1 – Focus on what you can control. There is no point in focusing on things you cannot control.
It will drain your energy, your willpower and put you in fear. Which restricts your ability to act.
The things you can control are: your actions, what you pay attention to, how you respond to events.
The positive or negative language you use, your effort, your sleep, your eating habits and all the other factors listed below.
2- Get great sleep.
How?
One of the best ways to improve your sleep is to go to bed and wake up at the same time, every day (including weekends).
Next:
- Sleep in a cool room 17-19 degrees
- Have almost no light 1-2hr before bed.
- No screen time 1-2hrs before bedtime
- Take a hot or cold shower before bed.
- Use a white noise machine if outside sounds are a problem
- Kill any light in your room (clock lights, TVs, computers, etc)
- A good dose of exercise during the day helps you sleep better
- Avoid coffee 4 hrs before bed
- Avoid alcohol as well. A booze-induced sleep won’t provide you with the same restorative effects of regular sleep.
- Short naps, 20-30mins can help you boost your energy
Great book on sleep: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
3 – Improve your eating habits.
We’ve all had this feeling: We were shooting for a productive afternoon, but the giant burrito we ate for lunch put us to sleep.
By eating a clean diet, you will have more focus and energy. Which allows you to accomplish more and will increase your sense of well-being.
A good rule is: Eat Real Foods, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants.
Real Foods Means: No Kraft Dinner & Oreos and other “manufactured” food.
You are left with: all the veggies, all the fruits, nuts, meat (chicken, fish, beef, etc) eggs.
A pizza or ice cream once in a while is fine, for your mental health.
Quantity matters as well. Eat until you’re 70-80% full
4 – Call your friends, family & loved ones.
Check-in on people you haven’t heard from in a while. Just a quick text message will do.
You can also do a video call with the people you’re closest to. Seeing their faces is good for morale!
Group activity: Play an online game of poker (or boardgame) with your friends.
Set up a video chat so you can see each other. Use free software like Google hangouts or zoom
5 – Limit your social media consumption (Yes, I realize the irony).
Constantly refreshing your feed and inadvertently seeing shocking and/or fear-inducing posts won’t make you feel better.
Check it for 5 mins once, and that’s it for the day.
6 – Limit your news consumption.
The media gets paid by the number of viewers they can get.
Unfortunately, negative topics get the most attention.
Again, you want to limit your exposure to negativity and things that are outside of your control.
Check it once a day, 5mins and that’s it.
7 – Begin a small project.
Write a book, article.
Begin an online class.
Learn to code.
Do you.
Daily/weekly progress on a project provides a sense of accomplishment and lifts your spirits.
8 – This too shall pass
Whatever the crisis, humanity is resilient.
We are good at adapting, pulling together and uniting.
9 – Workout at home.
Exercise is great stress relief.
It releases all the happy chemicals in your body.
It helps your overall health as well.
Simply search YouTube for “home workouts” and you’ll see tons of free videos showing you how to do the movements properly.
Consistency is key.
You want to ramp up your workouts to 4-5 times a week.
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Cheers
