Sunny Day Therapy's Blog- Helping Children & Caregivers Shine, Do, and Thrive

As a busy bee and creative soul, I benefit from structure. This year, I have a new dry erase board that I call my vision board. In the center of the board, I have inspiring quotes and pictures. On the left side of my board are the days of the week with my schedule and on the right side of the board, I keep an open To Do list and grocery list. For me, this visual support keeps me prioritized on my day to day tasks (on the left) and the overall picture of how I am moving towards my goals (on the right). I make small notes on the days of the week with small steps I hope to make towards larger goals. Breaking tasks into small steps (called task analysis) is a skill I learned in OT school and from my very meticulous mother who assigned me To Do Lists at a very young age. I enjoy marking off completed tasks. Each time you mark off a task, you get a neurotransmitter rush (yay dopamine!) so why not maximize the number of times you can check off small items? Let’s celebrate the small steps and surround ourselves with reminders of our success (words and images). Celebrate your accomplishments with some extra self-care or fun leisure activities. Create a tree with ornaments or pictures immortalizing your success. You deserve it because YOU ARE incredible and amazing. Sometimes when I am in a moment being all to human, I look over at my visual reminders and remember it’s all part of the routine–valleys, apexes, etc. Enjoy the moment where you are and know that you are setting up tools, supports, and routines to promote your success. Before you know it, you will be at an apex when your systems feel like they are falling into place and your routines that once seemed so foreign take on autopilot mode. You got this, bee inspired today to set up positive routines!