Balance Your Time: Things to Do After a Breakup
Picture a situation: It's a Sunday morning, you wake up, brush your teeth, open the window to let fresh air in. It's kinda chilly. You put your coziest knit on and make yourself comfortable with a cup of cocoa, when all of a sudden you come across a well-known fragrance. It's his. That is the way he smelt. It was the best smell in the world. Especially when it was cold outside like it is today and all you wanted was to stay cozy in his arms and when the sweater you were wearing was the navy blue one you bought him for your anniversary.
The familiar feeling coming from your gut starts spreading through your spine and into your arms. Suddenly, the magic of a lazy morning starts to fade. You start to think about the perfect comfort food for today. Because that's one of the things to do after a breakup.
It's a beginning of a new cycle. And we all know that the cycle is a vicious one.
Things to do after a breakup
1. Create and stick to your to-do lists
Planning a schedule can give us a sense of determination, which can eventually lead us to becoming more determined. And extra productivity never hurt no one.
2. Adopt a pet
Comforting yourself while saving an innocent life? Is there a snugglier way to get out of this mess? We don't think so.
3. Take up an online course
Smart is the new ravishing. Working on self improvement is an important stage in the life of every woman. We need it. We want it. It always helps. Learn.
4. Plan a trip or a weekend getaway
Travelling is always a good idea. Just like Paris. It will get your mind off the things you don't want to think about while at the same time keeping you constantly busy and excited.
5. Become a volunteer
Noble and helpful. And helpful for many people and for many reasons. Do we need more reasons? If the answer is yes, keep reading.
Things to do after a breakup don't have to include meals high in carbs or countless hours of crying on your pillow. We can go through this together
When we get out of a relationship, we are faced with the fact that our daily routine has to inevitably change. But things to do after a breakup don't have to always seem like a desperate try of drowning ourselves in tears. We can do better than that. Always.
1. Create and stick to your to-do lists
We tried to stick to our unorganized hippie approach which included "I don't need a to-do list telling me how to spend my time…"
Than we would move on to how we are a true free spirit enjoying every moment of life on this earth and not wasting anything away. And that's all okay, really.
But when the time like this comes, when we are heart-broken and need to pick ourselves up and learn to get on with our lives, to-do lists could be real life-savers.
You would never include something like this on your list:
- 6 PM - 8 PM - Watching "Pretty Woman" and crying over a bowl of French fries.
Right? And if you carefully organize your time you know that you won't have enough spare time to do something like that, either.
The good thing about to-do lists is that they can challenge us. You almost certainly won't make a to-do list and then sit around all day doing nothing about it.
Instead, you would get up, get dressed, put on some makeup and start getting things done. You would take control over your life and not let anything ruin your productive day.
2. Adopt a pet
If you are a fan of animals, you don't need an explanation for this. And if you are not, we want to point out that adopting a pet applies to you, too. Pets are great sidekicks. They are always happy to see you. They can cheer you up. You can play with them. If they are a dog, squirrel, or even a cat, you can have long walks with them.
They can, without even trying, change your perspective of life.
Plus, they are a responsibility. Meaning that they are necessarily going to take up some of your time. And if you would otherwise spend that time pounding over a failed relationship, we feel the need to say that getting yourself a pet is almost a necessity.
If you're not big on furry little creatures, and you think that turtles are yucky, and you are really really afraid of birds, you can always get yourself a fishtank and find out the joys of living with those little careless creatures.
But why insistence on adopting? Because, by adopting, you are not only helping yourself, but you are also helping save an innocent life who desperately needs your care, loving, and protection.
Most of the adopted pets come from cold and cruel streets where they are treated who knows how harsh, even though that's not their fault nor is that something they could affect.
In a way, you actually can relate to how that poor little puppy or a kitty (or whatever) is feeling: Lonely, afraid, and in need of a comforting hug. And if you offer that to them, you will be awarded with endless love and affection. Adopting a pet is probably one of the most noble things to do after a breakup.
3. Take up an online course
Rebound periods are times of improvement and not self-pity. And one of the best things to say after a breakup is: "Let's make it worth it!"
In the online era, where there's an abundance of information available at our hand's reach (as long as we have stable Internet connection), there's really no reason not to do something about it.
Websites like Coursera and Future Learn are fairly easy to use. Plus they are free. In several minutes it takes you to register you can opt for hundreds of unique and interesting courses that can allow you to explore any topic you like.
If you want to try out becoming a coder or a programmer, and you didn't know where to start, here you will be able to browse courses that cover the basics after which you would be able to decide if you want to learn more or rather opt for something else. Being a professional and a girl in the IT industry these days is really something. Especially if you get an internship in companies cool like Pinterest, for example, is.
4. Plan a trip or a weekend getaway
If your finances or a busy schedule don't allow you anything bigger at the moment, don't let that get you down. A well planned weekend getaway with a special group of friends can be as refreshing as any other trip. The important thing is to give yourself time to explore new environment and keep yourself physically active.
You could go to a concert in a town near you and enjoy Saturday visiting malls and just shopping. Or you could go for something more on the adventurous side and go hiking or camping. If you already have equipment or have a good friend who is willing to borrow you hers, this can be a great low-cost solution.
When it comes to things to do after a breakup, even professionals would suggest to engage in something that will keep you out of the house and physically active. And there is no better way for that to happen other than travelling. So pack your bags and alert your friends!
5. Become a volunteer
Volunteering is a great way for all that pant up energy to be put to good use. And it seems that there is no downside to it. You using your extra energy and extra free time in order to help others: A win-win situation. Plus, once again you have the benefit of being an active user of Internet. If you don't feel like helping kids with their homework, or if serving food to homeless people feels to overwhelming for your fragile nature, you can actually volunteer online.
For example, the famous TED talks have an ongoing project called OTP (Open Translation Project) where you can sign up a work on uploaded talks to help spread the idea and bring TED lectures to people whose first language isn't English. You can be translator if you are fluent in another language, and you can be transcriber and help prepare material for the translators. It's a truly amazing opportunity which you can also use in your resume as you will be credited as a contributor for everything you do.
Seeing that there are so many opportunities waiting for you to grab them, there is really no reason for you to stare blankly at the wall or look at the old photos of the two of you. It is hard, no one said it wouldn't be, but we must be the ones who will push through this period and come out of it like champions.
The most important things to do after a breakup are the ones that will help you grow as a person, an emotional being ready to live in the world of sudden decisions and disappointments. What is important to keep in mind is there is always a way for you to find the balance. And the first step to reaching balance is learning how to balance your time in the situations when it seems as if the time stopped existing. Such situations are the ones in which we realize that our spiritus movens are primarily ourselves.
