1. Put mobile phone away from your bed
Alarm clock is one of the mobile phone features that most of us use daily. However, let’s be honest with ourselves. When we put away the mobile phone next to our bed when we sleep at night, is it usually a one off act? Or do you constantly pick up your phone again to check for messages or social media posts, before putting it away, only to pick it up again few minutes, if not seconds later? This seemingly innocent action is actually very damaging to our health. Not only the blue light from the mobile phone stimulates our brain, making us harder to fall asleep, it also damages our eyes as well when we look at the screen in a dark environment. A simple solution is to put the mobile phone away from our bed as we are getting ready to sleep. Having the mobile phone far away makes it difficult for us to reach out for it to check our messages for the umpteenth time.
Another advantage of putting the mobile phone away from the bed is that, we will not be able to press the snooze button when the alarm goes off in the morning. Having to walk across the room to reach out for the snooze button guarantees that by the time you reach it, the sleepiness is gone. You will be amazed at how much more productive you can be when you wake up on time.
2. Journaling
Journaling is not just about recording what you have done for the day. People use journal to write down their thoughts, feelings, ideas and even what they are thankful for. Journaling helps a person to be more clear of themselves and their feelings as well as helping to solve internal conflicts. Sometimes, we are not sure of what we want or need. By writing it down without reserve or being judgemental, we will be able to get a clearer picture on what was the issue that has been bugging us and helps us get over it.
Journals also serve as a record of our ideas. Often, our ideas get flowing once we sit down and write about it. Journaling is also a way to manifest our desire. Every morning, make habit to write on your journal. Allow yourself to write down what your heart desires. It does not have to be something that you can achieve. Instead, allow yourself to think big, bigger than what you can achieve at the moment. The power of manifestation is greather than you think or imagine.
3. Limit news consumption
These days, we use mobile phones for almost everything. Checking email, messaging, social media, videos watching, catching up on news, weather forecast, reminders, you name it. However, as useful as mobile phone is in our lives, we cannot deny that it comes with its bad side.
Often, we get swamped with the information, news, emails and social media posts the moment we open our eyes in the morning. Ever wonder why you feel down and unmotivated although it is not even 9am yet? Well, the answer is your mobile phone, or more accurately, what you read from your mobile phone early in the morning.
Morning is an important time that determine your mood and productivity for the rest of the day. Imagine reading a post by someone you know in the Facebook who are holidaying in a luxury cruise? Wouldn’t it make you green with envy especially when it is a weekday and you need to rush for work? The heavy feeling will affect you for the rest of the day.
These days, people cannot resist the urge to constantly checking their mobile phones as they have this fear of missing out. However, rarely do we come across good news. On the contrary, negativity is everywhere. Negative news increase fear and negative thoughts, which causes anxiety. It is good to keep up with the news, but there is no need to constantly checking your mobile phone for it.
4. Consistent sleep time
There is no end in stressing how important it is to have regular and consistent sleep time. Going to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including during weekends will lead to a consistent circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24h hour cycle. In other words, circadian rhythm is akin to our internal body clock. This body clock affect most living things, including animals and plants. When our circadian rhythm is out of sync, we will feel fatigue and have difficulty concentrating no matter how many hours of sleep we had to make up for the all nighter we pulled off the other day.
A healthy adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily while school age children need between 9 to 12 hours sleep to function well. While the number of hours of sleep is important, having quality sleep is also equally important for our wellbeing. A disrupted circadian rhythm can also mean shallower, fragmented, and lower-quality sleep. Having good sleep habits can lead to good quality sleep. This is why a consistent bed and wake time is important to keep our internal body clock in order.
5. Habits tracking
Successful people have one thing in common. They track their habits and tweak their lives according to the aspect of lives that they want to improve on. We cannot change things that we cannot measure. Habits tracking is a way to we keep track of what we have been doing and whether we are doing right / consistently. For example, if you want to be fitter, the obvious thing to do is to exercise more. The question is, how much exercise are you doing right now and how much more do you need to achieve your goal? By keeping track of the number of days or hours you exercise, you can be sure of whether what you are doing right now is inline with your goal.
Some people keep track of their habits, i.e. books they read, hours of exercise, amount of daily water intake, hours of meditation, etc, in their journals. Others prefer to use habits tracking apps in their mobile phone or computers. Whatever the method of your preference, keeping track of your habits will give you a clearer picture of your life and where you are right now.
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