One of the greatest gifts an individual can have is self discipline paired with consistency.
Some of what we’ll uncover in today’s post will touch on things that will require consistent effort if you wish to implement them.
Whilst others will only require a simple change.
1. Working Hours
Starting with a simple lifestyle hack. Your working hours.
If you’re in a position to change the hours you work, then this is really worth while exploring.
Have you considered 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. as opposed to 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.?
The majority of people have a 9 – 5 work lifestyle.
If you can amend your work hours. You may find your commute to and from work being much quicker, allowing you to invest the time you save into other projects or hobbies you have.
Finishing at 2 or 3 p.m. instead of 5 also makes a big difference regarding your work-life balance. You’ll notice you have much more time after work to do a lot more.
With minimal noise and distraction in the morning, you may also be much more productive at work.
But of course, consistently starting your work day at 6 or 7 a.m. requires self discipline.
This means sleeping at a scheduled time to ensure you get the sleep required to make you function at your best the next day.
Which brings us to our next hack: Start your day early.
2. Start Your Day Early
Easy to say but not as easy to practice.
Consistently starting your day early can really change your life for the best, unlocking greater levels of productivity.
But doing so will require self discipline.
Creating and sticking to an evening routine can really help. Whatever your routine is, just make sure you’re in bed at a time that’ll give you sufficient sleeping hours.
Try to disconnect from your devices before bed. The blue light omitted from the devices we use so regularly suppresses a person’s melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. Therefore, too much blue light before bed can make it harder for you to fall asleep.
Disconnecting from your device also opens the opportunity for you to connect to other realities, that can only be explored through being present.
Investing in your sleep will also assist with starting your day early.
There are many mattress in a box companies that are committed to offering people mattresses that are designed to give them the best night’s sleep.
For instance, some of the best memory foam mattresses are designed to gently shape to the contours of your body. Providing orthopaedic pressure relief, recharging your body for the day to come.
Getting enough sleep is also great for your mental health as it allows your brain to reset, enabling you to overcome the daily challenges that await you.
Therefore, practicing a more disciplined lifestyle has many benefits to your mental well-being.
Finding a reason to wake up early can also be encouraging. Many of us tend to exercise early in the morning. A great benefit of doing so is to start your metabolism early on during the day.
There is also a higher chance of cancelling your daily workout after work for many reasons. Whilst exercising in the morning is far less likely to be cancelled.
Starting your day by exercising can also open up your mind and enhance your productivity.
3. Be Resilient
As we’ve just mentioned, being disciplined with your lifestyle can also lead to better mental health.
Take sleeping for example. Those who have a structured sleeping schedule, consistently give their minds and bodies enough time to reset and recover.
And a rested spirit will generally be much more resilient than an unrested one.
Let’s compare two people. Person A has a solid sleeping routine, who sleeps from 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. everyday. Wakes up, has a healthy breakfast and exercises before comfortably leaving for work.
Person B, procrastinates before bed, falls asleep very late into the night. Wakes up sluggish with little to no personal time, doesn’t have breakfast and rushes to work.
If person A and B continued these trends for a year, what impact would it have on their mental well-being?
Due to their lifestyle, person A would generally be much more resilient than person B.
And being more resilient will increase your ability to overcome hardships, allowing you to learn and benefit from your failures as opposed to giving up when things get too hard.
Take the simple example of writing for Thrive Global. Person C will submit their content to Thrive Global for the first time and it may get rejected and at that point they give up on ever posting on the platform again.
Whilst a more resilient person, person D has the same experience, but instead of giving up, they analyse why they got rejected, learn from the experience and submit another content piece.
Without even knowing the outcome of person D’s second content piece, who benefits more from this scenario?
Person D of course.
We all share similar experiences, however those of us who are resilient will benefit from their experiences far greater than those who aren’t.
And with a lifestyle of experiences to come for each of us, the difference between the two would be phenomenal.
In Summary
A great way to approach well-being is holistically.
Your lifestyle and mental health are very much so connected.
Overall, being self disciplined and consistent with your efforts will enhance your well-being.