Minimise your distractions

We live in a world with a 24-hour news cycle, and advertising and social media constantly vying for our attention. This added noise makes us more anxious, more angry and more fearful. Climate change is the most important issue the world faces. However, watching the news with a feverish obsession, or mindlessly scrolling through social media isn’t going to change anything. We need to have practical steps to break away from the noise so that we can get to work. Today is the day to let go of these fears and become fearless. We need to be aware, but not scared. We need to educate our children, but not shock them. We need to be firm but gentle in our approach. Here are my self-care tips to ensure you’re fearless, not overwhelmed:

1 Read long-form news instead of just the headlines

Instead of watching the news on TV every day and scaring yourself silly before breakfast, subscribe to reputable news outlets and only allow news subscriptions to be sent to your inbox once a day or week rather than every hour or every day. Dedicate time to read and process these articles rather than skimming your way through sensationalist ‘clickbait’ news headlines.

2 Limit your social media exposure

Don’t use your phone for the first 30 minutes and last 30 minutes of the day. To do this, you can set time limits on your apps, or simply put your phone away in another room. It is essential you don’t sleep with your phone next to you – the temptation is too close! If you use your phone as an alarm, consider investing in an old-fashioned alarm clock so you can put your phone out of arm’s reach. Your sleep will thank you for it.

3 Monotask, not multitask Numerous studies have shown that multitasking means

you spread yourself too thinly across tasks and end up doing nothing well. I am sure you’ve noticed that when you’re on your phone replying to a work email, cooking dinner and trying to listen to your child talking about their day, you end up doing none of those things properly and, in fact, it’ll take much longer than if you just did those things one by one. From today, try to concentrate on one task at a time.

4

Stop playing small

Have you noticed we often ‘play small’ by making ourselves conform to the people around us? We laugh along when someone makes fun of ‘greenies’, when we secretly think we can all be better environmentalists. We ignore someone making an insensitive remark, because we don’t want to kick up a fuss. I am guilty of all those things. But it’s time to stop playing small and conforming to values that don’t align with who you really are. It’s okay to stand up for what you believe in, it’s okay to be different and live a plastic-free life and it’s okay to disagree with people.