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Hello, and welcome to Chronic Life Hacks.

My name is Claire, I am from Australia and I have been living with ME/CFS since the early 90’s when I was a teenager.  I know what it is like to have life disrupted by pain, fatigue, and other symptoms and the need to adapt to limitations and approach life just a bit differently to my healthy peers.

There are so many other people living with challenging life circumstances that impact what they can do who want to find more contentment and calm in the circumstances they face each day.  I share ideas that have made my life with chronic illness more content and easier to cope with.

If like me your life is disrupted by something challenging I am sure you are interested in ways of making your life more enjoyable when you are facing major challenges but the following are things that make my life significantly more manageable when I don’t feel well.

These are some of the things I have to share so far.

1) Strategies that make everyday things such as the Tasks of Daily Living a bit easier.  You can also read back through my posts on Instagram for so much more. The posts are also here https://www.facebook.com/chroniclifehacks.

Get just one thing done.

2) Meditating and using yoga for physical and emotional well being, strength, and keeping my body moving when it feels stiff, sore, and achy and my mind feels sluggish.  I have been teaching gentle yoga for 3 and a half years (as of May 2022). In 2020 with Covid-19 lockdowns in Victoria, Australia I have braved making some quick videos to share with my students, family and friends, and on social media.

My yoga videos on YouTube

Tips to make your first Yoga class with a chronic illness a good experience.

My 4 Favourite Yoga books suitable for Chronic Illness

 

3) Making room for creative activities is really important and finding ways to easily do a small amount at a time regularly makes it possible more often.

I wrote an ebook that I have also been printing out for friends and family.  It lays out all the tips and tricks I use to approach things I want to.  How I plan ahead and have things prepared to simply start on more than just my best days.   Get Creative Book  Unlock Time and Energy so you can fit Creative Activities into Your Life (whatever your life looks like….)  Buy and download straight away http://chroniclifehacks.com/get-creative-book/

 

How to fit enjoyable activities into your day when you have a chronic illness

Reading aloud and other ways to connect with books.

Join my free book club group on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/groups/constellationbookclub/

I’ve compiled a FREE 30 page eBook with simple gentle ideas of how to approach the Christmas season in a warmhearted way.  It also has a preview of my Get Creative book at the end (after the 30 page book).  A Warmhearted Christmas eBook

4) Using technology for entertainment, distraction from symptoms, and to access resources.

The Entertainment and Technology Life Hacks  menu tab  has links to at least 10 articles I have written on topics including eBooks and audiobooks, podcasts, social media, and smartphone use ideas.

Keep in touch

Sign up to my Chronic Life Hacks Little Letters email newsletter where you can read some of my personal thoughts and experiences of living with a chronic illness and get updated when new content is available.

Follow me on Instagram @awarmheartedlife for my colourful cheerful photos, glimpses of my life and small gentle productivity messages, helpful tips and strategies like #SomeNotNone, #TinyTasks, #SendASpoonful, #GentleProductivity and #ForFutureMe.

Find me on Facebook too https://www.facebook.com/chroniclifehacks where my Instagram photos are also posted.

About

Hello from one of my many horizontal happy places!! Perhaps you are reading this from one of yours!  My name is Claire and I live in country Victoria in Australia.  I have had ME/CFS since I was 13, in the 90’s.   More than 20 years on I have more than a few life hacks to share whether you have ME/CFS, or one of the myriad of other chronic illnesses, or some other challenging life circumstances.  I hope that here at Chronic Life Hacks you will discover many ideas that will help make your life with whatever chronic illness you have more enjoyable.

Along with all the horizontal hours I spend resting, recovering, and coping with chronic illness symptoms I use my #SomeNotNone strategy to do bits of things I enjoy that help flesh out my identity and remind me who I am. .
I do them #ForFutureMe, so I can look back and see more dimensions in my life than just the tough stuff, so I can progress through projects which I often brake down into #TinyTasks. .
.
Applying #SomeNotNone I am a ?Backyard Beekeeper. ?‍?Gentle yoga teacher ?‍?Creative group organiser ?Dog mum .?Birdwatcher ?Indoorplant tender ?Sky gazer- clouds/sunsets/stars ?Sewer of cozy things- think dog beds, cushion and doona/duvet covers ?Writer tapping words on my phone screen ?Thrift shop hunter ?Library lover ?Audiobook and podcast listener .


Think about how #SomeNotNone could bring more joy to your everyday life ?‍????

You can also apply Some Not None to anything else in your day and your life. Chores, tasks, goals. Coaxing yourself to do some without having to do all #SomeNotAll also helps.

A lot of my mental energy has been going to yoga reading and class prep and teaching the last few years but I have plenty of gentle productivity words in my computer to share with you this year. I hope you stick around to read them ?

Do we share any of the same hobbies? Or any different ones you’d like to share?

I have some pinned stories on my profile and links to some things you might enjoy like a virtual book club.

Lots of love and energy to you all, I hope your body and mind are kind to you today ?Claire xoxo