As you get older, your life becomes busier, and you fall into patterns and habits without realizing it. As time goes on, it becomes even harder to break those daily routines. I’ve watched myself and the people close to me become so overwhelmed with life and almost reach breaking points. Nothing about feeling so exhausted that almost everything makes you cry is fun. I’ve learned and implemented simple ways that have helped me tremendously in my everyday life. These five simple tricks I’m sharing today have increased my mood, productivity, and mental and physical health.
SET A SCHEDULE
It may sound silly, but putting yourself on a schedule can increase productivity dramatically (especially for those of us who work at home). Creating a schedule with your goals in mind can help you feel satisfied when you lay your head down on your pillow at the end of the day. Personally, I’ve found that I get more accomplished when I stick to a routine. When I don’t, I lose my mind. It drives me crazy and I feel helpless. It also can be helpful in figuring out what’s really important in your life, and what you can let go of. None of this means that you can’t veer off of it from time to time. Life happens. Things pop up, you might get sick, etc. As long as you get yourself back on track when all is said and done, I promise you that you’ll feel like 60 million dollars.
BALANCE
Balance is one of those things that’s easier said than done, but I feel as though it plays a key role in living a happy and healthy life. We need balance in everything we do. One example I always refer to when talking about balance is someone who’s into extreme dieting and exercise. Eating healthy and exercising regularly are crucial in living an overall healthy life, but all too often I see people get off diets and go off the rails. They eat themselves into oblivion, quit the gym, and put on all the weight they just worked so hard to lose. When you deprive yourself of any indulgences, you’re bound to go crazy when you finally get them. I used to be obsessed with working out, to the point where it was extremely unhealthy. I let my body dysmorphia control my life. It wasn’t until I cut back to working out five times a week and allowed myself to have cookies everyday that I finally felt at peace inside. I let myself have four cookies everyday because I have a sweet tooth, but you’ll never see me go crazy when I get around sweets because I allow myself that indulgence. I don’t stress about not making it to the gym now. I’ve learned that I’ll be fine and my body won’t change in a day (unless I’m hormonal and I get water retention, but that’s besides the point). If you want to live a happier life, try balancing out everything you do.
SET ASIDE TIME FOR YOURSELF
It’s easy for people to boast about “all work and no play.” While working hard is an amazing quality to have, there is not a single person on Earth who can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and not have a mental breakdown. You’re bound to have one sooner or later. People don’t talk about that, and I think that’s because as a society we’ve created the idea that if you take even a nanosecond for some self induced TLC, you’re “lazy.” It’s absolutely ridiculous. You need time to yourself to recharge. I absolutely love to read, so at the end of every night, an hour before I go to bed, I read. I give myself time to do something I genuinely enjoy, and something that also relaxes me. For example, if you enjoy watching a particular TV show, set aside time to do that at some point throughout the day. By setting aside time for yourself each day, you won’t crave breaks from your daily life.
WAKE UP AND GET OUT EARLY
I never believed it until I actually started doing it myself, but there is something so refreshing about getting up early and getting out of the house right away. I don’t know if it’s because watching time pass throughout the day and thinking about all the things you’ve accomplished so far is a rewarding feeling, or if it’s because it prevents you from getting sucked in to lounging around and doing nothing. Regardless of what the reason is, waking up and getting out of the house early is life changing. I start my day off with a workout first thing in the morning, and not only does it wake me up and leaves me feeling refreshed, it gets me in a positive and determined mood for the day. I feel like I can take on the world when I get up early.
TRY TO FIND THE GOOD IN EVERY DAY
Mindset is everything in life. If you don’t have a positive mind, you will never have a positive life. Our mind is the most powerful weapon we possess. It is up to us to set the tone of our lives. We all have bad days. You may get stuck in traffic because there’s an accident on the highway and be late to work, you may misplace your favorite earrings and not be able to wear them on a night out. It could be 10 degrees outside and your car is on E and the thought of pumping gas in the frigid cold makes you want bash your head against the steering wheel (don’t do that). Annoying things happen, and big, important stressful things come up, too. Not every day has to be the best day, but trying to find at least one small positive, or one small thing to laugh about can change your life tremendously. I make an effort not to take anything for granted, even on my bad days, and it’s improved all of my relationships, including the one with myself.
LET GO
The idea of being unable to control something can be terrifying. As humans, we all want to believe that if we act a certain way, treat others a certain way, and do our best all the time that we can manipulate certain outcomes. The reality is, we can only control the things we can control, meaning that the things that we can’t control, we have to let go of. For example, I can’t control every situation I’m in, but I can control how I react to it, and how I handle it. I can’t control the fact that a drunk driver smashed into my car while I was driving to work, ultimately derailing my career and life goals. I can, however, control how I move forward from that situation. It’s not comforting for us to think about the fact that things can happen without rhyme or reason. We try to search for reasons why, or we tell ourselves it’s all part of a bigger plan.
I go to church every week. Every Sunday I pray to God, and ask Him for the ability to let go of the things in my life I can’t control, and the ability to trust in His plan, and ultimately have peace in my life. The truth is, I may never know why bad things have happened in my life — and that’s okay. I don’t need to know everything. At the end of the day, none of us can fight fate. What’s meant to happen will happen, and that’s that.
It took me a long time to get to a place in my life where I finally had the ability to truly let go. I thought I did before, but I was lying to myself, because I really hadn’t. It takes a lot of effort and strength to give up any sort of control, but I can promise you, that if you do, you will feel stronger, happier, and more at peace inside than you have ever felt. If you need control constantly, you will never in your life be content.
