self care, connection, movement

[flamingsword]

As some of you know, if you’ve been here a while, for stuff where I need variety to motivate me to stick with something, like doing self-care, I have one of those free dice rolling apps and a corresponding list of things to do to both take care of myself and stay engaged with it. So I want to try making a list of ten or twelve exercise things that I think would be fun sometimes but that might, I dunno, hurt my knees or something to do every day.

I have an alarm set on my phone telling me to roll dice Thursdays and Sundays. Yesterday was pot of coffee, son0fether, and Somatic Shaking. It was a good day. Also I have been knitting up a storm.

In case you need any inspiration to try this thing that works surprisingly well for my admittedly odd brain, here are my lists.

20-sided-dice list for self-care:
1. go outside - 2. Look at paintings online - 3. Read poetry - 4. Meditate - 5. Smellgoods - 6. Pet kitties or rub silk - 7. Hot bath - 8. Hugs and snuggles - 9. Read something comforting - 10. Listen to music - 11. Ask for help with something - 12. Make a pot of decaf - 13. Do something Fancy for no reason - 14. Stretch - 15. Eat a tasty food - 16. Finish something - 17. Blog - 18. Rub my feet - 19. List recent accomplishments - 20. Crafting projects!

D100 list for connecting with people:
1-10 rens_sanctuary my Boston’s spouse
11-20 son0fether my boyfriend
21-30 genderjumper my rock
31-40 “Elim Garak” - Bat’s boyfriend / my accountability buddy for self care
41-50 Auntie L, Mom’s family
51-60 ot_atma - bestie
61-70 rubyredrose - other bestie
71-80 WV fam - Sister and Cousin etc.
81-90 Jenn - bc everyone has a good friend named Jenn, right?
91-100 email nyyki - long-standing part of my Circle of Trust

D12 list of exercise and movement:
1. Floor Yoga - 7 minutes
2. Hip mobility - 5 minutes
3. Lift weights - 3 movements, 5 reps each side
4. Spider crawl and knee-elbow touches - 4 minutes
5. Walk outside - at least 10 minutes
6. Massage my neck, arms, and legs - at least 10 minutes
7. Practice falls and rolls - 5 to 10 falls
8. Ninja Balance maneuver until I can hit 30 seconds
9. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - 2 beginner drills
10. Qi Gong - 7 minutes
11. Somatic Shaking - 5 minutes
12. Dance - 5 minutes

I hope that helps somebody!

Comments

[house_wren]

Yes, you have helped somebody! ha! Thanks for posting as it has made me think how I could use lists in this way. I struggle with executive function (adhd) and exhaustion (RA) and so have trouble with being consistent with, well, with everything.

This reminds me of the old-fashioned job jar, which is another random way to choose a task.

What does it mean to say 'D100' or 'D12' on your lists? Is the D for dice?

Yay for helping!

[flamingsword]

The D is for dice, yes. Tabletop role playing gamers call them that so that they don’t get confused by how many dice of what kind. Roll for 4xD10+2 damage, that kind of thing.

Re: Yay for helping!

[house_wren]

Thanks so much for answering my question.

[nonniemous]

Thank you for posting these! This is interesting; I've seen people talk about doing this, but I haven't seen a list based on someone actually living their life and using this method. I have been thinking about this kind of thing for myself.

[flamingsword]

Welcome welcome! Do you have a Good Things list, yet?

I find that it's helpful to have a great big long list of the stuff that is good for my brain, to help me narrow down to what is still good for my brain or that I can do when I'm overstimulated/depressed/fatigued/etc.. Our brains are built to like some things at some times, but some kinds of stimulation may help block out others, so for instance I can block out noise and emotions and overstimulation if I can smell really good coffee. My world just narrows down to that one sense and everything sort of unlocks and my spine un-tenses. In the autism community it's called a glimmer.

What do you have that's like that? What is good sometimes, and what is good always? You don't have to tell me, especially on a public post, but it's helpful to have the list drawn up for when you need to DO SOMETHING bc your brain won't stop yelling that the world is wrong.

[nonniemous]

In the autism community it's called a glimmer.

Oooh, that's a neat term to use. I am not autistic, but I found out a couple of years ago that I had severe ADHD. Turns out I've spent a lot of my life trying to shut down the overactive parts of my brain and my body. I'm trying to reprogram myself to let myself have those good things. :)

Thank you, again, and I will definitely make up these lists.