It takes 3-4 weeks, on average, to make a new habit stick (and
fortunately, the Internet is full of ways to help, including this
awesome.
However you decide to proceed in making these new habits a permanent
part of your routine, you’ll be astounded at how much more meaningful
and happy your life will be as a result of doing so.
Here are five things you can do weekly for a more meaningful, happier life:
1) Rid yourself of worries.
Are you finding yourself ruminating on something that you can’t
really do anything about? Is something bugging you that you can’t
address immediately? Is life creating some worries for you (or are you
creating some worries in your life)?
Erma Bombeck was right when
she opined that
worrying is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it
doesn’t get you anywhere. Still, it’s hard not to worry. It’s even more
difficult when you’re deliberately
trying not to worry. You know what can help, though? Writing down your worries…and then getting rid of them.
When you write down your worries you take away their power. You
express them, and it’s almost like giving them their own life force:
they no longer have any power over you. You can set them free and walk
away. And if they’re really bugging you, perhaps do as
this source suggests and tear them up and throw them away.
2) Give yourself something to look forward to.
Try to plan at least two fun activities in the evenings during the
workweek so that you have something to look forward to throughout the
workday. It’s super-helpful and totally important to retain focus and
determination during work, but that can make us
feel too cerebral and
attached to serious matters if we don’t get some fun into our lives.
Whether it’s a special dinner with your significant other, playing fetch
with Fido or planning an evening playing pool with friends, take time
during the day to plan something fun that evening, and give yourself
something to look forward to. Here are
some ideas to start your planning.
3) Eat the same thing for breakfast or lunch, every day.
In a world where we are required to make hundreds of decisions every
day, the amount of time we spend agonizing over what we eat is
staggering.
So for one meal every day, make it the same (balanced, healthy) meal
every day. This can help in various ways: reducing decision fatigue,
ensuring that part of your day will always include a healthy, balanced
meal to keep you going, and knowing how many calories are going into
your body from those foods every day can be incredibly stress-reducing.
Check out the
testimony of this world-class runner who
eats the same thing for lunch every day, and check out your own diet to
see if streamlining those options makes sense for you.
4) Shut off your phone for one day each week.
“Unplugging” is becoming as essential to our time management as
“being plugged in” was during the dot-com boom. All kinds of information
abounds, like
this article and
this article and
this article and
this one too,
on the importance of unplugging. Unplugging is especially important in
terms of reconnecting with yourself and your life’s rhythms. Think that
managing for a whole day without your phone is impossible? Then you most
definitely need to give it a shot. I promise you, the world won’t end
while you’re away from your digital device.
5) You are what you consume, so input articles and books that lead to more positivity into your life.
Choose books and articles, posts and op-eds based on what you want to
improve. For example, if you want to better your time management, you
might want to check out David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” methodology
(you can find a primer on this
here).
Doing so will enrich your life in a variety of helpful ways. Nobody is
perfect, and pretty much anyone can identify areas they would like to
improve. Take some time to consider how you want to live your best life,
then find resources that will help you improve. Here’s a great
list of books to check out to encourage positivity in your life.
And that’s it! Are you going to try any of these ideas? We’d love to hear about how they work for you.
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