Life

Little things I tried to keep myself sane during these times.

Not all of them may work for you, but do give it a shot.

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

We've all been there—the stresses and pressures of a job, kids, life, keeping healthy, pursuing side hustles etc. The pandemic increased that stress.

Some of us may have left our professional jobs to pursue the hobby/side-hustle we have come to love; a few of us just quit our jobs to take a break from things and take care of the family. A couple of us gave up our pursuits to focus more on our jobs and careers. And there is a small portion of us still have a professional job and keep a personal hobby, to keep us sane after all the rigours of a workday and still try to manage what life throws at us.

I go through this every day, and I can tell you that it is exhausting managing both (and life) at some point. There are days when I want to give up on everything and hightail it to a beach or the mountains. That was when I realized that I was going through burnout.

But this happened to be my wake up call. I couldn't keep going on like this.

So here is what I did; I made a few changes to my lifestyle, which caused a significant difference. Minor changes here and there are slowly helping me to stay sane even when life throws me curveballs.

Here are a few of them and how they are helping me; there may be some that I have missed. Some of these might work for you, and some won't— you're free to pick whichever helps you out:

1. Set a schedule — Make a schedule for the day. Work on them one by one. While making that schedule, ensure you set aside some time every night to work on something you love, be it art, painting, music, or anything, even if it happens to be just 10 minutes. On the days you're exhausted from work, give yourself a break from the schedule of working and relax. Take a bath, go for a walk, read a book, cook a simple meal for yourself and sleep.
2. Sleep — Yep, that's as important as setting your goals for work and hobbies. Your body can't bear a large amount of stress at a shot. Give it a break and sleep well. Switch off your phone an hour before you go to bed. Use that time to pursue your hobby or chill out with good music or a book.
3. Make a List — You may have quite a few things to do, and making a note of those things will keep it accessible for you. Make a list of the tasks that need to be done for the day. You'll find it easier to finish things when you know what needs to be done by the end of the day. When there is a note of things that need to be done, you have control.
4. Take a break — Yep. Every once in a while, shut off everything, go off-grid and take a vacation. It can be over a weekend or even a longer one. A holiday where you do nothing but relax is a great way to rejuvenate yourself and get back to work and recharged and refreshed.
5. Limit time on social media — In this constant "perfect" world of social media, it's easy to waste time looking at others' posts and get lost in them. Social media is scary; from looking at the perfectly laid art posts to fitness goals and how perfect everyone's life is, it is easy to lose your mind over it. The algorithm also makes you feel like a loser at times if you don't often post. Ignore that and do your thing. Don't let an app dictate what you should do and not do.
6. Don't make perfection your end goal — That can ruin all the joy of creating and doing something fun. Perfection should not be a goal; remember that. Nobody's perfect. Everyone's learning, everyone's trying new things. When you remove the word "perfect" from your dictionary, it takes away a lot of stress, and you can go ahead and have fun with things.
7. Learn something new — every once in a while, try something new. Get out of that comfort zone and try something that scares you, whether at work or with your hobbies. Once you try something new, immerse yourself in something different, things can get interesting. Keeping things monotonous can get boring, can lead to you getting exhausted and get you out of the mood to work. The more you try new things, the more you are open to experimenting, the more active you get and the more ideas you generate and ultimately, the more fun you have with whatever you are doing.
8. Get some exercise — Go for a walk, run, cycle, play a sport, go to the gym, take up yoga, etc. Anything that keeps your heart rate up. Not only is it good for you physically, but mentally you'll also be in a better place. I swear, it makes you happier too.
9. Meditate — I have taken to meditating for at least 2 minutes per day. I stand/sit in a quiet place, close my eyes, take in the cool breeze if I am out on the balcony. Once done, I kid you not, I come back so relaxed and focussed, I am ready to take on anything.
10. Maintain a journal — I try to do it, but I fail on many days. But it helps if you can journal what you are going through, what is getting you stressed, what made you happy and what got you grateful on that day. Just putting words to paper and writing out these few points can make you feel lighter at the end of your day. You get to bed, content.

Making a small change to your day can make a big difference. Be it 5 minutes of meditation, not wasting time on social media, or getting some fresh air and exercising. Taking baby steps each day can help you achieve a slight sense of sanity during a busy day. We're all tired and stressed out with life at times, but learning how to deal with it in the right way will go a long way in helping us keep happy, healthy and balanced.