With the semester coming to an end, life is becoming very busy with assignments, tests and school events. My mind is constantly running and I’m always thinking about what I need to work on next. While knowing that doing my schoolwork is important, it is also necessary to take breaks and rest my brain in between classes and study sessions. I’ve always thought about things I want to do throughout the week for myself and with friends, but recently I realized something I should’ve been asking myself all along. The other day my friends and I were debriefing about school and talking about our week ahead and one of them said, “what’s one thing you want to do this week?” My answer was to get dinner with them one night. I realized that I now had something to look forward to in my busy week ahead. Why don’t I plan like this all the time? It’ll allow me to create more joy in my life and will keep me motivated to keep moving forward.
I’ve now been setting goals for what I want to do during the week to keep me on track while giving me something to look forward to. These goals can include anything from getting dinner with friends, to going on a shopping trip or to going out to a movie. Anything that you know you’ll enjoy and can be excited for. I make sure I know what I need to accomplish before each thing I have planned, and it gives me deadlines to meet that have a fun reward. I also find that having my work in chunks to meet these deadlines is beneficial when getting big assignments done. It’s always easier to do small parts at a time and having this system in place is beneficial for that. I know that doing these fun things will make me happy but knowing that they’re coming up keeps me happy while I’m anticipating them. This makes doing work better because it keeps my mood from being too low.
Along with having bigger goals for my week, I like having smaller goals for each day after I accomplish my important tasks. Something like watching a tv show with my favourite snack before bed or having a hot shower and doing a face mask is enough to keep me on track with my to do list. I often set these goals for the end of the day because I have classes during the day and it gives me time to finish everything I need to get done. These little joys I implement into my days make me feel good about my accomplishments and act as a reward.
These systems that I’ve been trying to incorporate into my life have been working well and creating lots of happiness for me. I now always have something to look forward to, even if it’s just something small, and I’m not stuck in the same cycle that’s just school and work. It’s one that can feel never ending if it’s not interrupted and I didn’t want myself to keep feeling the negative effects of it. Now, I get to celebrate my little wins each day and continue to add more joy into my busy life.