Day 4: Showing Up, Shifting Mindsets, and Pre-Shift Movement
If there’s one thing shift work teaches you, it’s that waiting for the "perfect time" to look after yourself is a trap.
If you wait until you're fully rested or have a free eight-hour block, it’ll simply never happen.
Today is Day 4, and it’s all about one core theme: showing up for myself. No bargaining, no making excuses based on my shift times. Just intentionally moving my body and choosing to put my well-being back at the top of the priority list.
Movement Before the Afternoon Shift
I’m working a 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM nursing shift today. Old me would have used an afternoon shift as an easy excuse to spend the entire morning sitting on the lounge, dreading the clock ticking down.
Instead, I got up and made a plan.
First up on the agenda is taking the dog for a nice walk to get some fresh morning air (and yes, I applied SPF 50+ first thing today, we learn from our mistakes!).
After that, I’m planning to hit the pool for a few laps before heading into work. Swimming is honestly absolute heaven when you’re managing joint niggles or knee injuries—it gives you that incredible full-body workout without any of the heavy impact. Getting that active recovery in before standing on my feet for nine hours straight in the wards is going to make a world of difference.
Kitchen Resets, Gratitude, and Mindset Shifts
It’s not just the exercise side of things getting a shake-up right now. I’m also taking the first steps toward overhauled nutrition. Some recent food allergies have come to light, which has definitely thrown a spanner in the works, but it’s actually pushing me to be way more intentional about what I’m putting into my body. No more mindless snacking on shift out of pure fatigue—it's time to nourish properly.
The biggest game-changer, though? What happened last night.
Before bed, I finally sat down and opened up a little diary to start journaling, manifesting, and writing out my daily gratitudes again.
I’m not lying when I say I woke up today feeling 1,000 times more positive than I did yesterday.
It’s wild how quickly your headspace changes when you stop dwelling on how far you have to go and start focusing on being grateful for where you are right now. The heavy brain fog lifted, the anxiety around starting over faded, and I woke up genuinely excited for the day ahead.
Let’s Chat!
As I keep building momentum with this blog and working toward launching new podcast episodes, I want to make sure I’m creating things you actually want to read and listen to!
If you’re following along on this journey, I’d love to know:
What are some things you’d love to see me post about more here?
Is there a specific topic, mindset struggle, or story you’d want me to cover on an upcoming podcast episode?
Drop me a DM on Instagram and share your thoughts
I read every single one!
Now with being said it is time for me to grab the goggles, walk the pup, and go tackle this 2-11 shift with good vibes only.
Let's keep showing up for ourselves today, tomorrow and forever!
