Lazy Selfies for Your Future You

I am not big on selfies because I've had a hard enough time getting good pictures of myself that were posed.   

But this was an important selfie for me to take.  I was on vacation, laying next to the pool. It was warm so even though I had only about 10 minutes earlier gotten out of the pool, my hair was quickly drying as I enjoyed my book.  It was a perfect day.  Nearby were very dear friends also lounging, sunning, reading, quietly resting, eating, drinking, preparing to jump in the pool...It was pure bliss.  Every once in a quiet while we would break into conversation, one person would read an excerpt of their book or magazine article, or offer to get everyone food or drink.

It was one of my favorite days ever.

Moments before I took this photo I thought I would like to document myself in my supremely relaxed state.  And, while my eyes look squinched, I know it's because of the sun making its way through the umbrella above me, not due to any true tension. 

I love seeing this photo now because I remember precisely how I felt when I took it.  I remember how thick and warm the air was, how my wet hair  and swimsuit cooled me, how the cicadas sang loudly in perfect unison in the olive trees surrounding the villa, how the lounge chair was perfectly supportive yet soft, how my book lay on my lap, and in the distance I heard the tiny clinks of someone making food in the kitchen.  Every single need was met and I was surrounded by love.

So this photo is a touchstone for me.  If I find myself getting tense, losing ground, or needing an internal shift,  I can look at this photo because that moment is still inside me.  Right now.  It's still there.

All our moments are -- if we want to tap into them for extra juice in a very different moment -- well I call that a perfect Lazy Woman way to cause a shift.

Lazy Tip: Interval Living

in·ter·val (ntr-vl)

n.

1. A space between two objects, points, or units.

2. The amount of time between two specified instants, events, or states.

3. One of a series of predetermined distances covered at regular time increments with intermittent periods of rest in an athletic workout.

Sometimes we have to celebrate the "space between."  I am so far behind where I had wanted to be with my book at this point in the year.  It has been hard to not feel very pressured.  My picture of what the book should look like at this point does not match the reality. 

And so it is with life:  reality crashing into the pictures you have in your head of what reality should look like. When I don't even make my minimum commitment of at least 1/2 hour each night -- which is an abysmally low goal -- it is easy to beat myself up. Yet my workload and health (up to a month ago) since I started the book in February have made it the true snapshot of reality.

Then I beat myself up and demand that I "catch up" on the weekends.  When the weekend comes I know that I also need to recover from my intense work load, and I need to rest and play and take care of things.  I woke up this morning with a new idea:  interval writing.  I have been doing it all day and realize now it is a great Lazy Woman tool. 

Interval training in the fitness arena is when you exert yourself intermittently at high and low intensity spurts.  When I have done this over the years it was extremely effective in terms of bumping up my fitness level and in keeping my weight down.   

This week I started spinning for the first time since 1998. I loved spinning in my 30's, but I had to stop because back then it wore down my immune system.  I am trying it again to see how my body will react all these many years later.  Most spinning classes have a level of interval training, but the first class I went to was designed as an interval training: sprints with low resistance and then hard uphill climbs, etc.  I enjoyed it, and the space between the sprints.

I have enjoyed my day of interval writing also.  It looked like this so far -- and will continue in this fashion through Sunday night:

1. Yoga
2. Spinning
3. WRITE
4. Hot Bath/Spa Time at Home/Relaxation
5. WRITE
6. Pedicure/WRITE (relaxing pedi combined with research for writing)
7. Market
8. WRITE

Writing is my sprinting.  The in-between activities allow me to come back to the writing with a lot more clarity and energy for another sprint.

I am excited to look back at this weekend of Interval Writing and see that it didn't have to be an angst filled weekend to be productive, and that the spaces between can be used for true relaxation and enjoyment, devoid of self-flagellation. 

Good times.  Good lazy times.