Restore time – part 1

First things first, what does Restore look like to you?

For example, depending on whether you're an introvert or an extravert a 45 minute pizza lunch with a gang can be a working definition of hell or a good way to Restore!

Does the Gif on the right make you shudder or smile?

There are no rules here. You need to figure out what sort of things are "good for your soul" as they say.

Exercise: grab a really nice quality notebook (seriously, don't try and do this on a scrappy bit of paper) and get comfortable…

Jot down those simple little things that make you smile and bring you a measure of sanity to your soul.

It shouldn't be too hard, so don't take more than, say, ten minutes. Don't filter yourself and don't write anything off as "unworkable". You can do that later if you have to.

Take a break and come back to this fresh.
Then go through the list. Make a first pass and put a thin line through those which are obviously out of this world. Make it a neat, thin line (trust me, it's important) so that you can see what you've not decided to do and can come back to them later.
Now, for all the ones that are left, don't ask "Can I make this happen?". Instead, ask the question "How would I make this happen?" I know it sounds silly but asking that way fires up different parts of your brain and makes it more likely you'll come up with ideas.
When you're done, go back for another pass and ask yourself "What support do I need for this one?"

You might find it a good idea to take a brief break here, too.

When you're done – and only now, not before – make a plan to put one to three into your working life. More than three risks spreading yourself too thin and if it's only one you risk it not working and getting disheartened. Pick some that you think are reasonably do-able. You can come back for the bigger ones later, after you've got these sorted out.

If you're in any doubt about how well or how quickly this simple exercise can work, just take a look at this image. It's the output from just a ten minute version of the exercise: each of the post-it notes you can see arranged on the floor is an idea – laid on the floor as a sort of graph.

The more the idea had to do with Act, the higher it was, the more to do with Inform the further towards the bottom left, and so on. Ideas that were an absolutely balanced mix of all three were in the middle.

Remember, all the ideas here are the result of just ten minutes work!