Post-It Note Wisdom
A year in review through my 2023 collection of post-it notes
The great lull
Now that the festivities of Christmas have passed, I am enjoying one of my favourite times of the year. The great lull is what I call the days between Christmas and the New Year.
During this lull, I feel that life slows down just a little, and I don’t feel compelled to fill these few days with business and productivity.
Instead, it is a time to take a couple of deep breaths and take stock of the year that has nearly passed and the one yet to come.
My blue noticeboard
I use this time to gently prepare myself for the New Year by tidying and organizing. I started this process of creating space for 2024 by tackling the contents of my desk.
On my desk, propped against the wall, is a blue noticeboard, which I purchased at the beginning of 2023. You can no longer see the blue of the board because it is buried under a sea of multi-coloured post-it notes.
Throughout the year, when I have been sat at my desk, and I have come across or come up with a nugget of wisdom, I have scribbled it down on a post-it note and stuck it on my noticeboard, in the hope that I will look upon it every day and remember to act on it.
As often happens, when you see the same thing in the same place every day, it becomes a part of your usual background, and you begin to ignore it.
The time has come for me to tackle my post-it note mountain.
The best of the bunch
Now that I have taken down and read every single post-it note, I am happy to report that some lessons have been learned, and I did indeed follow what the post-it notes preached, and I want to share the best of the bunch with you.
Post-it note #1
On this post-it note, I have drawn a smiley face, accompanied by the word smile and three X’s
I wouldn’t say I am a pessimist; I am more of a realist, and quite a serious one at that. So, this is a reminder to smile and take note of the good things happening in my life.
The three x’s are kisses from myself to myself, and looking at it right now, I feel a warmth in my chest.
Post-it note #2
I have drawn eyebrows, shoulders, and an arrow pointing downwards on this post-it note.
I hold tension in my body, especially my shoulders and brows. This has served as a great reminder to take a deep breath and relax both body parts. After doing so, I instantly feel better as the tension melts.
Do this right now. I guarantee you will feel the benefits of this simple action.
Post-it note #3
Priorities:
- Sleep routine
- Exercise
- Healthy diet
- Punjabi
- Driving
- Meditation
This post-it note records a list of my priorities for 2023, and progress has been made in each area.
I have a sleep disorder, which I have almost corrected. The gift of a good night’s sleep has radically improved my life.
I have been attending a women’s only strength training gym, and for the first time in my life, I enjoy exercising. With the help of great trainers and a supportive gym community, I am focusing on my health and strength, not just my weight.
Also, I try to complete the Yoga with Adriene 30-day challenge every January. Maybe this year, you will join me in this challenge.
After putting it off for years, I got my driving license and purchased my first car. It’s metallic gold, and I call it my chariot. It has already been towed once and broken into, but despite these bumps in the road, I am still glad to have become a motorist.
I have always been embarrassed that I could never fluently speak Punjabi, my mother tongue. So, this year, I enrolled in a Punjabi course at King’s College Language Centre. I have a long way to go, but I am now speaking, reading, and writing Punjabi.
This is the year I have delved deep into the world of meal planning and batch cooking. This has ensured I never skip a meal or opt for something convenient but not nutritious.
I have also upgraded my cookware. You know you are genuinely a grown-up when you are excited to purchase a new frying pan in the Boxing Day sales.
Meditation is one of the hardest things I have tried to do. Like many others, I have a racing and distractable mind, but with the help of the Waking Up App, I am creating a daily meditation practice.
The Waking Up app has a great 30-day introductory meditation course. You can access the app and the course for 30 days for free without sharing your credit card details using this link.
The only benefit I receive from sharing this link is the hope that the introductory course helps you as much as it has helped me.
Post-it note #4
Kirtan Kriya meditation
In addition to using the Waking Up app, I have also been trying to complete a daily Kirtan Kriya meditation.
It is only 12 minutes long, and clinical research has shown that this meditation can improve cognition. This note acts as a reminder to keep practicing.
You can read about the benefits of this mediation here.
This is the YouTube video I use to follow along with the meditation.
Post-it note #5
Happy Place = The Blue Lagoon
This year, I travelled to Iceland, which has been on my bucket list for a long time. One of the highlights of my trip was visiting The Blue Lagoon, an outdoor geothermal pool.
Some may call it a tourist trap, but I found the two hours I spent in the lagoon on a bright May afternoon healing.
I am often guilty of imagining the future, trying to capture the magic of the past, or analysing and reworking my most recent interactions.
But when immersed in the lagoon’s soothing turquoise waters, I remember smiling and saying aloud, there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be. I was delighted to exist in that present moment.
Now, whenever I need to find a moment of peace and quieten my mind, I can close my eyes and go to my happy place.
Post-it note #6
I am always trying to do more and be more, and this is no bad thing, but this is a reminder that to achieve my goals, I need to make sure they are SMART goals.
A SMART goal is a best practice framework for setting and achieving goals. For a goal to be SMART, it must be:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Timebound
This article sets out how to create a SMART goal.
Post-it note #7
Would my future self thank me for this?
On several occasions, I have thanked my past self for doing a little extra work or planning, which paid off significantly.
This is a reminder to all my different selves to continue putting in the effort and working as a team through time and space for the greater good of me.
Post-it note #8
Happiness does not come from searching for it but only by living itself.
Finland is often reported to be one of the happiest countries in the world, and this Finnish proverb may have something to do with it.
This proverb means happiness is not a final state. We cannot reach happiness by doing or acquiring certain things and remain in that state forever.
A happy life will be filled with highs and lows, and trying to find contentment in either situation will mean you maintain a sense of peace and satisfaction no matter what.
So, for me, happiness is not a destination but a state of mind and sometimes a choice.
Post-it note #9
Life is not a rehearsal
Our time on this earth is limited, and this simple reality impacts all of our decisions, whether we are conscious of it or not.
Time is precious, so try not to waste it. Enjoy what you have, and don’t obsess about what you don’t have. If you want to try something, give it a go even if you know you will not be the best at it, like me and dance lessons.
Be brave and try.
Post-it note #10
Nothing changes if nothing changes
This sounds simple, but it is powerful.
If you want something to be different but continue to do everything as you have always done, you cannot create the change you wish for.
Ask yourself, what must I do differently to get to where I want to be?
For example, every evening, I used to tell myself that I shouldn’t scroll through my phone before bed, but I didn’t change my routine.
Now, I don’t take my phone into my bedroom, and because of this, I fall asleep and get out of bed quicker.
Post-it note #11
Convince the body that it is no longer under critical threat
When you have gone through something traumatic, the body can remain in that stressed/scared/hyper-vigilant state even though the danger has passed.
The Body Keeps Score by Bassel Van Der Kolk is a fantastic book on understanding and dealing with past trauma.
I am learning to calm down my nervous system with the following practices suggested in the book: meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, and, to my surprise, boxing training.
Post-it note #12
Radical acceptance
Radical acceptance means practicing a conscious effort to acknowledge and honour difficult situations and emotions.
Fully accepting things as they are instead of ignoring, avoiding, or wishing the situation were different. This can be a critical step in moving through a challenging experience, and I will continue to practice this next year.
I can’t wait to discover what post-note wisdom I will come across in 2024.
I hope you have enjoyed this article. If you did, it would be great if you gave me a clap or left a comment.
