The concepts addressed in this article are my personal experiences, and I am in no way offering professional opinions or advice. Additionally, some of the concepts addressed in this article may be difficult to discuss. If you are someone who struggles with eating disorders, this article may not be for you.
As someone who values “me time,” I made the executive decision in January to make my me time more valuable, specifically in focusing on less screen time usage.
For me, I found that I had a constant desire to scroll through social media when I had nothing to do or wanted to procrastinate doing something productive. Once I picked up the phone, I caught myself accidentally spending so much time scrolling that I often felt overstimulated by the time I logged off
So, I decided to do something about it.
After heading into the new year, I decided to use “me time” to create positive space for myself.
Here are the steps I took and how implementing them into my daily life has had a positive impact on my physical and mental well-being.
- Journaling
Full disclosure: I have never been a journal or diary girly, but when I realized that I wanted to focus on implementing positive change into my daily life, I knew I would physically need to write it down. This way, I could keep track of what I was spending my time doing throughout the day.
So, January 2nd, I strode down to Marshalls and bought a journal; and almost every day since then, I have taken five minutes before going to bed to reflect. I start by writing down everything I did that day. Then, I take a moment to write down my thoughts on what I did and how I felt about it. Lastly, I leave room for my goals for the next day.
Since implementing this activity into my daily life, I have seen a lot of positive outcomes. But most of all, I found that it gave me the ability to slow down and find gratitude for the small things.
- Exercising
Exercising has always played a role in my life- though it hasn’t always been a positive one, my experiences with it have gotten me to where I am today. What I have learned through my experience is that it is good to get up and move- to sweat- and do something that makes you feel productive and accomplished. Just like eating, exercising can help with brain fog, and it keeps you healthy.
Exercise is known to help prevent health issues such as strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, and even cancer. Not only does it physically help your body, but it can also improve mental health immensely.
As someone who experiences anxiety often, spending time working out often reduces my levels of stress and anxious feelings. This is because working out is known to lower your body’s level of cortisol, otherwise known as the “stress hormone.” Sometimes even walking on the treadmill while studying my Quizlet flashcards is more effective than studying them at home- and surprisingly, I find I am a lot more concentrated.
- Mindful Eating
As a Temple student, taking on the responsibility of feeding yourself can be overwhelming, stressful, or even too time-consuming. However, if there is one thing I have learned over the years, food really is fuel. Your body is your temple, and you must take care of it to feel good on the inside and out.
I will admit that I have not always had the best relationship with food. But those uncomfortable relationships pushed me to the place of knowledge I find myself at now.
When I was younger, I didn’t care about what I was eating and found that my diet consisted of a lot of junk food. As a result, I had terrible acne, found myself suffering from anxiety and depression, and most of all, I found myself feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.
As I became more conscious of how I looked and felt, I began to restrict my eating. Instead of having an unhealthy relationship with food, I began to have no relationship with food. I cut out a lot of food I deemed unhealthy and overexercised. And yet, I still didn’t feel good. Instead, I suffered from constant brain fog, experienced a lack of energy, felt burnout, and was often miserable to be around.
I knew I couldn’t continue to live like this, so keeping with theme, I decided I needed a change.
I started to listen to my body and eat what I was craving as well as consume foods that made me feel good. For me, I found that sources of protein, veggies, and fruit, were the foods that made me feel the best. That’s not to say I don’t eat other foods, because I do, but I have become more mindful about what I am consuming. I have started to pay attention to how the foods I consume affect my mood and energy throughout the day. I have also taken action to educate myself on the foods and products used and sold in America, and what will have a positive impact on my mind and body.
Journaling has also helped my relationship with food. Writing down what I eat throughout the day can help me see how I fueled my body and if that has a direct effect on my productivity, mood, and overall attitude throughout the day- because the truth is, it is all connected.
- Yoga
Although yoga is something new that I have implemented into my daily routine, I absolutely love it!
Over spring break, I spent a lot of time focusing on healing my mind, body, as well as soul, and yoga was something that I tried out. After working out, I spent anywhere from 10-30 minutes decompressing my body with a yoga session. Coming back to school after spring break, I knew I wanted to continue to make space for yoga. So, I did. Every night before bed I fill my essential oil diffuser with Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Ravensara, turn off my overhead lights, turn on my salt lamp, put in my AirPods, and switch my phone to Do Not Disturb. I then take the next 10-15 minutes to clear my mind and decompress my body from all that it has endured throughout the day. By the end of the session, I feel a lot more relaxed, and my mind feels more focused and ready for bed.
Incorporating at least ten minutes of yoga into my nightly routine has helped me really connect with my body and how it feels. Yoga has also allowed me space to just be present and unattached from our fast-paced and overstimulating society.
Overall, these 4 steps have helped my physical and mental well-being. Journaling has taught me to find gratitude within each day; exercising has helped reduce my stress and anxiety. Mindful eating has helped me create a positive relationship with food and has given me the energy and brain power to get things done. Yoga has provided time for me to connect and listen to my body and disconnect from all the craziness going on around me.
It is important to note that although these four steps helped me create a more productive concept of “me time” time and implement positive changes into my daily life, I didn’t start implementing all of these at once. I found what fit for me over time. Listening to your body and finding what works best for you is a journey that happens slowly but surely. However, all these entities together have helped me feel more connected to myself and more mindful of the life I am living, and how I am living it.
Finally, I think it’s important to note, our life is not in our phones. Yes, there are beautiful and exciting things that may come from the concept of media and give us inspiration. Yet, at the end of the day we must learn to separate ourselves from the constant feeling of needing to consume the influx of content supplied by our phones. We only live once, and how sad would it be to look back on life and see how much of our time was wasted on living vicariously through social media?