Greetings Old friends,
I've been AWOL for over a month now and I'd tell you it's going to be different in future, but we've all been here long enough now to know that just isn't the case. If you're new here, welcome! You'll get used to the sporadic posting and get to know that I'm probably the most unreliable blogger out there.
A few weeks ago, I had mid-year exams, and for anyone who is interested, they went okay. Which is about as good as you can expect at university, well at least it is for me. Despite starting the decade with my least favourite pastime, 2020 has begun on a very positive note! I don't want to jinx it or throw down the gauntlet (or whatever you say before you make a statement that will probably come back to bite you) but I'm not getting battered by this year like most of us, myself included, were last year.
Since I've found this new lease of life, I thought I would share my top 6 tips for having a great year!
1. Look for the positives where other people see negatives.
You know those people who are always complaining about something? The weather, the day of the week, the energy they don't have. In the past, I have been this person who is constantly droning on about the negatives and honestly, I'm not sure how I managed to speak without someone telling me to shut up every time I opened my mouth. Of course, I still complain about things - it's a part of being a normal, functioning adult. In fact, sometimes it's healthy to have a moan about something and I think that's what keeps a lot of us sane. But I fell into a pattern of only ever seeing the negatives and I stopped wanting to do anything because I'd already decided it would be rubbish. Unfortunately, you can't change everything around you, but you can change your outlook. As cheesy as that sounds and as many times as I've read something along the same lines, rolled my eyes and scrolled right passed it, it's true. I've made a conscious effort to find the positives and it's made me feel lighter and happier. I hope it has also made the people around me happier, or at least a little less miserable.
2. Cleanse your social media.
I don't mean delete your mum off Facebook, so she'll stop asking you about everything you ever get tagged in. But if you see something on social media that doesn't make you feel good, get rid of it. You're not obligated to like anyone's post on Facebook or follow someone you went to school with a million years ago on instagram. And here's the great bit - you don't owe anyone an explanation as to why you decided to unfollow that person or delete that picture or mute those alerts! It's true that we get wrapped up in social media and that is the nature of our society nowadays. But deleting all those apps and disconnecting isn't necessarily the best way to fix the damaging effects of social media and can feel isolating to some people. Instead, try cleansing it first and see if that improves your relationship with your phone. For me, it was a miracle cure and I will continue to implement this in the future.
3. Eat better!!
I am a sucker for cake and crisps and chocolate and really anything sweet and full of sugar. As a university student, nobody is telling you what you can and can't eat and I got into a poor habit of just snacking through the whole day whilst I was working at my desk. It was making me lethargic and miserable even though I didn't know it at the time. All I knew was that whilst I was furiously typing I might as well treat myself to a snack. Well, let me tell you, the biggest treat I've given myself recently is cutting out all things chocolate and stopping snacking. I am eating home-cooked meals every night with low-fat meat (I'm sorry vegetarians and vegans, I am trying to cut down I promise), low carbohydrates (you would be surprised how much sugar they contain) and plenty of vegetables. Another thing I have recently discovered is the power of a good smoothie or juice in the morning. Whilst my fatigue remains generally unchanged, I feel more energised when I wake up, more motivated throughout the day and my concentration levels have significantly improved. In fact, I have not been bed-bound for a single day since I have been back at university, which is a big achievement compared to where I was last year. Please do yourself this favour and think about what you're putting into your body! You don't need to be on any crazy diets or give up all your favourite foods to be healthier and happier. It will change your life.
4. Schedule rest days and breaks.
If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself working between 11 or 12 hours a day and through the weekends. Getting a degree is no joke, friends. They tell you it's all fun and games but that is a LIE. Last term I ended up burning out more than once. The worst time it happened, I was bed-bound for a week and my friends had to bring me food because I could barely move. Let me tell you a secret... it's because I didn't let myself rest. I worked ridiculously long hours for as long as I possible could and then I'd accept the crash and once I was over it I would start again. The cycle was relentless. Not anymore! Today, I schedule "rest days", where I assign myself a whole day to sit and do whatever I want to do. Often, I use those days to read a book or binge a TV show and catch up on my sleep. When I first started doing this, I thought I would hate it and I'd be itching to do some work in that time, or I'd feel guilty for not. In reality, it's had the opposite effect and instead I use that time to rest guilt-free and my other time to work productively, knowing I am more efficient just for having had a break. If you struggle to give yourself time to relax, put it in writing on your calendar!
5. Remember you can only do what you can do.
This is simple, although we tend to over-complicate it. By "we" I mean me. I over-complicate it and I'm hoping that because I do it there will be people reading this who also over-complicate it. The message is, if you are doing your best, at home, at school, at university, at work, wherever else you might be, then you are doing great. Some days you won't feel at your best but it's a flexible concept. If 70% of your maximum effort is all you can manage one day because you're not well or you have other things on your mind, then that becomes your best. And if you're doing your best, no one can ask anything more of you.
And finally...
6. Let go of anything that doesn't make you happy.
If it isn't serving a purpose in your life and making it a little bit brighter, it isn't worth the space. We spend so much time looking at other people, wishing we were like them, or we had their life, or their job that we forget that (in most cases) they made that life for themselves just as we make ours. It's a choice to hold onto things that don't make you happy and if you choose to do that, you're robbing yourself of that happiness you crave when you see it in other people. So just let it go. I know you think it's easier said than done, but once it's done, you'll look back at yourself and laugh about how much time and energy you wasted holding onto something that wasn't worth either.
I hope 2020 is treating you all extremely well.
Stay positive,
Charlotte x
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