If You Want To Elevate Your Day, Focus on Taking These Five Uncomplicated Actions

Easy enough to blend in and not madly disrupt your life

You must be living an enviable life.

Get up at 5 am, cold shower and deep work till 9 am. Breakfast and socialising after that, but before a light nap. Then it’s back to the desk until your calendar indicates it is workout time. Dinner and bed by 9 pm.

Oh, stick meditation in there somewhere.

Finally, hire an army to keep everything aligned in this self-developed timetable. Rinse and repeat.

That’s not how regular people’s lives look.

Fortunately, most of us have real lives with endless to-dos and decisions to make. What’s for dinner, who’s picking up the repaired printer, and what do you mean you can’t do the dishes, top the list.

There is hope yet. Chaotic daily lives come with workable ways to live another day. These ‘cheat codes’ are real, tried by me and workable for the average life-leading, regular person.

Small practical steps that work because they are straightforward. Use these cheat codes and elevate your today.

Oh, and don’t attempt them all at once. Pick what you need most and go.

Put Together a Paper To-Do List

As you drink your morning coffee (OK fine, Tea), just take 5 min to write down what you want to do today. You can also discuss it with your partner and add it to a common list.

It seems so simple, and deceptively, it works too.

Checking small tasks and bigger items off is a pattern that becomes a habit and then a permanent fixture in your mornings. Put the pen and paper on your dining table or wherever you sit for a bit in the morning. Take a photo on your phone if you want to refer to the list later.

Every time you check off an item, you get the rush of having completed a task, and you’re building a consistent habit.

Other than focusing on what needs to be done, it reminds you who else is involved in completing a listed task. Need to make the call and book the dentist’s appointment? Add it to the list. Else it ain’t getting done.

In a world obsessed with daily productivity, be happy with ticking off most items. On rare days you’ll manage to tick off all, but if not, remember, there is no one to please.

Outsource What You Can

Didn’t you just say these are steps for folks with average lives?

Of course. You don’t need to outsource your work or chores that cost a lot.

Outsource routine things like picking up or fetching things (Dunzo), shopping for repeat items with a delivery list (Amazon) or medicine delivery (local pharmacy), to name a few.

There is a lot that your friendly neighbourhood grocery shop will dispatch, especially if you are a long-time customer.

The local betelnut shop guy delivers my Dad’s special post-meal Paan twice daily, freshly made for no charge. Dad’s been his customer for over 15 years now.

Our flower guy drops off freshly made garlands for our deities every evening.

These little things are no-brainers and don’t cost a lot, but the time saved adds up quickly.

For Better Sleep, Be Out in The Daylight

No, you don’t have to go on trails or to the beach on a workday for your dose of the sun. Just be outdoors more to get into natural light.

Cycle to the local store, water the plants or walk the dog. Better take a 10 min walk after lunch.

Do what you usually do, only in the daytime, so that you are exposed to natural light that, believe it or not, helps you sleep better.

Sunlight is free. Even if it’s overcast, there’s still lots of bright light outdoors. You get fresh air, feel less gloomy, and you might meet someone when you are out. (Wink, Wink)

A good sleep works wonders for that day and the next.

Cut Through The Chaos With Meaningful Rituals

Rituals!? Really?? Oh, let’s not go down that rabbit hole.

Rituals are not as bad as the name they’ve gotten from our enviable folks with charmed lives.

Find rituals — tasks you do repeatedly — that keep a healthy harmony. I love my coffee-making — I use the blends I like to make a pour-over cup. Takes me a solid 10 minutes, but that itself is the reward. It is something that keeps me going during my morning fitness routines. Three more kilometres and it’ll be coffee time. My brain says as I struggle to run.

I love that about my mornings.

The routine can be as tiny or as elaborate as you want — it has to mean something to you and make you happy. Only then will it last.

Practice Mindfulness Sit Still

Aren’t you constantly telling your wriggly toddler this? Then practice it yourself.

No set time, no routine. Sit still for five whole minutes or more when and where you can.

When I started this practice, my mind went automatically to things I forgot to do that day or write on my to-do list. And that urge was impossible to resist.

But after weeks of succumbing, I resolved not to touch my list. I sat in one place, looking around the house, letting the thoughts flow.

Now the cobwebs that had escaped my weekend cleaning caught my attention. I was about jump, take the broom and get to work. But my mind fought back.

And I sat some more. A minute passed.

As thoughts flowed, I thought about the compliment my friend had given me earlier that day. She had admired my new work tote bag, but in a rush for my next meeting, I had just thanked her and whizzed by. I am sure she wanted the scoop.

Smiling at the memory, I remembered she had loved my orange zest cookies some months back. I would make it up to her.

When you sit still, you notice little things, including missed tasks.

But, if you allow the thoughts to flow of their own accord without smothering them, gems like these emerge through the clutter.

Once you find cheat codes that work for you, you will learn to develop more of your own. The more they fit in with your daily life, the longer they will last. Once they become habits, they impact your life in several ways.

The trick is to find them and try their ‘fit’ and DIY. You will elevate your day in no time.

Hi, I am Nalanda. I write about Adventure Travel, Personal Effectiveness and share stories from the rich tapestry of LIFE!

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