There are days when you wake up feeling like you're tired before you even open your eyes. Everything that used to make you happy turns into a long list of "must dos." Your energy is running out, you have zero inspiration, and even ordinary things seem too loud. I recently admitted to myself that proper nutrition, sleep, or exercise don't always save you from fatigue. Sometimes you just need a break - a real one, not a formal one.

When I feel like this, I turn on an emergency plan in my head. It's simple, but for some reason it always works. First, turn off your phone completely. Not for five minutes, but for a long time. The feeling that no one can write, comment, or demand something gives incredible relief. It's strange, but silence in this case always helps me hear my thoughts again.

Then I do one small thing with my hands. It can be absolutely any action - sort books by color, carefully replant a flower, carefully dry the dishes. The main thing is for the brain to stop spinning and switch to something simple and understandable. When your fingers are busy with something familiar, calm appears, and the tension begins to ease.

The next step is water. For me, it’s a hot shower with the window open (if possible). When the hot steam mixes with the cool air, it’s as if everything starts breathing again. Sometimes I even turn on a regular timer and just stand under the stream until the time runs out. It’s like a small promise to myself: now I don’t have to do anything except just stand.

The last item on the plan is tea and a blanket. Not coffee, not energy drinks, not TV series. Tea or warm milk. And a blanket that smells a little like home. At this point, I don’t think about decisions, goals, or a to-do list. I just slow down. Sometimes sitting like this for five minutes is enough to feel my strength gradually returning.

It turned out that the most important thing is not even to do something “useful”, but to give yourself permission to be easy. When fatigue is really strong, it doesn’t help to be “collected”. It helps to be honest with yourself. And in such moments, my emergency plan is a way to remind me that I’m still here and that I have the right to recover at my own pace.