I wrote last week about how I was taking a reset. It was needed in more ways than one. But see, that’s only part of the story. In fact, I would say it’s probably one of the easier parts.

Because the truth is, you can’t just leave a reset and do nothing with it afterwards. If it’s a machine, then you gotta turn it back on and use it properly. Similarly, if the reset is yourself, then you have to figure out how to advance and move forward.

I’ll admit that it’s not a quick process. If you jump back in at full speed and/or power, then you run the risk of burning yourself out again and dropping back to where you were before. If you take it incredibly slowly, then you might feel like you’re not making any worthwhile progress. You have to find some semblance of balance. Do enough to move forward without conquering everything at once. Let me explain what I mean.

I was getting so stressed out and overwhelmed that I was ignoring parts of my routine.My sleep was abysmal, and I was waking up late. So then, since I was waking up so late, I wouldn’t have time to wash my face or do some other parts of my morning routine. Most days, I wasn’t even putting earrings in, which I recognize is not a huge deal. But it’s enough to know that my earrings are in a very accessible location in my room, and I pass them on my way out. It would have taken a minute of time to put them in, but I just wouldn’t.

So when I reset myself last week, a big thing that I focused on was my stress. Once I managed my stress, then I could actually go to bed at a more reasonable hour. Going to bed helped me wake up with my alarm. Because I’m waking up on time, I can wash my face in the morning when I get up. I feel more put together when my face is clean and am more willing to accessorize, which means I’ve been able to wear earrings again.

I recognize that those all sound like small things, and in the grand scheme of things, they definitely are. But they’re also important to me. Because my appearance is less of a concern, I have more energy to get stuff done at work. My energy also extends to my home too, and I can keep things clean and organized. As I’ve mentioned before, keeping my room clean significantly lowers my stress. With my stress lower, I can sleep better. Thus the cycle continues. Slowly but surely, I am adding things back in.

As I change and improve, those changes seep into other aspects of my life as well. Hopefully you noticed that I changed my home page for this blog. I’ve got some other changes in the works that I’m planning and preparing for. Until recently, I haven’t had the time or energy to dedicate to my blog that I needed. It was difficult some weeks trying to come up with something to write about and what I wanted to share. And changes on here won’t be happening fast for a while. But they will be happening. I’m excited for where the future of this blog is heading for both me as the writer and you as the reader.

Does this mean everything is great and my life is absolutely perfect? No of course not. I’m still going to have struggles. I still have bills to pay. I still teach in an underfunded and under-supported district. But this whole thing has definitely taught me a new way to handle issues and reminded that it’s completely fine not to have everything together. I’m still working and growing. That’s always going to be the case. But hopefully I have a better grasp on how to handle the stress that comes my way.