If you’re a busy person, you know that the hectic pace of your life can make it hard to be happy most of the time. You’re always in motion, always juggling tasks and responsibilities, and always working towards your next goal. And when you do have time to stop and breathe, all you can think about is what you have to do next. While it’s important to have goals and ambitions, when we let them take over our lives, we leave little room for anything else – including joy.
Stop multitasking
Multitasking is nothing more than task-switching and can have a negative impact on your productivity. To reclaim your joy and focus on one task at a time, you’ll need to start stopping yourself from running back and forth. An easy way to do that is by physically placing an object in front of you so that each time you’re tempted by another activity, you must physically move it out of your way before you get started on something else. Just remember: If it can wait an hour or two, let it wait! You’ll be happier in the long run.
One alternative approach? Eliminate distractions altogether. A number of apps allow you to block social media sites for a set period of time so that you don’t end up getting distracted by checking Facebook every five minutes. Others will silence your phone (or even turn off your ringer) during a designated time slot so that no calls or texts come through until after your workday has ended. Apps like RescueTime offer reminders if you find yourself veering off track into unnecessary activities like web surfing, allowing them to help cut down on procrastination and boost overall productivity throughout the day.
Just say no to meetings
For too many people, workaholism is a real and dangerous problem. If you love your job or if you’re working toward something important in your life (like achieving a goal at work), it can be hard to say no when someone asks you to attend another meeting. But while some meetings are necessary (especially those where key decisions will be made), chances are that much of what you’re spending time in these gatherings doesn’t contribute directly to your bottom line. Take control of your time and say no more often! Think critically about whether that meeting is truly vital before attending it. Unless it directly pertains to an urgent matter or major decision-making process, think twice before scheduling another meeting on top of all you already have on your plate.
Try time blocking
We're all busy and it's easy to become anxious or frustrated when we feel that there are not enough hours in our day. Sometimes it can feel like even taking one hour off is impossible. Instead of trying to cram every single thing you need to do into your schedule, block out time slots where you can't plan on doing anything else other than focusing on yourself. You might be surprised at how much more energy and mental clarity you have when you know that rest is built into your day! This doesn't mean giving up everything—just making sure you take care of yourself.
A great way to start with time blocking is by picking two times during your week (maybe Sunday night and Wednesday morning) where you give yourself a solid 90 minutes just for rest. And then another two times during your week (maybe Tuesday night and Thursday morning) where you commit to working on something fun but non-work related.
This will help both energize you and make sure that work doesn't creep into parts of your life where it doesn't belong. It will also make life easier since if things go wrong (and they always do), then at least you've already carved out space for peace, reflection, relaxation, or play so that nothing can steal those things from you!
Get back to basics
Take some time for yourself and live simply—without distractions or extra stressors. There’s nothing wrong with taking ten minutes every day to do something you enjoy. In fact, studies show that people who consciously practice gratitude have higher levels of happiness than those who don’t. Start by thinking about what makes you happy (reading? dancing? playing soccer?) and make it part of your everyday routine. Or better yet: seek out activities that will make you happy as well as benefit your health (hiking and tennis spring to mind). Remember that happiness is a choice! Make sure you choose wisely!
Eat well, sleep well
At one point or another we all feel overwhelmed. No matter how great our lives are (or aren’t), sometimes we just need help finding our happiness again. Practicing gratitude is an easy way to do that. Gratitude helps us focus on what we have—not what we don’t—and when we spend time looking at how lucky we are in life it’s hard not to smile and feel happy. So next time you feel stressed or overwhelmed about something going on in your life, try taking some time for yourself and thinking about everything you can be grateful for. The simple act of writing down three things you appreciate each day will quickly shift your focus from whatever it is that has got you down towards positive vibes and true happiness.
Learn from past mistakes
Reflecting on your past mistakes can help you identify ways to be happier. For example, did you recently have an argument with a coworker? If so, remind yourself that people are fallible—don’t take every interaction personally. Did your boyfriend forget about your birthday? Remind yourself that people make mistakes and as long as he means well (and/or he brought it up in his apology), cut him some slack. Sometimes being unhappy is simply due to something slipping through the cracks of our busy lives—happiness takes effort! So don’t beat yourself up for feeling down sometimes. Just reflect on what happened and learn from it for next time.
Practice gratitude.
Take time every day to pause and reflect on all that you have to be grateful for. This might include family members, friends, coworkers, clients or just about anything else that is meaningful in your life. It’s easy to feel resentful when we don’t have time for everything that’s on our to do list—but practicing gratitude can help balance out those feelings and allow us to appreciate what we have even more than before. Additionally, taking time out of each day for self-reflection can also be extremely helpful; mindfulness has been shown to increase levels of happiness (and productivity) by reducing stress and anxiety. As it turns out, feeling overwhelmed isn’t actually a good thing! If you’re not sure where to start with mindfulness practices, try meditating for 10 minutes each morning or using an app like Headspace.
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