13 Things I Started Doing To Improve The Quality Of My Everyday Life
1. Waking up 2 hours earlier than usual. I started making time for all the things I wished I had more time for – reading, exercising, working on side projects. This helps me feel like I’ve accomplished something with my day before my actual work day even begins.
2. Drinking more water. I’ll probably never drink “enough” water to ever truly feel hydrated (does anyone feel hydrated?) but by replacing my daily drinks like morning and afternoon coffee with water, it’s helped out with better skin and less headaches.
3. Taking the time to cook and to cook more creatively. Instead of surviving off of take out and a minimalist diet of peanut butter, raw veggies, nuts, and whatever’s in my cupboard I started planning my meals in advance and finding recipes for simple dishes before I went shopping.
4. Stopped trying to multi-task all the time and give people my undivided attention. No more trying to write an article, talk on the phone, and converse with co-workers online all at once.
5. Allowing myself to disconnect from the internet and go on an afternoon technology detox. Reading a good book at a park is infinitely a better time spent than feeling uninspired and sitting on a computer, refreshing the same old websites.
6. Cleaning before things get completely out of control. Also, taking note on how effective cleaning and organizing is at curing a bad mood or helping with my anxiety.
7. Limiting the people I “hate-follow” on social media by either muting, unfollowing, or unfriending. Giving myself permission to defriend people because no, actually, I don’t need to stay friends with some random from high school I haven’t talked to in 10 years or an ex co-worker I barely knew.
8. Allowing myself to engage in things I considered self-indulgent and would make excuses about – watching the latest episode of one of my favorite shows, reading a “junkfood” novel on the beach, etc.
9. Accepting when I’m just not feeling something, instead of trying to force myself to enjoy it. Whether it was a band someone was raving about or an article I was trying to write but couldn’t finish, I realized it’s okay to be like, ya know, this just isn’t for me or hey, this isn’t working and I should focus my energy on something else.
10. Stepping away from toxic friends, situations, or conversations and allowing myself to disconnect from people that were nothing but a negative impact on my life.
11. Making appointments I had put off for far too long. Doctor’s appointments, hair appointments, dentist appointments, whatever.
12. Taking better accountability for my role in my relationships – identifying relationships that needed work and communicating with loved ones about what I need from them or what I could do better.
13. Realizing some connections and relationships you can’t repair regardless of how much you try. Whether it’s a person you used to work with or a friend that’s rarely in touch, there’s only so much you can do before you realize their lack of interest is a sign it’s like that for a reason. 
