I had planned to pop into your inbox last week with a newsletter about finding joy at work and a new free workbook but my body had a completely different plan so we went with that instead!
It’s always a bit of a guessing game as to whether I’m ill, exhausted or in burnout but I’ve spent the last couple of weeks feeling really run down and kind of like I have the flu. I’ve had very little energy to do anything and trying to get my brain to brain has been hard. I definitely didn’t give myself long enough to recover after coming back from Spain so by the end of this month, my body was super tired and I just needed to rest.
I spent last week bartering with myself about when I would be able to manage to finish the workbook until I realised that I just didn’t need to put so much pressure on myself, no one would even notice if I posted one less newsletter this month and actually, I would be doing myself a huge favour by just stopping and then coming back to everything when I felt ready. It’s hard though, isn’t it, when you just want to do ALL THE THINGS!
So, it’s been a much slower few weeks in June. I haven’t really been anywhere, I haven’t done very much. But that’s okay. I’m realising more as I go on that slowing down and doing less is what serves me best, even though it’s still frustrating at times not being able to do everything that I want to, as quickly as I want to. I’m starting to learn more about how my ADHD and autism intersect and it’s really interesting to notice so many contradictions and find ways of working with them. I’m hoping to write more about that in a post in July.
Lovely June things
I read Emily Beatrix’s memoir, ‘Can You Turn The Lights Off’. I absolutely loved it. I read it in two days because I couldn’t put it down and I’m so grateful that there are books like this which are raw and honest and talk about topics I can relate to. Emily writes
which is one of my favourites here on Substack.I rested a lot! And not all the different types of rest like creative or social rest, literally just lying down rest. I don’t have any photos of anything I’ve done this month because I’ve had to make my world so much smaller. Dog walks have been limited to the local park rather than heading to a forest, my working days have been limited to just a couple of hours for client work and I’ve mostly just watched a lot of TV!
I visited Birmingham again for the second part of a neurodiversity workshop I delivered at the start of June. This obviously isn’t massively exciting as I said the same thing last month but I’m sharing this to normalise that fact that I did the EXACT same journey as the first time. I took the same coach at the same time. I went to the same shop on the way to the same hotel and bought the same snacks. I ate the same dinner. I did the same evening routine of a bath and then comfort TV. I leaned into every single one of my autistic needs and loved it.
I watched a lot of things but particularly enjoyed The White Lotus (available on Sky and NOW TV). I don’t know if this is part of my AuDHD but I have a very strong need to match things to the season I’m in. I do this for nearly everything, so in the summer, I need to watch TV set on a beach or a resort, or somewhere hot. The screensaver on my phone needs to be from the right season. I have different shower gels depending on smell so more floral in the summer and more herbal in the winter. At the weekends, we always have a roast chicken dinner in the winter and a roast chicken salad in the summer.It brings me joy and a feeling of familiarity, I guess! Anyway, I really loved The White Lotus, I thought it was quite a slow build but I really enjoyed that about it, getting to know all of the characters over a week and the hotel setting pleased my need for a summer watch!
Looking ahead to July
Now that I’m recovering, I will be trying to do some more work this month! I’m still trying to find a work life balance that works for me. It seems to be impossible sometimes as an AuDHDer but I’m only focused on coaching clients at the moment, which hopefully leaves some room for fun days.
I have space for two new clients in July so if you are considering ADHD coaching, you can find out more here.
This month, I have tickets to see the absolute legend that is KYLIE MINOGUE at Hyde Park! I’ve loved Kylie since I was about 5, her album was the first one I ever owned (on cassette tape!) and I’ve been obsessed ever since. As I did with my trip to Spain in May, I’ve researched a lot and made as many accommodations for myself as I can to make it the best experience possible and I’ll look forward to sharing more about it all soon.
I also have a couple of beach days planned this month which I’m looking forward to. I find day trips much easier than short breaks or full on holidays (less packing for a start!) and I spend the majority of my time working from home so a little trip out for some sea air will be lovely. The seaside is one of Dottie’s favourite places too so we’re both in our element, smelling all the new smells!
Thank you as always for being here, I say it a lot but I’m always so grateful for this little corner to share and hear from other people who just ‘get it’.
Sending lots of love until next time,
Allie x
This was so comforting to read <3