4 Days a Month to Shake Things Up

Each Monday we take our favorite day of the week as an opportunity to whip up a tasty dish of weekly motivation. Compliments to the chef…

Too often our lives are marked by routine. Whether working a day job, attending college, or starting your own company, it is far too easy to find ourselves going through the motions. Work, class, meetings, gym, bar, restaurant, bed, work, class, meetings.

Sometimes we need to break that routine — to spend a day doing something outside of the normal flow of all of those around us. Each month, mark your calendars with 1 of each of these 4 days to shake things up.

Unplug

We are connected. We are often too connected. Evidence is mounting that our collective dependence on technology, in particular, our phones, has serious implications that we are only beginning to uncover. Stories of people who have given up their phones for prolonged periods of time flood the internet with promises of some pretty great benefits. Unfortunately, that is not realistic for most of us. But we can all afford to do it 1 day a month. Pick a day and turn off your phone. Turn off the tv. Have your laptop to do work but sign out of all of your social media accounts and your email or use a tool to block certain websites for the day. Focus on carrying out some serious old school activities. Read a book. Walk outside. Try some free writing. Go to dinner with your friends, not with your phone. Be present.

Run the Power Play

The concept of a Power Pay Day was first brought to us by one of our readers and we instantly fell in love with it. You’ve probably heard the old adage from Mark Cuban or another business thought leader that you need to work like someone is working twice as hard as you at all times. The Power Play Day is born from this principle. The idea is simple. Pick a day when other people — your coworkers, peers, rivals — are going to be working at 50% of their potential output. Take a miserable, rainy Monday, or a beautiful Friday in the middle of summer, or the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and work your hardest that day. You don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary yet you gain an added edge from knowing you are gaining ground on everyone else.

Hit the Reset Button

When life gets crazy busy, we can lose track of the small practices that give routine and order to our lives — laundry, cooking, a reasonable bedtime. You know — the stuff Mom or Dad used to make sure were taken care of for us. A lot of times, these basic needs are the first to go when we feel like we don’t have enough time in the day. Soon we are smelling clothes off the floor to decide if they are good to wear once more, eating out every day, and closing our eyes at 2 AM. Once a month (or more frequently), take a day to hit the reset button and get back the order in your life. Do things like clean your apartment, catch up on laundry, brush your teeth really really well, start a new exercise streak, meal prep, catch up on journaling and get to bed early. Once you reset these basic needs you will have the freedom of mind to give 100% of yourself to your higher-level functions.

Spend Too Much on an Experience

I am an advocate for spending money wisely and starting to save from a young age. But I also think there are times and places to splurge — that concert that might be a little bit out of your price range, the playoff tickets you could probably do without, the full day at the spa that’s still a bit much even with the Groupon. One day a month, buy the ticket. There are research-backed reasonswhy spending money on experiences over things is beneficial for us. We create memories and stories with the people we love that become a part of who we are, expanding our own story. Once a month, spend when your budget says you shouldn’t. Your denture-wearing self will love you for it.