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Apart from the obvious things such healthy eating, exercise, etc., what small but relatively high yield things can I do to improve my wellbeing? For example, not sleeping with phone in the same room.
Other suggestions welcome.
Treat yourself and have a w***
thanks, that's a definite small but relatively high yield improvement.
A more serious response - control how much and where you get your news from
Learn to say "no" at work.
Always look for the positives in a situation
Dont use social media.
If social media were a real physical place it would be a mental hospital full of attention seeking narcissists all shouting at the top of their voices 24/7/365
I recommend Michael Mosley's 'just one thing' podcast on BBC Sounds. 15 minute episodes, each focussed on one small beneficial change you can make and the science underpinning it. Loads of subjects have been covered from coffee, cold water swimming, dancing, putting your phone down, the benefits of house plants and many more. Worth a listen imho
I've put all my social media feeds into a folder on the phone and turned off the notifications on all of them. I wasn't a high user by any measure, but even that change has seen my use of them decrease as it's now just a little bit harder to open them.
control how much and where you get your news from
This is a very good one, I used to listen to Today almost religiously. Now I scan a couple of websites with my morning coffee and listen to podcasts on the way to work. I'm noticeably less anxious
Go for a walk, doesn't have to be long but just getting outside briefly can really help
Dont use social media.
And yet here you are...
Review the notification settings on your phone. Lots of apps just send them to make sure you don't forget about them. Of those that are left, many can be put into scheduled summary (it's an Apple thing, I'm guessing there's an Android equivalent?) so you just see them all later in the day.
Do less (unless you feeling like doing more, in which case, do more.) Spend your extra time sleeping.
Control social media. + news sources
This. It's amazing how much time you have left if you don't spend it doomscrolling. Yes I understand the irony but so far today I've done two hours guitar practice, painted a door and sharpened an axe (this is STW after all) and am about to head out now if it would only stop pissing down. News is just awful at the moment and you shouldn't ignore it but neither should you let what you can't control overwhelm you
Have a beer with a pal or two in a pub (non alcoholic versions are available). Give yourself time away from things that need to be done
...closes computer
The getting outside piece is the biggest one for me, doesn't need to be a bike ride, just a walk (we also have a dog, so forces me out !).
I'm just back at my desk after a 2k swim at local gym, with the added benefit that there is a 25m outdoor pool, so fresh air and exercise 🙂 ..plus, it was raining, and I had the pool to myself for 75 of my 80 lengths.
On sleep:
I aim to be in bed on week nights between 10-10.30pm and get a good eight hours The difference in overall well being is pretty tremendous. If you can manage not to have the phone, or read for a bit before that helps massively as well.
Take up a new hobby
Don't drink crap coffee. Seriously. If you drink coffee, buy good stuff and savour the one or two cups you have a day.
I'll also add taking a walk or going for a pootle on a bike. It doesn't have to be far, but seeing something different than the four walls of an office is lovely and, at this time of year, the colours make it even better.
I'm trying to break myself out of doom-scrolling, partly by reading on my phone instead. So instead of opening insta, I open the kindle app instead.
Other suggestions welcome.
Be selective about what social events you go to.
Over the last couple of years we've cut out quite a few friends who required 'effort' to have a good time with. At mid 50s we've got no time for wasting time!
Since I've pretty much full time working from home, I take a proper break at lunchtime, put some tunes on in the kitchen and take some time to prepare something really nice to eat that evening. I've got a venison pie-filling slow cooking at the moment. It smells ace!
In a bit, as its such a nice day, I'm going to have a wander down to the pub with Mrs Binners for a creme de menthe or a sweet sherry
#binningatlife
An online to-do list app.
I use the free version of Todoist which updates across my phone and laptop/internet/chrome/whatever and it really adds so much value.
Apart from actually constructively planning things it also means that whenever a random thought or obligation just pops into your head on the bus or queuing for a coffee or whatever you can immediately just tap it into your phone as a reminder and mentally move-on, knowing that you won't forget.
What @SSS says. My life is so much more pleasant without social media, the news and without the television.
.....oh and choose wisely who you spend your time with and what you do with your time.
Be lucky
+1 on Michael Moseley's podcast on BBC Sounds. Some many ideas on there that a few must hit a chord.
I'm currently doing standing on one leg a few times a day for a minute. There's one of his podcasts on there about it's benefits.
Organise your pen drawer.
One really good coffee in the morning – then lay off the caffeine
Was going to say this. Until about 2 months ago I was in the "more is more!" camp with my coffee - 1 kg of beans used to last 2 weeks maybe.
Now I hold off for my coffee until about 10 or 11am to stop it impacting my natural cortisol rhythm. I then have a coffee, maybe 2. And I'm done with caffeine before 12. I sleep better, my mood is more stable, I piss less. Importantly, I am less tired - the thing I was drinking all the coffee to stave off.
What @SSS says. My life is so much more pleasant without social media, the news and without the television.
... posted with no trace of irony on social media.
As soon as you see any thread descending into an argument between the usual crew scroll up and hit the overview button.
Do something for someone else.
Volunteer yourself to help somebody else. Could be a neighbour, a friend or even a total stranger.
Being kind costs nothing yet brings you great rewards.
Try it.
If there's something you are meaning to do, don't let the size of the job overwhelm you, just start it and do step 1.
He says, still needing to see if the lounge floor is glued down or not, but not knowing which bit of grotty laminate to lift to see. But I DID buy a new TV this week, so now the rest of the lounge work HAS to be done, right ....
There is a mental change I've made when driving, I expect people to do the dumbest thing, so they if they do, well I expected it, if they don't I'm pleasantly surprised. I still get tweaked occasionally though.
Two things.
1) Short-term. Do something constructive every day. It doesn't have to be big. Walk round the block. Ring the dentist. Oil that squeaky door. Shove the hoover around. Make soup. Ring a mate you haven't spoken with in months (because gods know, one day you might not be able to any more).
Between my mum inconsiderately dying recently and my partner deciding she wants to turn our home into a work-from-home childminding service I'm staring down the barrel of a monumental amount of Stuff That Has To Be Done and my mental health was built on sand to start with. It's the 'how do you eat an elephant?' trope, the only way I get through the day is by ticking something off each day even if it's only firing an email to someone telling them to get ****ed.
2) Longer term. Consider the mantra, "this benefits me how?"
All the whining above about social media &c., that's a problem of their own making. Exercise some quality control. You don't have to "friend" everyone you've ever met, let alone have ever even heard of. I used to have Facebook contacts who were people I went to school with. They didn't give me the steam off their piss when I was at school, we probably spoke four words two of which were them telling me to smeg off. Yet now we're suddenly somehow "friends," but they still haven't spoken to me post-friending and I'm getting stressed out about their illiterate right-wing bullshit? Well, an obvious solution presents itself.
Mobile phones are exactly the same. Why do you carry a phone, for your benefit or for everyone else's? Are they paying off your contract? Ever have a conversation where someone grills you as to why you didn't answer their call earlier? **** that, they can get in the sea. I was making soup. The cat was on my knee and I couldn't reach the phone. It was otherwise inconvenient, WTF business is it of yours to demand I drop everything to talk to you anyway? Only a sociopath would do that face-to-face, approach someone who was clearly busy and go "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" and then get pissy when they ignore you.
People are the same. Relationships are the same. Friendships are the same. Family is the same. Life is the same, you only get one crack at that one. If something is a net deficit then address that. I spent far too long in the company of toxic assholes out of some misplaced sense of loyalty or guilt, this is a lesson which took me far too long to learn and my life is exponentially better for realising it. **** 'em, they'll get over it, you just aren't that important. Take control of this shit. Take control of your shit. The world will keep turning I promise, and you'll feel better for it.
Here endeth the sermon according to St. Cougar.
Only do chores when your wife/girlfriend can see you doing them
Go for a bike ride and have a pint
I’d sleep for longer without my alarm, thats for sure. Not sure thats a good solution financially for me though.
Other alarm clocks are available, that's just an excuse.
Spend quality time with family, not just the daily going through the motions
Spend time in forests or on the beach, can be any weather, but nothing beats fresh air and being in nature
Coffee and alcohol - drink well, not often
If you enjoy music, a half decent stereo (doesn't need to be expensive) and take time for it, not just staring at TV, same as good books.
- Cut back on alcohol.
- If you can, have the same getting up time every day (no lie-ins), go to bed when you’re tired.
- Learn self-compassion if you don’t already practice it.
- Do something new.
- Learn or improve a skill.
- Listen actively.
- Get outside.
- Speak to someone you care about.
- Volunteer.
- Walk rather than use the car for short trips.
An early night is not a waste of an evening, it's an investment in the next day.
If you're scrolling on your phone, go spend 5 minutes tidying something up, unload the dishwasher, put some tools away instead. Phones are designed to keep you engaged, once you've put it down and done something, you'll probably find something far more productive to do.
For years I have had one phone for work and personal use.
I’ve recently bought a personal phone and taken everything other than work based apps off the work phone and vice versa.
Being able to turn emails off at the end of the day and not take calls on weekends or evenings has been unbelievably good for me.
GIVING = do kind things for others
RELATING = connect with people
EXERCISING = taking care of your body
AWARENESS = living life mindfully
TRYING OUT = keep learning new things
DIRECTION = have goals to look forward to
RESILIENCE = find ways to bounce back
EMOTIONS = look for what’s good
ACCEPTANCE = be comfortable with who you are
MEANING = be part of something bigger
https://actionforhappiness.org/10-keys
Cake and crisps
Get a dog. Other than marrying MrsRNP it's the best thing I've done.
I love the awe-inspiring scenery it's opened up to me in my quest to give him the most fulfilled life I can. I've had some of my life's most tranquil and relaxing moments when out with Bert.
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Smile and laugh more. It enhances mood and makes other people wonder what you're up to. Double-win.
Loads of great suggestions here. I especially agree with the ‘go outside’ stuff.
What’s your favourite food? Coffee? Butter? Bread? Biscuits? Sausages? Next time you’re shopping rather than buy your usual version get a really expensive type. It doesn’t really cost that much more, and you’ll love it.
I leave for work 10 minutes early. Each day I stop somewhere pretty and have a coffee from my flask, just taking it all in. I often do this on the way home as well. It helps that I cycle along a good route, but even if you’re driving through town there must be a park or something.
What’s your favourite food? ... Next time you’re shopping rather than buy your usual version get a really expensive type.
Or try and make it yourself?
Don't get stressed about the stuff you can't control, e.g. the weather.
Meet with those less fortunate and help. Ideally not with money.
Each day I stop somewhere pretty and have a coffee from my flask, just taking it all in
Nice idea :). We rush too mutch. I try (when I'm working) to take a longer commute home via a park rather than going directly as I like seeing people outside being happy
The clue is in the title.
We rush too much.
This. Have a think about ancient times when the Chinese spent decades learning the art of writing, or the Greeks lifetimes on philosophy. In our age we want everything and we want it Now, and its very damaging.
Just Live rather than forcing life, let things happen.
Lob a friendly smile at a random stranger. They will reciprocate as a reflex and probably do the same to someone else. Who knows where it will end up? Somewhere along the way, someone who really, really needs that acknowledgement that they exist might be on the receiving end. As low effort/high reward as it gets.
Just stop, shut your eyes, focus on your breath, focus inwards, and otherwise do nothing.
5 ways to wellbeing is a great, simple thing to pick up on.
https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/five-ways-to-wellbeing/
each month, ensure you spend less than you earn.
Have something challenging to work towards (could be anything from a big jigsaw to leaning rocket surgery)
spend time in big majestic landscapes & take time to soak them in.
read before bed / don’t scroll social media
get plenty sleep.
spend more on making memories than stuff
restore something beautiful
Leaving my phone in another room or even at home is liberating. But certainly disengaging from news websites/twitter/social media is a sure fire way to improve things. limit it to one session a day
work in the garden, chop firewood, have a bonfire, cook baked potatos in the embers. This makes me happy
Maybe youll marry, maybe you wont.
Dont sweat the small stuff
But trust me on the sunscreen
If your a middle lane drinker then give up alcohol! Will make a massive difference.
Also I've not been on the socials for over 8 years and it's best thing I've done for myself.
Agree re work Phone and personal phone. One of my most positive changes though it does result in many people questioning if I am a drug dealer! Turn off notifications of emails etc as well. The tiny little counter of how many unread emails used to stress me out. I'll be looking for that scheduling of notifications too.
I regularly leave work phone at home at weekends now and have even started going out without personal phone too.
Get a dog, get outside, smile at people and talk to people.
Must book my volunteer day from work to do some volunteering as well.
Liking the idea of that 15 minute podcast, would fit perfectly into my day.
Learn an instrument instead of watching TV or phone scrolling. After picking guitar up in lock down, I can't imagine life without it. Instant stress relief, and positive vibes when I pick it up.
I want to put in a good word for social media, the ability to connect with both like-minded and diverse people (who are not always geographically accessible) can be greatly life-enhancing. Doomscrolling though stupid click-bait on FB doesn't fall into this category, of course. But cultivating an interesting set of people to follow (may be local friends on strava, thought-provoking people on xitter/mastodon/whatever) is worthwhile.
Getting outside and doing anything is usually a good idea, though if that means cycling to and from work in dark windy pissing rain day after day it does get a bit wearing eventually (IME). On that topic, cycling to work is an obvious change that many could probably make with a small effort, though hopefully people on this forum have already considered that.
Getting a dog is a dramatic change and I don't think it can sensibly be recommended as a "low-effort way..."
As a general rule in life go for quality rather than quantity.
Go and camp/bivvy/bothy in a nice place close to home now and again even if it’s only for one night.
When riding/walking/paddling/running, etc. check you aren’t still thinking of the stuff you went on the ride/walk, etc to get away from. If you are… focus on what you are doing and the place/experience… enjoy the moment.
Only visit and participate in the STW bike forum, not the chat forum.
After 30 plus years of only doing the odd thing on my cars, buying new and paying others to work on them. I sold my newish L200 and bought an old VW thats in good shape, but needs some mechanical work and started working on it myself. Almost a year in and I bloody love it! I have rebuilt the whole front end, all the brakes and lots of other smaller tasks.
My point it, whether is Airfix kits or woodturning, just doing something really different than your day job is such a release (well it has for me), my hobby has saved us a fortune, plus we go camping and load it up and go mtbing. Off to the Alps in the new year 🙂
Don’t drink crap coffee
I came here to say this. For me, these have also worked:
Work from home if you can. Switching to being 100% home based in 2017 has had the biggest impact on my quality of life. I was spending 45 minutes x 2 each day OF MY OWN TIME getting to the office. that's 7.5 hours of my own time back each week - the equivalent of a whole working day. Crucially, you have to claim this time as your own, and not work those extra hours.
Hellofresh. I know some people hate it, but for me, this has a hugely disproportionate impact on my quality of life. It doesn't cost any more (I have tested it) and it effectively means that you are eating good and varied meals every night with ZERO effort on your part. It's also made me realize that I actually really enjoy cooking/prepping the meals - it was the menu planning/shopping that I didn't like. Like I said, I know some people really don't like it, but for me I'd put this right up with working-from-home in terms of impact.
Limit your news consumption, and be choosy where you get it from.
My main thing is taking on little projects which improve your life in small ways. These have a direct benefit once they are done, but while you are doing them also make you feel like you are improving things for yourself, and so (for me at least) have a benefit greater than the sum of their parts. Some of my mini-projects have included:
Refurbish/upgrade old coffee machine and grinder (see above) that I bought for pennies off of marketplace.
Upgrade kitchen knife set to individual Japanese ones (with all the research that entails)
Buy whetstones and learn to sharpen above
Build home media server thing (my first foray into computer nerdery) for streaming music etc
Some of these took place over a few weeks, others (coffee machine) took much longer - but it's as much about having a little "tinkering" project. I think it makes me feel like I'm achieving something tangible whilst otherwise "running to stay still" with the everyday stuff.
I think a very wise man once said ‘Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t wait for it, don’t plan it, just do it’.
Work from home if you can.<br /><br />
well it depends on the individual. Even as a non social introvert, sitting in the same room with the same laptop day in day out mentally fatigues and bores me. I find it much more mentality stimulating to split my time to home / office / customer office / trade shows. <br /><br />
So on that note, if you work from home change it up if you can - change rooms, work from a free hotel bar/lobby, library or something from time to time perhaps.
Just to be slightly contrary, I found going back into the office has helped me no end - proper break between home and work.
Obviously a very personal choice, but i need people around me to work and focus better. Trying to make working at home work for me was killing my mood and productivity.
So sometimes going against the flow works for an individual.
Helped by discovering that i can commute door to desk by train in 30 minutes, rather than up to an hour by car.