🌿 How To Find a Little Calm

Stop treating your life like a state of emergency.

Mar 10, 2025

🌿 Hello, lovely! I’m Nospheratt and this is Joy Every Week - a weekly quest to find joy in everyday things. You’re receiving this either because you subscribed or someone forwarded it to you. Enjoy! :) 🌿

I am always doing too many things.

Work, personal projects, homekeeping, travel. Writing, reading, learning. Exercise and self-care and community, friends and family and washing the car, cooking and laundry, publishing and coding, organizing and cleaning again. Planning the next trip and the next journal spread. And. And.

These days, I’m trying to pace myself - to stop thinking about my life as a state of emergency.

Because I have this mindset of “once these three (or four, or fifteen) projects are done, I’ll have time. I’ll be able to slow down, stop, rest.” — and while these three or four of fifteen projects are happening, I’m always rushing. Not taking enough breaks. Not stopping to think and organize myself better; that will happen when I’m done with these projects or tasks.

You know where this is going, I’m sure.

Calm lake with a wooden pier on the right, reflecting the clear blue sky and distant trees.

The thing is, this is it.

This is my life, right now.

There will always be more projects, more tasks, more things I want to do and experience.

That is a good thing — I live a very rich life.

And I need to change my perspective from “I will slow down when X is done” to smarter, more compassionate planning.

I want to step out of this perpetual state of emergency.

Not only because living like this generates too much unnecessary stress, but because it leaves me eternally feeling like I’m failing, like I am behind; when the truth is it’s not even possible to do all the things I want to do at the same time.

Illustration of a branch full of green leaves

So I’m trying.

To be more realistic with my planning and my expectations of what I can do on any given day or week.

To remember that it’s better to work on one thing and get it done, than to work on fifteen things at the same time and drag them on for weeks, months, years.

And maybe hardest of all: to keep in mind that the time I take to stop and take care of myself is not wasted time, but the foundation that sustains everything else.

I would bet good money you’re also trying to do way more than humanly or physically possible.

Here’s my invitation today: stop. Pause. Take a breath.

Close your eyes for a moment, right now, and take a breath.

I will wait. 💙

Now let’s find some calm and make some space so you can plan towards possibility instead of impossible expectations.

🌿 This Week’s Quest - The Joy Of Finding a Little Calm

Ideas & inspiration to find your joy.

1 - Guess what, we are making a list! 😁

What are the things that make you feel calm, tranquil like a lake or steady like a mountain?

Think about:

Colors
Places
Sounds and songs
Textures
Scents
Activities
Memories

You don’t have to find answers for all categories. Just focus on what resonates strongly for you and let the rest go.

2 - Let’s make art! 🌿

Create a collage, a poster or a journal spread with your list.

The objective is having something tangible that you can go back to, look at, use as a periodic reminder and a guide to find the calm you need, when you need it.

You can even turn this into an entire little book of calm, instead of just a page. 😉

Here’s mine:

Open journal with blue-themed illustrations: a beach scene showing an old style beach chair, a seagull and a lighthouse. To the rights there’s a girl on a swing under a tree on a lake shore. The right page is titled “A Little List for Calm”; under the title there are several song titles listed, as well as “Crashing waves”, “Calm lake waters” and “Mate + journaling”. Blue pencils over the left page.

It’s a work in progress still — I’m not rushing it. I chose blue because it reminds me of the ocean, lakes, water; peaceful spaces where I can just be.

3 - Think about expectations. 🌱

Where and how are you making unrealistic demands of yourself?

What are the ways you put pressure on yourself with impossible demands?

How can you be more realistic and compassionate on your planning and schedule?

Remember: this is it. This is the life we have to live — today. 🌿

📚Reads

➡️ Capacity Planning: Designing Your Ideal Week

Most of us are way over-booked and we leave little to no margin whatsoever in our calendars. As a result we spend most of our days feeling guilty or ashamed that we’re not getting done all of the things we intended to do, which further exacerbates our ability to get things done.
One of the key strategies for overcoming this challenge? Decide in advance how you want to spend your days, and create a system that holds you accountable to that.
All humans suffer from the cognitive bias of planning fallacy: we under-estimate how long things take, how much they’ll cost, and the risks involved. We also don’t account for obstacles, delays, or challenges that might arise.

🎥 Watch

🎙️Listen

My “Snow Day” list is also my calm list - I add here all the songs that calm me down, that make me feel slow and soft.

🌳 Quote

You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather. ― Pema Chödrön

That’s It For Today!

Calm is in short supply these days, I know.

But just thinking about it — about all these things that evoke calm to you — will help you feel more centered, steady, quiet. 💙

Until next time. —Nospheratt 💚🌿

PS - I’m working on a journaling workshop-type-thing — a space to show you how to journal like I do: with joy, color, ease and creativity. No expectations, no perfectionism; just fun. 😉