Restful Actions

Mondays are particularly enjoyable once I get past my initial panic about the work ahead. Note here: there is usually more work in.my.head than anything in reality. But on Mondays, I pick a few key items, gather my energies and start.I'm up early with H's alarm, light a candle and write morning pages. Since we've just come off the two rest days of the weekend, both the dog and I are usually itching to get in a run.The weekend provides mental space and rest (i.e. time to sleep and read sans panic about what I "should" be doing) so I find my focus and determination to "get things done" are both high on Mondays.All of this combines to create quite the productive weekday. Today, I hosted a small event for students, paid bills, ran 3miles with Carter Cash, caught up on a back-log of data entry, answered emails, planned a few things, read a book, edited the wedding guest list addresses, put a bunch of clothing away and I still have energy.But, this all or nothing wave can be disastrous for my Tuesdays and even worse for my Wednesdays. It used to be that the start of my week would be so constructive, I would be in tears before Friday. As the week goes on my willpower wanes and my exhaustion mounts. I've learned that I need to temper my "productive" spurts with something that recharges.And for the past few weeks, I've found myself taking a bath on Monday nights. It's become a perfect way to restore some of that weekend energy and keep myself afloat for the rest of the week to come.A slowing down to rev back up. A way to keep something in reserve.And then, I found this: On letter writing, sometimes in the bath, another  tactile, repetitive, focused action. Like knitting, cooking, reading, stoking fires, walking a dog, snapping a photo, soaking in a hot bath. Things that ground and stabilize me even in the worst moods.And I think, What would my days be like if they contained more of these restful actions?How about yours?