Life is not always easy, but there are ways to make life a little bit easier. These tips can help you to feel less stressed, to feel healthier and maybe to feel a little bit happier. I think that is something we can all need right now. These tips helped me to feel less stressed daily. One did more than the other tip, but all together they made me feel happier and more relaxed. I am certainly enjoying life a bit more than before.
Before you start reading the rest of these articles, I just want to say quickly that you don’t have to do everything on this list. Just try a few things and see how that feels. If it feels good to you, implement it in your life. If it does not feel good to you, try something else.
Ways to make life a little bit easier
Live healthier
Sure, a pizza now and then is great but it is better to eat healthier and to live healthier. You will feel better when you get enough vitamins and minerals every day. And when you need a little bit extra, then you can get a supplement. Try to get enough sleep every single night, so you will feel better and more energetic every single day and don’t forget to listen to your body. It knows best and it knows what it needs right now.
Move your body
One thing I’ve learned is that moving your body is so important to feel a little bit better. It helped me to defeat my panic attacks and my social anxiety. It saved me. Before I was feeling terrible and after when I started to move my body every single day, I started to feel better. And I am not talking about going to the gym every single day. The only thing I did was take my bike to work (1 hour total) and just walk. That was it, but it made a huge difference. Even nog when I don’t have a lot of energy, I go outside for a short walk and I feel so much better and I feel so much more motivated.
Listen to your intuition
Your intuition (your gut feeling) is always right and that voice in your head is not always right. If you have ignored your intuition for a long time, then you probably find it hard to know whether your mind or your intuition is trying to tell you something. But with a little practice, it gets easier and that will make your life easier. Especially when you have to make a difficult decision. The voice in your head would go for the easiest thing, but that one is not always the right one for you. Your intuition tells you what is best for you.
Watch and read the news less
Most of the items on the news(sites) are not going to make you very happy. Most of them can make you upset. I suggest stopping reading and watching the news so much. I am not saying you should ignore the rest of the world but there is a difference between checking the news every hour and maybe once or twice a day. And if something really important is going on, you will probably hear it from other people. I think a lot of people started to watch or read the news more often since the beginning of the pandemic and some of them never stopped and became addicted. I am telling you it is time to break free from your addiction. Every time you have the urge to look on those news sites, do something else. Or maybe you can block those sites on your phone. You will feel so much better now you don’t those negative stories anymore. And on the plus side, you will have more time too.
Unfollow
A year ago, I was following a lot of people on Instagram and other social media platforms. But this year I decided to unfollow everyone and only follow people/accounts I like. Before I was overwhelmed because I was following so many people and I was also following people who were pretty but they made me feel insecure. I decided to follow accounts that would inspire me or would make me happy. Since the moment I unfollowed everyone, I feel a lot better. Social media does not make me feel terrible about myself anymore. That is why I always say that social media is not the problem, it is you. It is about how you use those platforms. If it does not make you happy, you have to change something.
Turn off your notifications
I always turn off my notifications, because when I get a notification I feel the pressure to respond immediately. So now I don’t have that problem anymore. I decided when I respond to my messages. If you have news apps on your phones or maybe games, turn off those notifications too and enjoy the silence. Another way is to turn off your Wi-Fi.
Look for positivity online
As I said above, I started to follow accounts that inspire me and accounts that made me happier. That is one thing I can recommend to everything. We spend a lot of time online, so we have used it the right way. I can’t exactly tell you what the right way is, because everyone is different. But follow accounts that make you happy, read books that you like, listen to positive podcasts and read other blogs about positivity. So when you have a terrible day, you won’t feel even worse when you go online.
You don’t have to do everything
Society taught us one thing and that is you have to be productive every single moment. Well, that is the most toxic lesson we all have learned and we all are still doing. You don’t have to be productive all the time. Especially not when it is making you feel terrible. What if you would die one day and all you did was be productive every single moment and you did not even enjoy it. You don’t have to throw the best parties, you don’t have to go to every single event in your city and you don’t have to have 15 businesses so you will be rich one day. You should listen to what YOU want and not to what other people are telling you. You can say ‘no’ if you don’t want to do it or when you don’t have the time for it. And the best thing: you don’t even have to explain it.
Because it is okay to do nothing at all. If you want to have a day off for yourself, do it! Read all the books you want or just have the best day and go shopping.
Photo by Fakhri Labib on Unsplash
Take some me-time
I always say ‘if you can’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of yourself. Putting yourself first is not selfish, sometimes it is necessary. Take time every single week to take care of yourself. Maybe you want to take the time to read that book. Maybe you want to take a hot bath. Just take care of yourself. You are important too and you deserve a little bit of me-time.
Take the day off
Do you feel you need a break from everything? Take the day off and do nothing. Ask your boss for a mental health day and do something for yourself. Make sure you turn off your phone so nobody (especially work) can’t disturb you on a day off. In our society, we think we have to be ‘on’ 24/7 but that is not just healthy.
Slow living
Slow living is exactly what it sounds like, you do everything slowly. You take time for every single task. If you are working on a project, take the time for it. Take time to eat your lunch, take time to read a book. And within the slow-living lifestyle, you don’t multitask either. You focus on one task at a time. Slow living is a nice lifestyle because it helps you to slow down in a crazy fast world and makes you feel less stressed.
Stop judging people
This is something we all do. We compare ourselves to others and we judge people if they do something different. We judge people by how they look, how they dress and how they behave. But does it make you a better person? No! Try to judge less and focus more on yourself. You do not decide how other people have to live their lives. It is their decision. This is something you have to practice but sooner or later you stop judging people (most of the time). I mean, you also probably don’t like when everyone would judge you right?
Talk or write about your issues
If you are struggling with something, it doesn’t matter how big or small, talk about it. Find a friend or family member you trust and can talk to. Sometimes we immediately feel better when we just talk about it. If you don’t have anyone you can talk to, find a professional or buy a diary. A diary won’t give you advice, but it is very helpful if you want to get something off your chest. It is a great way to empty your head. And sometimes when you say a thing out loud or when you write it down, you suddenly see it in perspective and you are wondering what you were worrying about. Sometimes you make things bigger in your head.
Let it go
Did someone yell at you at work or the supermarket? Are you still thinking about something that happened yesterday? Try to let it go. You can not change it anymore. If it was you, you can learn from it. If someone yelled at you out of nothing, then it is them and not you. No, it is not fun when someone yells at you but you can not change someone else or the situation. Feel sorry for this person for feeling this way and letting it go. My number one rule: if you can change it, change it. If you can’t, let it go.
Gratitude list
Writing down what you are grateful for is perfect if you want to focus more on the positive side of life. No, life is not always perfect. But you can look for the positive things on a rainy day because rainy days are not just terrible. Rainy days can be cosy too. I think those days are perfect to stay inside (if possible) and reading a book. Or when you are stuck in traffic, look around to see something funny or beautiful. Most of the time there is also a positive side.
End your day the right way
Sleep is so important. I’ve struggled with sleep issues for such a long time, but I think I found a routine that helps me to fall asleep faster and to sleep better and longer. Everyone is different and everyone needs its own routine, but I am going to share my best tips:
– No screens in the evening
– Take a magnesium pill (helps to relax)
– Drink a cup of hot tea in the evening
– Don’t eat too much before bedtime
– Do something relaxing before bed, like reading
Headline Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash