The 6-Week Challenge
Six weeks is a good measure of time. It feels like more of a commitment than one short month (I can’t be the only one that feels like those bad boys just fly by), but isn’t as overwhelming as trying to stick to a project for an endless stretch. This summer, I went through a bad phase. My friend Anne calls those kinds of phases a “blue mood,” which I love, because it perfectly captures the essence of those phases. They are not as crippling as I imagine clinical depression or severe anxiety could be, but they still aren’t fun. However, like a blue moon [Ha. Ha. Ha.], they only crop up once in a while and don’t last forever. While I place my trust in the resources Harvard provides for depression and feelings of loneliness and anxiety, and would never recommend taking matters of serious mental health into your own hands, sometimes you just need a simple reboot. This summer, I relied on a system to pull me out of my funk, which I’ve now used as a basis for this “challenge.” So, try to set aside a little time each day, for six weeks, to look after yourself (of course, you should be doing that every day of every week, but I’m in my fourth year of Harvard and have had to face the harsh reality, time and time again, that it’s not always quite possible – start with six weeks, don’t beat yourself up if you slip, and go from there).
Mind
Personally, I love books. I gobble them up. I’m a double-humanities joint-concentrator for that reason. At my job this summer, I read about five to six books a week and didn’t blink an eye. That being said, I realize I’m a freak of nature. If you’re struggling to keep up with your Gov and Ec readings, I don’t think incorporating reading for pleasure into this challenge is going to do much to relax you (I’m just imagining how I would feel if I were still taking CS1 (not even 50, leave me alone) and someone recommended I do extra problem sets to give my mind a rest…)! That being said, exercising your mind outside of the classroom is essential. Your classes force you to push your brain to new levels on a daily basis, but when you go home at the end of the day, mindlessly turning to Netflix or your phone isn’t going to help you shut it off. I realized this summer that I was spending my down time watching Lie to Me with one eye and checking Instagram/Tumblr/ WhatsApp/Pinterest with the other, and that after a couple hours of that, I wasn’t any more relaxed than I was at work.
Now, I’m not telling you to give up Dr. Cal Lightman or social media, because I’m not a fan of cruel and unusual punishment. But for these six weeks, switch one of your veg sessions for something else – start with one switch the first week, two the second week, and so on. If you need to give your eyes a break, try going for a walk and listening to an audiobook (I’m currently addicted to Anthony Bourdain’s memoirs because I have an admittedly weird crush on him and Audible [links]), or learning to meditate (can’t recommend the “Headspace” app highly enough [link]), or even COLORING (my mom introduced me to the “grown-up” Enchanted Forest Coloring Book [link] and it is the best). Using your brain in a slightly more productive way does more for your stress-level than you could ever imagine.
Body
I wanted to devote this entire past summer to getting healthy. Then, all of a sudden, one month of my three-month stint abroad had passed and I realized nothing had really happened. Though I despise programs that promise to help you “get fit QUICK!!” a lot of research led me to this six-week program from Shape [link]. Though unfortunately named, a quick glance at the workouts is enough to see that they actually rock: a fun mix of different kinds of strength training and cardio that’s a manageable level of difficulty and doesn’t require much equipment at all (we all know the walk to the gym is just TOO much sometimes on top of everything else). I get bored of the elliptical, have injuries that prevent me from lifting lots of weights, and find Zumba sort of alarming. As my friends can probably tell you, if I’m recommending an exercise routine, it probably really doesn’t suck. Best of all, none of the activities take particularly long, and since you don’t need to be in a gym to do them, you can squeeze them into your schedule pretty easily!
Also, like I said with the “Mind” section, no one is expecting you to change everything about your routine. But, also like I said in the “Mind” section, even switching out one Netflix binge for some meditation a week, and slowly working your way up from there can make a huge difference. The same system can be used to tackle your possibly bad eating habits: switch one soda or iced coffee a week for water, switch one plate of pasta and cream sauce for a plate of protein/veggies/complex carbs, switch one late night Tasty Burger for carrots and hummus. Don’t even think of it as a “sacrifice” – just think about how much better you’ll feel afterwards and let that be your motivation.
Soul
I envy people who can journal. Really, I mean it. I’m not the greatest at sticking with something like that, and sometimes, when my thoughts get too swirled in my head, I wish I could be the kind of person who could set aside half an hour a day to write everything down and sort it out. My friend Sara [link] came up with the perfect solution to this, and I’m forever grateful to her for it: for these six weeks, try and journal every day… for one minute. That’s it, just one minute. Set a timer, uncap a pen, and let whatever comes fall onto the page for those sixty seconds. That can’t even be considered a time commitment; it takes less time that responding to a flood of GroupMe messages (I just can’t stop exploring their emoji options). It won’t feel like much at first, but slowly, as you pour a little bit of yourself into that journal, you’ll start to understand yourself better: the mountains and valleys you face, the things that make you feel better and the things that don’t. It will help you achieve serious clarity: you’ll learn to separate the people that hurt you maliciously from the people who make you feel complex emotions but are still good for you in the long run. You’ll start to be able to identify which problems feel insurmountable at the time but are actually very… mountable (that can’t be right but MOVING ON), and which really deserve your time and energy. As you start to sift through all the little pieces of your life, and record them daily, you’ll end up with a map that can help you through anything.
So, are you ready to take on the six-week challenge? If you’re in a blue mood, struggling with something big, or are just feeling blah, seriously consider committing yourself to this. Six weeks is such a little pocket of time, but it can really make all the difference. Invest the time, get healthy, stay happy. You can do it!