As the pandemic has brought about many changes, it is no surprise that people are not quite feeling like themselves. Having to adapt to a new working lifestyle and revaluating routines, sometimes rerouting your mind and getting your mindset to a place you want to can be a process in itself. Statistics have shown a significant increase over the past year alone, so needing a mental reset is not an uncommon desire.
HEALTH
Self love and self awareness are buzzwords that are taking over the mindset realm and this has more often than not become synonymous with bubble baths and facemasks, but sometimes that is just not enough. Going back to basics and ensuring that your mindset is where you want it to be can be what you need to do for yourself to get back on track. This isn’t always the easiest or nicest thing to do, but if you feel the need for a change, then there are a few steps you can take to make sure you are where you want to be.
It’s all in the routine
As simple as it sounds, establishing a routine of any kind can be the initial first steps you need to take as a way to create a foundation to build upon. This can be in the form of a morning routine, a new working from home routine or even just a planned lunch break.
An easy starting point when it comes to establishing a routine and implementing some stability in your life is choosing a set time to wake up everyday. This is something that is starting small and something that you can have some control over. Although it can be easier said than done, you can use a range of apps that can be used with your smart wear and accessories to help you establish a wake up time and start your day off on the right track.
Preparing your lunches, even when you’re at home, can be a great way to establish a routine for yourself. Starting small can often be what you need at first and grow from there. Knowing what you are going to eat everyday can ensure stability for yourself in a way that eliminates uncertainty in the middle of your day and allows you to feel prepared.
Social Media Breaks
This is not a new piece of advice, but taking breaks from social media is a sure fire way to get your mindset back to space where you want it to be. When procrastinating, turning to social media is a common way of escapism for many people. Taking a break from that is a great way to ground yourself and try to kick start your inner productive self. Not only do these breaks clear your mind, but also give your eyes a much needed rest from the screen and blue light. Consider using glasses that offer good protection against screen blue light.
You can implement calculated breaks and plan things that you enjoy doing outside of social media. This can allow you to reconnect with the things that you love doing and give yourself some rewards throughout the day. Seeing the results of something that you have been putting effort into everyday can be an encouraging thing and exactly what you need to help you get your mindset in a place of reset and off social media for a while.
Movement, Movement, Movement
When getting out of a rut, movement can be the ultimate starting move to get your mental clarity back. Being realistic with your movement expectations can be a way of combining a routine and giving yourself time away from social media, whilst doing something good for yourself. By going from doing no movement to expecting yourself to be running a 5 kilometer run is only going to set yourself up for failure and demotivation.
By evaluating your current lifestyle and your movement as it stands is what you need to do in order to know where to start. Start with something that you can easily implement into your day, like walking. Create slots in your day where you factor in a short route, or give yourself chores to do to get the body moving and add some extra steps into your day.
By simply turning on your step count on your phone, you can get a weekly overview of what your movement looks like. You can set step targets and once you feel more secure in your routine you can branch out into more challenging workouts and find one that you love doing.
Images by Alessandra Huynh for MMSCENE.
