What Sophie Said

Anyone who knows me well knows two things about me: 1. I make lists, lots of lists. I wrote about that here . 2. If I'm into a routine of doing something, or interested in something, I will give it my full attention and headspace. This year, I've been making an effort to eat better and move more, and for the first time ever feel like I've been making some real progress, but there are still changes I want to make. Recently, I realised one of the changes I had made was actually damaging my progression and the way I looked at myself. I was keeping a record of what I was eating, and what exercise I was doing. This was originally to let me keep track of what I was doing and let me notice improvements that could be made. Writing down what you're eating is also something I've heard recommended many times to hold yourself accountable, and notice any unhealthy patterns you might have fallen into. A few weeks ago, I realised these lists were becoming a problem. R...

Anyone who knows me will know how important this item is to me: Every year I have an A5 diary, with an entire page for each day, and it contains EVERYTHING. The amount of to-do lists I make inside these pages is obscene. You’ll see the spine is taped up; that’s because the cover fell off about four months into the year because of so much opening and closing and being thrown into every handbag. I love knowing what’s coming up, noting down friend’s birthdays. To-do lists. To-buy lists. To-visit lists. To-read and to-watch lists. I’d probably write lists of lists if I had the time and the space. When I was struggling the most with my anxiety, these lists had got what you might call ‘out-of-hand’. I would obsess over their contents, and panic when things weren’t ticked off. I’d feel so overwhelmed by the contents that it would be hard to focus on anything or do anything. So things wouldn’t get ticked off. And so began a vicious circle. Now...