How to Improve Your Life

Sophia Jones, Photojournalist

There are many different ways one can improve their life emotionally, mentally, and physically. Practicing mindfulness and developing a consistent routine in the morning are simple ways to create a peaceful state of mind and create clarity in one’s thoughts. Staying consistent to one’s morning routine and meditation or other forms of mindfulness can ensure that a person is not feeling overwhelmed. 

 

It is also very important to spend time outside and away from the screen. Though it sounds cliché, it is true that social media can be a very toxic environment for people mentally and emotionally. Taking time away from the phone and going outside in the fresh air is a grounding experience. Getting outside away from the screen can engage creativity as well. Not using the screen also means more time for sleep, can help the eyes and is overall great for  mental health. 

 

Additionally, journaling is a way to significantly relieve stress. This helps you get to know yourself. Taking time to sit with yourself and reflect on things you struggle with and succeed in is important for human growth. Recognizing what you need to focus on or be better at will help you feel more at peace with yourself. Writing down how you are feeling everyday and analyzing your life and problems you have can make you understand it from a different perspective. It can also be useful to write your plans for the day and what you want to accomplish. These can be simple tasks, such as waking up earlier or drinking more water. This can make the goals feel more attainable and help one in creating realistic goals.

 

Living in the now is important to keep yourself steady and unaffected by the past. Yes, the past is important to learn from one’s mistakes, but one should not be dwelling unnecessarily on past mistakes . To help focus in the present, one can: live with a purpose, accept things that you can not control, let go of toxic people and things, and practice grounding exercises. This is all helpful to creating a nicer, greater now. 

 

Finally, time management and sleep are both critical to mental health. Time management can be improved by blocking out time for things that you need to do and following the calendar you create. It is important to also leave time for the body and mind to rest in your schedule to keep one mentally healthy. Savannah Cheng agrees that “focusing on time management and sleep has changed my life and mad me feel healthier in every way, every day.”

 

Sleep directly affects one’s ability to think, their energy levels, and their mood. It can be greatly improved by practicing time management and by creating a bedtime routine that you follow consistently to fall asleep at the same time everyday. Sleep is one of the most important factors to having good mental health because of how much it affects people mentally, emotionally, and physically. 

Doing any of these simple tasks can drastically improve one’s life.