Categories
Health

How to be Productive While Stressed

First of all, you are only asking this question because you have the wrong mindset of stress. If you are able to change your mindset to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat, you will have 23% fewer stress related symptoms. Seeing stress as a mountain you can climb instead of a pitfall you fall into, you are already on your way to being more productive while stressed. I have learned many of the strategies below from this amazing productivity book that is personalized especially for teens that is very cheap on amazon. check it out here and I promise your life will be changed.

1. Change your perspective

When theres a mountain of tasks you have to face, identify the positives and negatives of each task. For example lets say of your tasks is doing laundry. You might start describing this task as “boring” and “mind numbing” but then you’ll start to say, “makes me feel productive” and “it’s nice to do a mindless task.” Change your perspective on how you see the tasks and you will realize they are not as daunting as they seem.

2. Don’t think about the stress, think about the opportunity

If you only think about the negatives of a certain task, you will only reap the negative effects. If you think about the positives, you will reap the positive effects. For example if you are stressed about a big presentation you have to give, think about how much your grade will raise if you present with confidence. Your brain will enact what you are thinking about. So if you are thinking about all the negative things that could happen, your brain will automate to get that outcome.

4. Decrease noise

Did you know that when your brain is overwhelmed with information it is less able to think positively? That means that taking sometime during your day to turn off your phone and computer to start thinking positively is one of the best things you can do to relieve your stress. I suggest this in the form of meditation. Taking some time in the day to meditate is hard for many people, but you can make it a habit. Here you can find a post on how to easily make a habit.

5. Set yourself up for success

When you are stressed about something you have to do, remember all the times you have succeeded at it before. If you are taking a test and are stressed by your number of “competitors” don’t think about them, only focus on you. if you are facing a challenge instead of starting with creating many contingency plans in case you fail, think of all the ways you can succeed first.

6. Train your brain to be more positive

There are five great ways to be more positive I have learned from Shawn Achor’s Ted Talk, The Happy Secret to Better Work. These are; write gratitude lists, journal daily about a positive experience in the last 24 hours, exercise, meditate and perform acts of loving kindness. A great place to write your lists and journal is a bullet journal. have a great guide to bullet journaling here.

(As an Amazon affiliate I receive a small commission for any purchase made through an Amazon link)

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Categories
Health

7 Steps For Starting Your Fitness Journey

1. Determine your goals

Starting a journey without a destination in mind is very close to self destruction, and feeling like you will never accomplish your goals. You have to have a goal, or at least a checkpoint in mind where you can allow yourself to feel proud an accomplished. Having goals will also keep you on the right track, and will keep you from getting side tracked. As humans we will never be satisfied not accomplishing our goals. We want to be lazy, but also get things done. As you might be able to tell, it is not easy to work with your brain. That is why you need the next step.

2. Have a game plan

Create a plan. A plan is something you can stick to. Your plan is leading you to your destination, which is completion of your goal. Without a plan, you can have that goal but have no idea how tot get there. Some components of a good plan are:

  • Time blocks
  • Checkpoints
  • Breaks

These are very general because most importantly your plan needs to be structured for you, and your individual needs. Everyone is different and in extension everyones plan needs to be different. Take inspiration, and create the plan that will get you to your destination.

3. Commit to yourself

You have to take that first step. It will seem scary, but that is not bad. Something you can do is imagine yourself at your destination. Imagine how you will be different. Imagine how you will think, and imagine how you will feel. Now imagine yourself if you don’t take that first step. Do you see the difference? So take that first step, commit to yourself. Your motivation, your willpower , and your self discipline. You can do this. YOU CAN DO THIS. If it is hard for you to find motivation for your workouts you can find that here.

4. Start small and build up

If you have never done a workout, or drunk a lot of water daily, that don’t expect yourself to be able to jump right in. Start where you are able to be consistent. If that is ten pushups and ten squats a day, just do that. If that is one yoga session weekly, go to that session. Build up so you are always able to be consistent. Don’t do so much that you are overwhelmed. There is no one forcing you to be the best at that yoga class. You don’t have to be! You can be exactly who you want to be, but on your own terms, and your own pace.

5. Something is always better than nothing

This step closely relates to the one before it. Doing something is always better than doing nothing. What I mean by this is that if you take a yoga class, and then have time to go on a ten minute walk, but you don’t because you think it won’t anything, think about the future. Those ten minutes could turn into an hour. Or five miles of running. There is no limit to what a simple ten minutes could turn into. There is also no limit to what ten minutes a day could do for you. You could be happier, healthier and more satisfied, all with ten minutes. Doing something, anything is always better than doing nothing.

6. Have a fitness journal

A fitness journal is the best place to keep track of your progress, and keep you on course. If you want to learn more about the how and why of fitness journaling, you can find that here. A fitness journal can be helpful for almost all the steps. You put your plan and your goals here, you plan out your steps and growth, and so much more.

7. Celebrate yourself

Celebrate yourself! Rewards, cheat days, vacations. Celebrate your process. Celebrate how far you have come. Allow yourself to feel proud and happy without feeling guilty. For example, get a facial after thirty days of consistent exercise. Choose a reward at the beginning of your journey and put it in your fitness journal. try not to be completely rewards based, and enjoy the journey. But a reward is also a great incentive. If you want to learn more about the rewards system check out this post.

Enjoy creating and experiencing your fitness journey!!

Categories
Health

Small Steps That You Can Do Now To Have Successful Habits as a Adult

I am going to guess that you are here because you are like me, being a teenager. You want to be successful as an adult. You want to be productive, have a healthy lifestyle, get things done, and you want to do it all before you are officially an “adult.” But sometimes it is hard to find videos or blog posts that are about productivity for teens. If this relates to you in any way, then this is the right post and the right blog for you.

(Side note: Any apps I suggest in this post I am suggesting because I love them. I am not sponsored by any apps.)

Start expanding your brain now

You don’t have to be an adult to improve yourself. There are plenty of ways to grow as a person as a teen. Some of my favorites are reading productivity books for teens, or watching Ted Talks. I also really love Deepstash. This app you can get on your phone. All that it requires is an email. This is another thing I suggest. I have a whole separate email address to sign up for newsletters and apps. I am signed up to many different newsletters on self improvement blogs, so I receive around 2-5 emails from those daily. In the case of an emergency, I could completely delete this email address. I suggest getting one of those types of emails.

Take care of your body

As a teen, it’s so amazing to have that experience of just going to get ice cream, or going to Starbucks. But as a teen you are also pressured to have clear skin and a great body. I would like to say, that you can have both! But being a teen is the best time to learn to make a salad, or get into juices. You can experiment, and start building that love for your health and your body now. Find something that works for you, and make it fun.

Build healthy habits

Bad habits are so easy to create, why can’t good ones be too? But sadly this isn’t the case. If you want to learn how to build a habit, here are 7 easy steps. Being a teen means you can create healthy habits such as journaling, and make them fun. If you want to learn more about journaling you can find that here. An app I greatly suggest is Productive. The purpose of this app is very clear. They allow you to choose habits, and customize them to be exactly how you want them to be. I love this app so much. They allow you to experience many different habits, and give you suggestions. Building healthy habits as a teen will allow you to have healthy habits when you are older.

Find a purposeful hobby

When I say “purposeful” I mean a hobby that will make you into who you want to be. I have plenty of examples in this post, and how to develop your hobby. I am going to dive deeper into this with some examples. I have a slackline in my backyard. Yes. One of those lines you string between two tree’s. When I got my slackline I decided that slacklining would be my “skill.” I would learn how to do tricks, and flips. Thinking about this now, I am glad I abandoned that. I am still in love with my slackline and to love to work on my skills, but it is not my purposeful hobby. My purposeful hobby is writing, and in extension blogging. This is hobby that can do so much for me in the future, especially compared to slacklining. This is what I mean by finding a purposeful hobby.

Putting to use all that I have given you here will mean that you are well on your way t being a happy and successful teen and adult. Go check out my other posts for more ways you can create a healthy lifestyle.