I started making this list back in the winter, when for the first time in a long time I realized that you can get tired not from physical work, but from yourself. 🫂 From thoughts that buzz like mosquitoes at night, preventing you from falling asleep. From worries that don't give in to chocolate or TV series.

My first point was "don't scold yourself for being tired." 🫂 Does that sound weird? But that's exactly what I do most often - I blame myself for laziness, procrastination, the desire to crawl under the covers and not think about anything.

Then I added "take a hot bath." 🛁 I know, everyone recommends this. But if you add your favorite essential oil instead of foam and take a book that you've been putting off for a long time, the effect is magical.

Another item on the list is "talking to a friend, but not about problems." 💬 I noticed that sometimes we meet with loved ones to "unload" our troubles on them. This is also important. But even more important is to just chat about dresses, about what everyone cooked for dinner, about funny stories from the street.

"Walk without a phone" - 🚶‍♀️ this is an item that I do every other time. But when I do, I return home with a light head. I walk through familiar courtyards and for the first time in a long time I see what the neighbors' flowers look like, I hear someone playing the guitar in the distance. When was the last time you just walked without headphones and texting on a messenger?

I added "little handiwork" to my checklist. ✂️ Anything: bake cookies, wash a window, sort old postcards. Something simple and tangible. After such things, the day seems not wasted.

I also have a point "watch funny videos". 😂 Yes, yes. Not motivational, not lectures on psychology, but cats or stupid pranks. The brain rests, and I laugh.

I periodically add to this list. Recently I wrote "take breathing pauses" there. 🌬️ Just a minute - close your eyes and inhale slowly, count to five and exhale just as slowly. I never thought that this really helps.

This checklist is not a magic pill. But each point on it is my personal anchor. When I feel that I am again going into a mental storm, I open it and choose one thing. Sometimes this is enough.