Barby Gray Lifestyle

Barby Gray lifestyle is a column that will eventually contain travel tips and cool routes whether you drive a car or take the train. This is the first article and here I want to share some of my basic thoughts on how to achieve a nice everyday life. For me, that includes planning, exercise, work, clothes, and not least time with friends and family.

How to plan the week?

My most important tip: Use the calendar for everything! Feel free to write it down on paper if you like. I always set aside some time every Sunday to think about the week ahead. Which days should you train, when do you have to set the alarm on the various days in order to achieve what you have to do, how much work do you have, when could you meet friends and family, is there anything out of the ordinary happening? Is there something happening during the week that needs to be booked or requires extra planning? When you then wake up on Monday and have already decided on all these questions, you are better prepared for what will happen and that reduces stress. For me, stress often arises when I haven't had time to plan things and I therefore lag behind in the current programme. You feel better if you are in control of everything that is going to happen and you dress well!

How to dress to feel better?

Reflect on what makes you feel good. I like outfits where I have either a tight-fitting top and baggy pants, or a baggy top and tight-fitting pants. There is no conclusion on how you should dress yourself to feel good, but you can start by reflecting on which parts of your body you are most satisfied with and therefore want to highlight. If you have a long torso and short legs, it's nice to wear high trousers and the top down to make your legs look longer. If you have a short torso and long legs, it's nice to wear trousers with a lower waist and a sweater that goes over, to make the bust look longer. Dressing for your body is difficult, but when you get it right you will feel better.

Which activities should one engage in?

As you get older and have a full-time job, you may have less time for leisure activities. There's a lot going on during the week and it's hard to find the time, but if you have time one afternoon during the week, what are you going to do?

Personally, I have always loved horses, and prefer to go to the stables if I have an afternoon free to do something else. Being with animals is something that improves quality of life for most people. If you don't have the opportunity or desire to go to the stables, you may know someone who has a dog. Most likely, the owner of the dog will be happy if you offer to go for a walk with it every now and then and you get a nice friend for your stroll.

If you want to do something after work but don't know what, I've listed some suggestions for you here: play paddle with a friend, book group classes at the gym with some friends, join a running group (if you work in Barcode you can join the Barcode Runners Club), go for a walk, find a course you can take part in, (for example photography, drawing, learning to sew, cooking, language course). There are many activities you can do to get a break from work and everyday life.

How to keep in good contact with friends?

What are you going to do with your friends? It is not always appropriate to invite to a dinner party, and then it is good to have some simple alternatives. If you usually train in your everyday life, it is easy to put your training in the same place as friends and have time to chat during warm-up and stretching. If you live in the same neighborhood as friends, it's great to go for an evening walk together, so you don't have to set things up at home if you don't want visitors. At weekends, you can invite friends for tea and biscuits or coffee and cake, instead of dinner. You don't need to fix much, buy a ready-made cake if you want. It takes little time to fix, but it can mean a lot to friends that you arrange and invite. In everyday life, you can also find a local pub and have something to drink between work and dinner. It's good to set aside another 1.5 hours and you have a good reason to round off when you go home to cook dinner. Staying in touch with friends doesn't have to cost a lot of money or energy. You just have to take the initiative for the short meetings in between so that you can get some updates on how things are going.