Guide to Daily Defiance
Guide to Daily Defiance
By Anna Morrissey
Illustration Anna Morrissey
How to take down capitalism, one anxious step at a time.
2 am: I’m a solitary night owl, I like staying up late if I’m on my own – even later if there’s no one at home (mainly due to my over-zealous fear of an intruder/murderer situation). So, at 2 am, as my night fades into its 3rd hour of a Candy Crush/Gilmore Girls collab, I like to switch my alarm from 8:30 to 9:30 am. It’s a ritual I take much pride in. It shows past optimism - as my day came to a close, I hopefully believed that the next could begin slightly earlier. It shows subsequent stoic realism – that no, I will not be waking up at 8:30, let’s let the me of tomorrow sleep a little longer. And most importantly (and defiantly might I add) – it shows self-love, yes, you will watch that next episode my queen, you deserve it xoxo
8:45 am: The sweet smell of stress in the morning. I wake up out of a fever dream that my 8:30 alarm hasn’t rung – or in other words – I’m sweating out the residual effects of a capitalist mindset. Good work girlies xo
9:00 am: As someone who has always struggled with anxiety, mornings are often the hardest. My brain surveys my sleep-drunk body for any signs of sickness that might have developed overnight, immediately delving into catastrophised scenarios of what the day could hold. When I was younger – this often-meant days spent at home, watching daytime TV and eating toast as my friends did their exams and kissed boys at parties. I like to think of this as a small, unintentional defiance. My anxiety’s need to keep us safe, from who knows what, meant I never conceded to pressures to be someone I wasn’t, or felt the effects of FOMO – I needed to stay confident in my decision to be alone at home, and I did (maybe a little too much). Ok, 9:00am – I’d like to say I have a 38-step morning routine in which I rub my face with a camomile infused ice cube, but I don’t believe anyone actually subscribes to this level of “self-care” outside of Vogue’s YouTube channel. I brush my teeth, as I feel it’s the socially responsible thing to do, and take my vitamins with a glug of coffee. Health is wealth <3
9:30 am: A defiance I try to enact daily, is to take time to notice my body – to stretch it out and make space for how it’s feeling. Instead of squeezing our bodies into reductive models of success and work that society lays out for us, I feel as if adjusting my routine to my body’s needs acts as a small, corporeal assertion of my humanity. I try to start my day with a stretch, maybe even a YouTube Pilates class if I’m feeling really smug.
As I breathe in deeply to the sound of a Valley Girl referring to her dog as her BFF, I hate the woman I’m becoming, but secretly love the wafting scents of my new vagina candle and matcha oat milk latte. My body, and mind, feel a little more ready to take on the day.
10:15 am: Time to do some work. While we all detest capitalism, we can’t reject it completely as the world is literally obsessed. So, here are some tips to make the work day feel less punishing. You are not a cog in a machine, you are a human being! (the lower back tattoo we all deserve)
Tips for creating a nourishing work environment
*these tips are designed for a work-from-home scenario, but some can be translated to office life.
Comfortable seating: As tempting as it might be, do not work from your bed, your back will start to hate you. Invest in an office chair with some lumbar support, if you spend a lot of time working at the computer – don’t hold out for the Herman Miller chair of dreams we’re obvs all gagging for, invest in a cheaper option that does the job in the meantime.
Clean workspace: Tidy your desk you dirty pig!
Mood lighting: We all lurve a bit of mood lighting. Seduce yourself into finishing those spreadsheets! Nothing is less motivating than a white strip light, create some ambiance with a gorgeous desk lamp.
Regular breaks: Set a timer for 1 hour and put your phone away from you, personally I’m able to focus much better on my tasks in small burst. When the timer goes off you can have a 5-10-minute break, get a coffee or a tea, have a stretch and then come back and do it again.
To-do lists: I LOVE a list. Since I was 14 I’ve written down every book I’ve ever read in a notebook, to what purpose this serves no one knows. I also once found a list of ‘boy’s that are nice’ and ‘boys that are disgusting’ from when I was in year 3, I apologise to all those involved. To-do lists are great, they immediately create a pretence of productivity, even if you only manage to tick a few things off. Don’t be a perfectionist about your to-do list, the things you don’t do can roll over onto tomorrow’s list. Write down things that you can easily achieve, along with bigger goals for the day. Ticking off ‘drink coffee’ might set in motion some more ambitious tasks getting done.
1:00 pm: Lunch time, in my opinion, is the best part of the day. If my morning has gone well, I’m feeling happy, I deserve a decadent spread of leftovers from last night’s dinner. Yet if the morning has been slow and unproductive, there’s still hope for the afternoon. In this case I NEED a feast to carry me onwards into the next stage of my day. A win-win situation. At this point I’d recommend a podcast – the presence of other voices and conversation allows my brain to switch off from the tasks I’ve previously been engaged in, and relax as a silent participant in an interesting conversation. This also helps to keep me away from Instagram, my mind distracted from the temptation to scroll as I wait for the ping of the microwave.
Current favourite podcasts
The C Word
How to Fail
Seek Treatment
The Daily
There is a definite defiance in curbing our time spent online/ changing the way we engage with social media platforms. I haven’t yet mastered this, I must admit, but as I find myself mindlessly scrolling throughout the day, I am not ignorant to the fact that I’m being influenced by the numerous accounts, trends and targeted ads that are trying to shape who I am.
The small ways I try to defy social media algorithms:
Unfollow: Any accounts that make me feel bad about myself, be that models, ‘influencers,’ someone you met once who is now “isolating” in Dubai, etc. (muting also works and can be a good way to avoid upset on the part of the social media offender)
App Limits: Set time limits on social media apps. This is a gorgeous little tip!! (We all know this does not work and after a few days clicking ‘ignore’ becomes part of the scrolling routine. But worth a try for less critical cases?)
Phone free zones: I like to take technology free baths and read a good book until I’m shrivelled.
Keep your hands busy: Do something with your hands while watching TV/listening to podcasts. This reduces instinctive urges to reach for your phone, as your hands are engaged in another activity. Things that don’t take too much concentration work best, such as sewing, knitting or drawing. Knit yourself a scarf! It’s cold out here in the real world.
Conscious consuming: If you can’t resist it ( social media can be rewarding and fun a lot of the time) be conscious that what you’re consuming isn’t real. No one irl comes up to you, hearts your outfit and walks away (although feel free). Real life is all about connection as opposed to gratification – that why it’s important to try and reject pressures to appear perfect online, whether that be through sharing in a more honest and vulnerable way, or spending more time offline, or just being mindful that that person’s life probably isn’t as two dimensionally amazing as it seems.