There are many ways to bring calm into your life. Many of us may be experiencing more stress than usual in the current climate. The situation that we currently find ourselves in is inherently stressful as all aspects of life have changed. The way in which we live and work has drastically changed. Some may be working from home, working less, or in offices with completely different environments from the norm.
Our usual routines have been disrupted and we might not be able to de-stress in the ways that we were previously used to. Being stuck at home, and with so many restrictions placed on us, we may feel especially stressed and restless at the moment; so now more than ever, it is important for us to bring some calm into our life.
Luckily there are many ways to bring tranquillity into our turbulent lives. However, different things will work for different people and respective lifestyles. This guide will give you a variety of techniques and advice that are aimed at reducing stress and restlessness. You can then pick and choose the ones that you think might best apply to you and suit your particular needs.
A New Rhythm
As mentioned earlier, your life might be quite different from the way it used to be. You might be working reduced hours and days, your workload might be different, or maybe you’re working from home. Whatever it may be, you might feel as though your life is not as ordered as it used to be. The best thing to do if this is something that has been playing on your mind is to establish a new rhythm for yourself. The easiest way to do this is to create a time table. Write down what you need to get done and how much time they will roughly take. Then organise them into your day and establish a new routine. At first, you have to be lenient with yourself; you may have over or underestimated how long certain tasks may take you, but try to learn from each day and you will have your routine fine-tuned in no time. It is also important to factor in breaks and downtime so that you can maximise your productivity and don’t burn yourself out. Everyone works differently, just find out what works best for you and your occupation.
Meditation
Meditating can take just 10 minutes a day, but with practice and a dedication to consistency, the benefits far outweigh the little time it takes. There are many variants and schools of thought when it comes to meditation: a very popular approach is mindfulness. According to The Harvard Gazette, the practice mindfulness has proven to be effective in dealing with a wide variety of elements, both mental and physical.
There are many programs and apps out there that can get you started on your mindfulness journey, one of these is Headspace, but there are also many others — so find one that you feel comfortable with. When you are mentally at peace, it will be much easier for you to remain calm and focus on the things that are important.
Exercise
“Exercise is a fantastic stress reliever that can work in minutes.”
There are endless ways to exercise; you could go swimming, play team sports, or go to the gym. As long as you get your body moving it doesn’t really matter what you do, any form of exercise is a good way to relieve stress, distract you, and bring calm into the rest of your life. Even something as simple as going for a walk can have massive effects on your physical and mental well being.
Yoga might be the most effective way to exercise if your goal is to have a more tranquil lifestyle. It has all the physical benefits of other exercises with the added benefit of being part meditation. The slow breathing pattern that one engages in during yoga is akin to the breathing patterns one might use during other meditations — such as mindfulness, and the effects are similar too.
Many studies have shown that a little bit of yoga a day can have drastic impacts on stress levels. The more time a day you can spend on this the better, but even 5 minutes of yoga (or a 10-minute walk a day) will make the other 23 hours and 50 minutes that much easier.
Health
Finally, I would like to recommend that everyone pays as much attention to what they put in their body as they do to what they do with their body. Limiting the number of stimulants (i.e. Caffeine) and depressants (e.g. Alcohol or Tobacco) that we consume can have great impacts on how we live. Many studies have found that although these products initially seem to curb our stress levels, overall their effect is the opposite.
Your diet can have an effect on your stress levels as well. A poor diet that is nutritionally incomplete can lead to fatigue as well as a host of other problems, which in turn might have an effect on your ability to do your work effectively and also the standard that you expect from yourself. Low energy levels can mean that you fall behind. This could lead to stress levels spiking, so it is important for everyone to live a healthy life.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you will have found at least 1 or 2 things in this article that are in some way useful to you. It is important to remember that this is just a rough guide designed for you to find ways to make your life easier. If you find that any of the advice you found here is making your life more stressful, then don’t feel ashamed to try a different approach.
Everybody is unique, so find what works for you. On top of all this, you have to remember to be patient with yourself. You might not always see an immediate difference, and you might not feel as calm as you think you should be — but that’s okay. If you stay committed over time you will reap the benefits.
Written by Matt Wilkinson
Matt is an English Literature graduate from the University of Sussex with a passion for physical and mental health. Having had his own struggles with mental well being, he is keen to use his own experiences with meditation and mindfulness to help others find their way to a more fulfilling and rewarding way of life.
