Off days are the worst days to face for me. Normally, I’m on my A-game, make sure I stay ahead of myself, have everything planned out, and go through a mental a list of things I need to do in order to reach my daily goals. But some days, that juuuuust doesn’t happen sister. NOPE.
Here’s how my off day went yesterday:
I attempted to go on a morning run. And for a regular runner and an avid exercise nut, “attempt” and “work out” do not go in the same sentence! 😉 But ever since my training for my half marathon, I developed a dull pain in my left knee that starts to hurt excessively after I run about 3-4 miles. Hello, runner’s knee -__-  Yesterday though, it started to hurt right as I left my front porch. LAME right?? I couldn’t even make it to a mile and a half. I ended up turning around to walk the rest of the way home, which was pretty humiliating. I also forgot to use my inhaler beforehand, which resulted in my lungs hating me the whole time, plus it’s been over a week since my last run (which was a 4 miler) due to being bogged down with finishing projects since it’s the end of the semester.
So yeah, you could say that yesterday was definitely an off day for me. Off days don’t come often for me, but when they do, I make sure I don’t let myself get down about my lack of awesome performance. And I don’t want you to get down about an off day either! I was pretty discouraged with myself for totally failing at running yesterday, but that’s just something I need to put back into my daily routine again. And now that grad school is out for summer, I can!
I figured I’d share some of the ways I turn my off days into ON days, no matter how late in the day it is <3
>> IF YOU WOKE UP HAVING AN OFF DAY
Haha the first 5 minutes of waking up qualify as off days, always. More sleep please! In order to get yourself excited about your day do some of the following:
1. throw on a playlist made SPECIFICALLY for getting you pumped to carpe the diem!! Some of my favorite songs for this include:
– An Honest Mistake by the bravery (Superdiscount Mix) >> love the intro to this one!
– Safe and Sound by capital cities >> try not dancing to this one, especially after watching the music video
– Magic by B.o.B >> this song makes me think of Disneyland I love it
– Marry the Night by gaga >> love the lyrics
2. eat a yummy and fun breakfast! Make it colorful, silly, and healthy. Buy one of those egg-molds and have eggs shaped like an owl, or make something out of your food like this teddy bear toast. How can that not put a smile on your face.
3. throw on a bright and fun outfit. Mix up some patterns, try something you wouldn’t normally wear, part your hair differently, paint your nails a fun color, create a huge arm stack of bracelets, or wear some bright lipstick. Or maybe do all of these AT ONCE! 😀 I’ve done it!
>> IF YOU HAVE AN OFF DAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY
Sometimes our day is going great until the middle, and then it’s s l u m p…off-day for whatever reason. Here’s how to get a midday pick me up:
1. if you’re at work, or home, or bored and having an off day, take a quick break to watch this video. It’s SO FUNNY, I died.
2. Take a walk outside, even if it’s raining. Being outdoors is always fun, maybe even pick a flower along the way, or take some cool photos of things around you. Enjoy some nature! Or find a farmers market and grab yourself some fresh fruit and flowers.
3. Grab some sweets. Whether it be a vanilla bean from starbucks, an ice cream cone from the ice cream shop on the corner, or even something quick from 7-11. And, eat it slowly to savor how amazing of a creation sweets are. YUM! Instant pick me up.
>> IF YOUR OFF DAY HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE DAY
This one can be tricky, because if something bad or lame happens at the end of our day we tend to brush off the entire day as bad because it ended bad. Right? Well, NOPE! You had a great day, and this is just something trying to throw you off your game before you call it a night. Here’s how to kick it in the butt:
1. hit up the gym or go for a run or walk or do a HIIT yoga class via youtube. KILLER! It’s a great way to end the day (I personally love the gym/working out at night), and lets you release any stress of tension that the day brought on. It also gives you an excuse to take a hot bath when you get home, and that’s always a plus.
2. space out to some netflix or a good movie. This is part of my own routine if at the end of the day I’m restless, in a weird mood, or don’t feel that I accomplished anything during the day. I’ll get snuggled in bed, search “chick flicks” on google (LOL) and by the end of the movie I’m totally fine and ready for bed.
3. have a late night bake sesh! I love to bake, at any time of the day or night. The cake pictured below was made at midnight when I couldn’t sleep! And look how BOMB it came out!!
>> Other ways to cheer yourself up and say NOPE to off-days include:
1. Spontaneous photo sesh with your best friend! Laugh attack waiting to happen.
2. Sneak over to the thrift store to see if there are any amazing finds. I found these Anthro-hack glasses for 49 cents EACH!! YAY
3. If you live in a place where the sun never takes an off-day like I do, head over to the beach for some rays and some me time. Margarita please!
What are your ways of getting over an off day? <3
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