Take Care of Yourself

The whole pandemic has given us a lot to think about many different things, like germs, finances, how to take care of ourselves, and so much more. It’s important, not just trying time of uncertainty, to make sure we are doing our best to take care of ourselves. We should do something good for our bodies, even if it’s just stepping outside for five minutes to get some fresh air, or eating an apple, or anything that is healthy for us. We should to get to get enough rest each night.

Think of small ways you can take care of yourself, and build up the momentum. If you want to go to bed early to help ensure you get enough sleep, try going to bed 10 -15 minutes earlier, and keep on doing that every three nights or so. Keep on doing that until you get to your desire bedtime.

I think it’s really important to keep yourself healthy and active. The only way to do that is by taking care of yourself.

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Yoga

Every week I like to write small ways we can boost our happiness. I know that some people, like me, are still in their winter. Going through winter can be really difficult, because the majority of the days are dark, without a lot of sun. Although I realize that it can be worse if you are in Alaska, since they go months without sunshine. Winter can just be unbearable. So I have thought of ways that can boost our happiness, with very little effort, and mostly at a cost of nothing. I like to call it Feel Good Fridays. I was inspired by talking to one of my cousins because she was going through life, and came to me, looking for ideas to help boost her energy and motivation. Which is basically how this blog idea was inspired.

The other night, I couldn’t fall asleep, so I thought I would practice doing some yoga. There are various types of yoga, there is calming yoga, and there can be workouts, like core strengthening added to yoga poses, too. I am slowly starting to get into a yoga routine again because of the other night.

If you are new to yoga you can find lots of beginners videos on YouTube. Since this might be a new habit for everyone. But if you like yoga, and would like to practice yoga every day. I suggest starting small. You can find 10 minutes videos. Then before you know you will like to do more. I find it’s easy to start a habit by starting out and taking baby steps, and then you will be able to add more to it.

Yoga has a ton of benefits, aside from the obvious of making you more flexible, but it has other benefits, too. Yoga can help you with digestion, it can strengthen your immune system, it can also help you sleep better.

I have always loved practicing yoga, so I am glad that I am starting to get into a habit again.

January 2021 Resolutions Summary

For my new followers, who may not know about this, I have been working on my Happiness Project. I have become inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s book titled The Happiness Project. In case you haven’t heard about the book, it’s where she made monthly resolutions in order to improve herself and her lives. Each month she focused on a different aspect in her life. I sort of mimicked her style. In January she focused on ways she can boost her energy.

On the first of every month, I will write about my resolutions are, and why. And then on the last day of the month, I will write about my successes and my not so successful resolutions. It has been an exciting journey so far.

For more information about my own Happiness Project, feel free to click here;

http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/category/my-happiness-project/

This has been a bit of a difficult month for me, a lot of stresses, to be honest. But I think I was able to handle those stresses because I have been working on my Happiness Project. I dealt with helping my mom move, and she has a lot of things. Another thing that was stressful to me, at least, was babysitting my niece. I don’t have children, so the thought of having to watch someone else’s child(ren) gives me anxiety. But now that I have done it more times, I am getting used to it. But some days it’s hard because I have to say no to her, since she can’t climb on to the table.

My January resolutions were…

1. Go to bed early
2. Exercise more
3. Organize
4. Tackle a nagging task

I was able to do these resolutions, but for me the hardest one was going to bed late, mostly because my boyfriend likes to stay up late playing video games. So it is sometimes hard for me to go to bed when I like to. We live with other people, so we can’t really use the living room for his video game. So he has to play in our room, which is basically all we have to ourselves.

The easiest resolution that I was able to follow was organizing. I love organizing things, so it was easy for me to keep things organized, and get organized.

Tackling a nagging project is any projects that I need to get done, or should get should, but for whatever I keep putting off. I have brainstormed some ideas already, so I am able to do some of them when I have the time. I like to keep track of everything using a piece of paper, and when I accomplish a resolution, I put a red check mark beside all of the resolutions I have completed for the day.

I know that with as time goes by, I will find it easier to accomplish this in the upcoming weeks. I am starting to feel a bit more happier. Which is something I was hoping for. I can’t wait to be even more happier. I feel like these resolutions have been helpful, and I can’t wait to partake in the resolutions that I have made for myself in February. More to come about that tomorrow!

Day 19

I couldn’t really sleep the night before, so I decided it’s best to do something productive with my time. At the same I was always doing something to fall asleep, as well. I began reading some of my book, that helped a bit, but it still wasn’t enough. I began writing in my journal, because I thought maybe I was feeling a bit too stressed out about things. I started thinking about some writing ideas. After I released my thoughts, I just laid there, trying not to think about anything for a couple of minutes.

That didn’t work, so I put on my favourite show, Grey’s Anatomy. That is my comfort show, I must have watched it a million times already. And that seemed to do the trick.

Whenever I can’t fall asleep, I will try to do something productive with my time, instead of just laying there, tossing and turning in my bed. If that doesn’t work, I will try to resort into watching a show, or a movie to help me fall asleep. Or vow to myself to make an evening routine.

Top Ten Tuesdays #20 – January 12th, 2021

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/ in your Top Ten Tuesday post.

This week is all about our 2021 Resolutions. They can include your book resolutions, or other areas in your life.

1. Read 30 minutes a day.
2. Exercise for 20 minutes a day.
3. Save up more money.
4. Get enough sleep.
5. Schedule more time to write my stories.
6. Learn how to crochet via YouTube videos.
7. Continue to declutter my belongings.
8. Cut back on ordering and eating fast food.
9. Eat healthy foods.
10. Travel to a new city, if travelling is permitted.

I would love to hear about some of your resolutions in the comments.

January Resolutions 2021

This is the first chapter of my My Happiness Project. It is where I discuss small habits that can add so much value and happiness in my every day life. I was inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Happiness Project. Every month, I focus on a new aspect of my life. This month’s theme is Boosting Energy. Every first day of the month, I will write about my resolutions, and why I think they will help. On the last day I will report back on how I did, and if it actually helped me increase my happiness. To see all of the other upcoming months, check them out here,

http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/category/my-happiness-project/

My Resolutions

1. Get more sleep
2. Exercise More
3. Organize
4. Tackle a nagging task

Get More Sleep

The past few years, we have been known to work more hours, more than ever before. Working longer at work can negatively impact our happiness, because we often have less time for the things that matter to us, like our relationships, hobbies, and properly taking care of ourselves. I know that everyone is in a different situation than others, so I can understand where you are coming from if some nights may be more difficult than other nights. I just wished there was a way that we didn’t have to put our bodies through so much.

So because we are working a lot more than we have compared to the previous decades, we need to take proper care of our bodies. And one way to do that is ensure that we are getting enough sleep each night. Some nights may be more challenging than others, but it is still important to try.

Our adult bodies should be getting at least 7.5 hours, although some people say that they can function on less, others need more. Perhaps it takes you awhile to fall asleep. Here are my tips for you!

1. If you can, refrain yourself from screens (phone, TV) at least one hour before bed
2. Drink sleepy time tea
3. Write in a journal (your thoughts, some chores and errands for the next day)
4. Read a book (preferably one that doesn’t deal with stressful topics like money, business, cookbooks, these just don’t seem like they would be helpful before bed)

My plan is to create an evening and morning routine to help me with this transtition.

Exercise More

I plan on taking more walks in my neighbourhood. My goal is to walk at least 20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes every day. I will start off small, and increase the more I walk. I’m really excited for these new changes in my life. I might even download some Tedtalks, and or some audiobooks for my walks.

I will try to make healthier dietary choices as well. I will limit my intake on take out, sugary foods, and drinks.

Organize

Because I have already gotten rid of some things already, it is time to work on organizing things around my room again. This time is a bit different, because I am enforce my boyfriend to do the one minute rule, which is if takes less than one minute to do, you can’t postpone from the task at hand. Some of these things include hanging up a sweater, or a coat when you come in from outside. Put something back where it belongs. “Do what ought to be done.” – Gretchen Rubin.

Tackle a Nagging Task

Like Gretchen Rubin says in her book, having a long to-do list drains energy, we should slowly work on tackling tasks that we continue to push off, and not do. We probably waste more energy and thought process on ways to avoid this task than if we did this actual task itself.

Conclusion

I cannot wait to get started in this journey. I will keep track of my tasks using a check list. I’m really excited! If anyone else is wanting to partake in this journey, please keep me updated. I would love to see other posts.

Sleep

It’s Friday, so that means it’s time for another post of Feel Good Friday. This post is meant to help us feel better about ourselves in small, easy ways. I’m not asking us to make drastic changes about ourselves. But if we start small, we are able to change so much, and become even more happier.

We must ensure that we give our bodies adequate rest every night. When our phones are about to run out of battery, we don’t expect them to go into overtime, and keep on working past their limits. We simply recharge them, and let them regain their strength. But when it comes to us, we push ourselves into overdrive. We expect so much from ourselves. Even without recharging our batteries.

If you need to continue working on a daunting task, but you are exhausted already, perhaps you can take a 20 minute nap before you jump into the task at a hand. Taking a 20 minute nap will do wonders. It will help you focus again when you wake up. It will allow you to be refreshed, and you won’t feel overtried from taking the 20 minute nap.

Perhaps after your nap, you can make yourself a cup of matcha tea, depending on what time it is, because you don’t want to have that much caffeine that close to bedtime.

Just continue on making sure your body gets enough rest throughout the night. Sleep is really important. It’s one of the most important ways to ensure you work on having a healthy lifestyle.

Meditate – Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual teacher, and encourages us to make time to meditate. He believes that it would help heal and strengthen the mind and body.

There are many proven benefits from meditation. The purpose of meditation is to restore yourself by bringing calm and allowing yourself to mindful. It increases your attention span, helps you be more patient and improves your sleep.

If you wish to seek the benefits of meditation, I would suggest starting really small, especially if you never practiced before. I would suggest meditating five minutes a day, for a week, and then perhaps do 10 minutes the following week. You can keep increasing your intervals, if you like, or just stick to what is comfortable.

For a habit to stick, it is important to start small, and build up your confidence.

August Goals

I like to dedicate August to resetting. Two of my goals will be resetting my finances and building more structure and routine throughout my days.

I am going to reset my finances by learning not to spend much money, and by paying down my debts, and putting money aside for an emergency fund.

Another one of my goal is make sleep a priority. And one of the ways to do this is by having a routine, that way my mind and body can prepare itself for rest.

Think of a goal you would look to work on this month. And from your big goal, allow yourself to think of small ways to make this goal more manageable. Feel free to write it in the comment sections.

Quarantine

So, where do I begin… I have been off work since mid March due to medical reasons and anxiety. I must say, I have learned a lot of myself that I wouldn’t have gotten to known without all of this extra time. I am really thankful to have had this spare time.

I understand that these were uncertain times for others, but I tried to do my part by limiting the spread of the virus, and perhaps passing it off to others, by staying home. And I know that not everyone had this opportunity, so I hope everyone stays safe.

My boyfriend and I just moved in with one of his friend’s a month prior to my time off from work. I was able to organize and reorganize our room. I was able to remove things that didn’t have much value in our lives. That was a really fun experience.

I am returning back to work tomorrow, so I am little nervous. I know that where I am, there are still cases, but it’s not a relatively large number of cases. It still makes me nervous, but I will make it my priority to stay safe.

These are the things I am going to miss, when I return to work…

1. Being able to sleep whenever I am tired, and not worrying about having to set an alarm. I can fall asleep at any time. Some days I took full advantage of that. I know this wasn’t healthy, but some nights I slept for ten hours. It was such a luxury to stay in bed until I wanted to do something else.
2. Having time to exercise. I enjoyed going for a walk in the neighbourhood, especially since it is a new neighbourhood. I was able to make space in my room for my yoga mat to practice yoga routines, and meditation. I live pretty far from where I work, so by the time I leave in the morning, work, come back it’s basically dinner time. I know, I am not the only one who has this problem, and I know that some people have children to take care of as well. But I see the problem, and I have solutions to fix this situation.
3. The feeling of not being stressed or anxious about a work related problem. It has been peaceful to not have to deal with any of these problems.
4. The freedom of having spare time. I had time to declutter, read books, clean and blog again. I am so thankful for using this time for good use for myself.
5. It made me realize that I can do and be anything I want. I would love to be my own boss, and have freedom doing whatever I like. I loved creating my own schedule and my own to-do list. That is probably the thing I am going to miss the most from the whole quarantine. It was such a luxury. The whole experience made me realize that I am always one decision from a different life.

I will try to continue to do the things I have learnt during this spare time. I will also try to coordinate the things I had time to do, into my new schedule.