If you have been looking for new or helpful ways to improve your quality of life quickly, you’ve probably come across endless advice about life hacks that will transform your routine. It’s easier said than done because, with things as hectic as they are, it’s difficult to stay on top of everything. If you feel like you’re constantly chasing your tail, exhausted, worried, and unsure, then it’s time to take a pause and move your focus inward.
Multiple Strategies to Improve the Quality of Your Life… Use Everyday Activities as Exercise
Staying active is great for your physical and mental health, which is great for your quality of life. It’s tough to make time for exercise, so take a look at your everyday activities and how you can transform your routine.
How do you get to work? Or stores? Is there a possibility for a walk, jog, or run instead of driving sometimes?
Or an option to walk to public transportation rather than driving. If that’s not possible, you can take the stairs instead of elevators or escalators. Engage your core by giving your abs a workout while you brush your teeth, stand on one foot while you brush the first minute, and switch feet for the second minute of brushing.
Limited Screen Time
It isn’t enough to cut back your screen time; you need to take the next step because it’s the one that will truly transform your quality of life. You have to do something better with all that time you’re saving.
Here are some ideas- set an hour a day where everyone puts their phone in a shoebox and you spend an hour hanging out, whether you play a video game with your kids, grab a drink with your spouse, or play a board game together.
Spending quality time with the people you love is so good for your health and happiness. For the office… try a white noise app to drown out the rest of the office if you need to focus and the tech surrounding you is too much.
Have at least one television-free evening each week, use it for chore maintenance, and then enjoy the rest of the evening in relaxation. That should give you more of your weekend, and with your weekend, you can start your meditation journey. It isn’t just for weekends, though. Once you’re in the swing of things, you’ll find yourself meditating more frequently and anywhere you feel the need.
Beware of Consumption
You don’t need to count calories or worry about every single thing you put in your mouth. That’s a diet. This is about adopting a healthy lifestyle, and paying attention to what you consume is key. Review your alcohol intake and be honest with yourself.
Take a look at how much caffeine you consume, consider whether you use tobacco products, marijuana, or other substances, and how that interferes with your life. Does it disrupt your sleep? Does it encourage you to snack? You can enjoy everything in this life in moderation, just pay attention to the way you feel after using certain substances.
You can reduce your salt intake by increasing your use of other herbs and spices in your cooking and dry roasting or steaming vegetables. Of course, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. If you’re constantly headache’y and sometimes feel a little confused, you need a tall glass of water.
By eating a few olives every day, you can enjoy the added benefit of reduced inflammation. A quick, easy way to get all the vitamin C you need is to eat a lemon a day. Of course, you can simply squeeze the fresh juice into your tea or water.
Get Back to Basics
You live in a world where you are faced with infinite choices at just about every turn. It isn’t enough to have one streaming service; there are dozens. There’s not just a few books on your reading list, there’s 300. It’s overwhelming, and overwhelming yourself is not going to do much for your quality of life. Start simplifying things for yourself.
A capsule wardrobe makes getting ready every morning a cinch. Cancelling your subscriptions will save you time and money. You know there’s one you use more than all the others.
Start ditching some of the stuff that’s bogging you down.
Detailed Wishes
Whether you’re setting a life goal or figuring out what the rest of the year looks like, use the WOOP model to detail your goals.
Wish
I want to lose weight (Too Vague). I want to lose 15 pounds (More Specific).
Obstacles
Identify some of the obstacles you may face in your journey to achieve your wish. Using the 15-pound weight loss example, you will face challenges around appetite and triggers, particularly in stressful situations. Think about internal obstacles you may face as well.
Take a moment to fully visualize both the wish and the outcome once it’s achieved. Imagine facing an obstacle you listed and how you could overcome it.
Plan How You Will Improve the Quality of Your Life
The WOOP model encourages you to pair the obstacle with the action and an if-when sentence. In the 15-pound weight loss example, if you’re concerned about overeating, the action can be running. For example, If I eat too much, then I will run.
Limit What Drains You
If there are certain activities you notice leaving you particularly exhausted or down, then you should do your best to limit them. You can’t avoid meal planning and grocery shopping, but you can close the social media apps and put your phone down. You can’t avoid a job you hate without finding a new one, but you can stop hanging out with people who leave you in a sour mood. There are ways to manage these things.
Expand What Energizes You
Likewise, it’s just as important to identify the activities that fire you up and leave you energized. Once you cut out all those annoying activities draining you of your energy above, you can replace them with these new activities that energize you. When do you feel at your best? What’s going on then? What day of the week do you look forward to and why?
Assert Your Boundaries and Learn to Say “No”
You can’t say yes to everyone, and you shouldn’t say yes to everything. One of the quickest ways to improve the quality of your life is to set boundaries and be assertive. Boundaries should be in place in every aspect of your life, whether it’s a boundary to keep your parents out of your relationship with your spouse or a boundary to keep your boss from calling you after hours.
Everyone should set healthy boundaries to ensure they have enough time to focus on self-care and rest. If you have self-care on the schedule and someone tosses an invite your way, it’s okay to say no thanks. Likewise, if you have a busy weekend, you don’t have to feel guilty about passing on plans Friday night.
Make Time for R&R (Rest and Relaxation)
All work and no play…
Rest and relaxation are as important as work. Your body needs downtime to repair, your brain needs to idle, and you need to let yourself get bored! It’s like hitting the hard reset button, but when you regularly make time for rest and relaxation, you relieve your stress frequently enough to keep it under control! Unchecked stress can put you in an early grave, but making time for rest and relaxation will leave you sharper, focused, energized, and at peak performance.
The key is working out your best rest. While some people benefit from socializing, others need social rest more than anything else. Whether you need physical rest, mental rest, or social rest, identify what area(s) of your life leave you drained and work to identify some R&R moments.
Read for Pleasure On a Very Regular Basis
Whether you prefer autobiographies, romance, or self-help, reading is a good hobby to have. Not only can it expand your horizon and deepen your empathy, but you can also learn a lot about people and the world by reading. Use your reading list to trigger personal growth, use it for stress-free relaxation, or for learning.
Whatever your preference, reading exposes you to new worlds, ideas, and perspectives, and that can be a powerful tool in helping you understand what you want from this life. What could be more quality than that?
Start and Maintain a Journal
Journaling is a meditative practice that can be a fun hobby. The point of it in this context is to use it as a guide. Spend a few minutes journaling at the end of each day, just free write until you’re done. No censoring! Write about whatever you want. You’ll start to see a pattern take shape, and not only will you feel lighter for getting everything off your chest, you’ll feel more excited for the future than ever before.
Practice Gratitude
According to UCLA Health, a Journal of Happiness Studies research study on gratitude proved that just 15 minutes a day for five days a week (over six weeks) can improve wellness, contributing to a lasting perspective shift. It couldn’t be easier; you can roll it into your journaling time or do it separately. At the end of each evening, take some time to either write down a list of the things you’re grateful for or recite them.
Be Kind
Kindness is the quickest way to improve your quality of life. Not only will you feel better for it, but everyone else will, too. Kindness is free.
Spend More Time Outside
Spending time outdoors is good for your mental and physical health, and it just leaves you feeling more positive on the whole. You might not be able to picnic in the park every day, but you can still steal into nature for 15 minutes every day.
Set Goals and Create a Plan to Achieve Them
What are your goals for life? Everyone needs something to chase, and it can progress you personally or professionally. It isn’t enough to list a bunch of goals, though. You need to follow through and hold yourself accountable. Write your action plan using the SMART model and go get them.
Face Your Fears Head On to Improve the Quality of Your Life
Is fear holding you back from chasing what you truly want? It’s never too late to chase a dream. It’s never too late to make a career change, go back to school, or do whatever. If you want to make a change, you can make a change. You won’t until you fess up and face your fears. What’s been holding you back? What is it you’re so afraid of? It’s smart to think everything through, but you can’t let fear prevent you from acting on a good thing.
Volunteer for Projects and Causes You Believe In
Volunteering is a great way to get out there, broaden your horizons, and do some good for people who really need it. Whether it’s serving at a soup kitchen, handing out supplies at a homeless shelter, or hitting the streets to help your local community, it will improve your professional skills and your people skills; it’s a quick way to personal growth, but most importantly, it feels good.
Nurture Personal Relationships
The relationships in your life matter, and if you don’t nurture them, you will lose them. So, schedule some quality time, regularly check in with your loved ones, and ask the people in your life what they need from you (and hopefully, they’ll ask you in return).
Develop a Healthy Sleep Routine
Sleep will keep you sane, so you need a solid sleep routine. That means having an evening routine to wind down and prepare you for sleep, and having a morning routine to energize you and prepare you for the day. Start by sticking to a set bedtime and always getting up at the same time.
Hire a Mentor to Guide Your Closer to Your Goals
If you really want to supercharge your life, you could hire a life coach to help you put a plan together by helping you identify your areas for improvement.
I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green. My goal is to help at least a thousand people to reach six-figures and beyond with an online business for time freedom and passive income and to simplify your life. Come along with me, if you will and let us discover how we may further connect to achieve all of your dreams and goals. This is also why I want you to think about how you will work to improve the quality of your life and move forward as you build and grow your business. Perhaps my “Monthly Mentoring Program” is right for you.
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