3 Tips to Relieve Holiday Stress

Hello, beautiful readers!

The holidays are a joyous, exciting, but stressful time. With shopping, baking, and other activities to complete, there are several ways to minimize your holiday stress.

1. Set a shopping budget

This is the first step in my holiday shopping routine. While spending money throughout the holiday season is unavoidable, there are ways to control your spending. Plan ahead, review your finances, and develop a realistic budget for gifts.

2. Make a list, and check it twice

Creating a shopping and ‘to-do’ list is beneficial to keep yourself on track before Christmas. A list enables you to determine who you are shopping for, what you plan to buy, and organizes other activities to complete.

Forget the idea of perfection

Don’t stress about trying to be perfect. Focus your energy on the people in your life and enjoy the quality time you have during the holidays to spend with them.

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Building Better Mental Health: 3 Strategies to Boost Your Mood and Build Resilience

Hello, beautiful readers!

Your mental health influences how you think, feel, and act daily. It also influences your ability to cope with stressors, handle your emotions, and manage your feelings. Anyone can struggle with their mental health but there are ways to elevate your mood and enjoy the little things in life. Here are 3 strategies to help you accomplish this:

1. Prioritize socialization 

Face-to-face interaction with friends and loved ones is stress-busting and mood-boosting. Find someone in your life who is a good listener to share your thoughts and feelings. A good listener will validate your feelings and won’t judge, criticize, or interrupt you.

Tips for connecting with others:

• Call a friend or loved one and arrange to meet up
• Spend some time disconnected – step away from your computer/phone screen for a little while to nurture your real-life relationships
• Don’t be afraid to make new connections

2. Learn how to manage your stress 

Stress takes a heavy toll on your mental and emotional health. (As I type this, I’m glancing anxiously at my never-ending calendar of due dates.) It is important to keep stress under control to stay healthy.

Stress-management tips:

• Make leisure time a priority
• Take up a relaxing hobby (For example: Journaling, jogging, meditation)
• Talk to a friendly face

3. Don’t skimp on sleep 

Getting enough sleep each night is critical for your health. Skimping on even a few hours per night can take a toll on your energy, emotions, and ability to handle stress. Adults should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

Tips for getting better sleep:

• Calm the mind and prepare the body for sleep by taking a bath, listening to soft music, or lighting your favourite scented candle
• Stick to a regular sleep-wake cycle to help set your body’s internal clock
• Make sure your bedroom is dark, cool, and quiet

What strategies do you use to boost your mental health and wellness? 

3 Ways to Use a Planner

Hello, beautiful readers!

I use a planner faithfully while in college or working. It tracks my due dates, appointments and other important reminders. Here are four of my favourite tips to help you use a planner too!

1. Use one planner, if possible 

It can be difficult to maintain both a personal planner and school-based planner. Find a planner you can use for both personal and business/school. This will keep your due-dates and other tasks organized. 

2. Check your planner often 

It is important to check your planner daily. Doing so will ensure you know the tasks/reminders you must complete each day. Keep your planner in a spot that is highly visible. I keep mine in my purse, for example. 

3. Set aside time each week to organize your planner 

Set aside time to review your planner each week. Ensure this time period is uninterrupted to maintai concentratio while you review. 

Do you use a planner?

The Importance of Practicing Self-Care in College

Hello, beautiful readers!

College can be both exciting and sstressful. Practicing self-care is one way to reduce stress and maintain a high quality of life. It is easy to neglect taking care of yourself when your schedule is jam-packed with activity. Self-care is one method to help you relax, unwind and de-stress.

1. Self-care prevents overload ‘burnout’

We’ve all been there – you push yourself to the point where you can no longer function effectively. I am guilty of this. With assignments, course reading, and other responsibilities I often find myself burning out and crashing. Practicing self-care helps you maintain a balance to avoid reaching that point.

2. Self-care reduces the negative effects of stress 

Stress is effective, to a degree. If you remain under high stress for a long period of time, it breaks down both your mind and body. By taking care of yourself, you keep the stress at a manageable level where it does not consume you.

3. Self-care enhances your overall wellbeing 

Self-care addresses many aspects of your health and wellbeing, including: Physical/psychological health, fostering meaningful relationships, managing stress. Self-care is not just crucial for your body and mind.

To conclude this post, I’m sharing some simple methods of self-care that I use daily, and you can too:

• Exercise
• Indulge in your favourite movie or television show
• Spend time with loved ones
• Unplug from your electronics

 

How do you practice self-care?