grab a book, and read for fifteen minutes. This brief indulgence provided a sense of balance and control, even if my day so far had felt unbalanced and out of control. Next, I’d spend a few minutes reviewing my to-do list for the rest of the day and reset my priorities before getting back to work.
This ritual served as a stop sign, a fail-safe, an island of respite free from overthinking where, in a sense, I got to start over. No matter how far off track my mind had wandered, at 2:00 p.m. I hit the reset button. By the time I wrapped up my midday break—which I could get through in just twenty minutes if I had to—I felt refreshed and ready to purposefully take on the rest of the day. And while I most enjoyed this ritual when I was actually reading, it helped me in the morning too. If I was tired or harried, knowing that a 2:00 p.m. reset was on the horizon was good for morale.
Because I once blogged about my 2:00 p.m. ritual, many readers have written over the years to tell me about the afternoon rituals they were subsequently inspired to implement. The pattern has been striking. Based on my readers’ responses, an effective midday reset should include a little bit of pleasure (like my coffee and reading), a little bit of prioritizing, and a little bit of perambulating (a number of readers swore by a quick walk or run or other time in the fresh air).
If you want to establish your own rituals but aren’t sure where to begin, know that these elements have served your fellow readers well. Again, it doesn’t much matter what the ritual is, only that you follow it consistently.
Evening Rituals Help Us Get Ready to Sleep
For many of us, bedtime is prime overthinking time. We lie in bed, our thoughts drifting toward the events of the day gone by, thinking of things we could have done differently and fretting about what tomorrow holds.
Bedtime is a great time to harness the power of ritual. It eases the body into a restful frame of mind so you can nod off peacefully. As a bonus, regular, quality sleep—and enough of it—is vital for not overthinking, so you’ll be better prepared to not overthink in the morning.
Some people listen to quiet music, or do stretches, or write in a journal they keep by the bed. I know what I like to do before bed. I begin in the kitchen, because I’ve found that thinking about the next morning inspires me