The year 2020 has been of great physical and moral impact for all humanity: several activities and businesses have been suspended, many planned projects have had to be cancelled or postponed and the majority of the population has experienced not very motivating moments.
The beginning of this new year 2021 then represents a chance to start from scratch, start new projects and set new goals, including personal development goals!
"The best way to predict the future is to create it. »
– Peter Drucker
Indeed, in times of confinement and stopped activities, there is nothing better than focusing on your morale, your state of mind and your personal development.
Improve your sleep rhythm
With a busy work pace and days full of tasks to do, it's not easy to get a good night's sleep.
True, the effects of such a lack of sleep are not noticed directly, but in the long run, intense fatigue and symptoms of disability will be felt.
For these reasons and in order to start a better year from a health point of view, the first personal development goal to set would be to improve your sleep rhythm and ensure the amount of rest necessary for the proper functioning of your body.
Here are some tips to improve your sleep pattern:
- Use your bed only to sleep: indeed, getting the brain used to working in your bed will not allow it to distinguish when sleeping to reduce its activity. It is necessary to dedicate a special space to work and free your bed to allow your brain to recognize that it is time to sleep.
- Get used to stopping activity at a certain time: Working until a late hour encourages your brain to focus more.
- If your phone does not have such a feature, there are dedicated applications to record your activity and suggest tips to improve the quality of your sleep and adjust its cycle, such as Sleep Cycle or Calm which also has meditation and relaxation activities.
- Changing the décor and environment in your room could also have a huge impact on your sleep. Indeed, studies have shown that the ideal temperature for restful sleep is between 16 and 18 ° C.
- It has been shown that the blue color in the bedroom would allow you to sleep up to 7:50 a.m. per night, the yellow color is a soothing color if you don't like blue. Green comes in third place, being a natural anti-stress color. You can opt for warmer colors such as powder pink and natural tones that are known to help with sleep.
- Another tip to sleep better: space between dinner and sleep. Indeed, for better digestion and deeper sleep, it is advisable to stop eating at least 2 hours before going to bed.
Avoid screens after work
Nowadays, screens are a means of work or entertainment used daily for long hours of the day on different devices: computer, phone, tablet, TV, etc.
This excessive use contributes to the deterioration of vision and reduces the ability to concentrate, it also leads to addiction causing daily stress.
In addition to the huge time saving, avoiding the use of screens after work would relax and calm brain activity for better neuron regeneration, more efficient rest and restful sleep.
Read a book on personal development
Reading is an effective alternative to using screens in your spare time. Whether in transport, during breaks, or after work, reading a book is the perfect pastime to combine rest and entertainment.
Personal development is one of the best types of books to read if you want to spend more time on your personal growth and find new ideas for inspiration!
You will only have to choose the field that interests you and in which you want to deepen, a panoply of titles will be at your disposal, of different sizes and different authors: you can choose one from the top 8 best personal development books.
Giving your body what it needs
Physical health is just as important as mental health, as the well-known saying goes:
"A healthy mind in a healthy body"
Starting a careful approach with your body means adapting new eating and sports habits.
Taking the amount your body needs fiber, protein and water would significantly reduce symptoms of fatigue and overwork.
Advocating foods containing iron will improve the quality of your skin, nails and hair.
It is known that good physical health means more endurance, greater energy and better mental health.
Create routines
Even if movement and regular activity are important for the physical and mental health of the human being, our body also needs certain references.
Indeed, getting used to a kind of ritual before starting your day, or at its end, would install a certain stability and organization to better structure your schedule.
Following an evening routine would play a big role in the quality of sleep during the night. This could include dinner, a moment in front of the TV with the family or as a couple, the application of evening skin care, followed by a moment of reading.
The most important thing when developing a routine to follow is that it is in line with your current plans and goals.
Keep a journal
One of the best practices to clear your mind and put your mind back in place would be to keep a journal.
Having a diary is unique to each person. You can use it any way you want as long as you make sure you take time for yourself by writing on it.
A journal can be used as a history book where you write down everything that happens in your days, whether detailed or mentioning only the main ideas with representative drawings. It can also serve as a notebook of gratitudes and recognitions that you fill out daily morning or evening.
Turning to minimalism
Emptying the surplus around you is always a good idea to clear up your ideas and have a better reflection.
You can start by sorting through your home, bedroom or office. Remove any non-essential things you keep just so you don't throw away, you can give your stuff to your interested entourage or put them on sale in recycling groups or others.
Remember to put space in your workplace and bedroom, do not clutter the places where you spend a lot of time, the mess around you adds mental pressure not necessarily felt at first.
Keep only the essentials. In your room: your bed, a bedside table, a dressing table, a wardrobe or preferably a closet as a dressing room and a coat rack.
In your office: a desk as a workspace, a comfortable chair, a storage unit and a coat rack. Remember to minimize the objects on your furniture as well.
You will quickly notice that the added space will provide you with mental relief, better concentration, better sleep, and better rendering at work!
Learning new things
Who wouldn't want to make the most of their time and optimize it by trying new experiences, learning new things or simply focusing on themselves?
Acquiring new knowledge is always a good way to develop and build one's person. Take the time to find a subject or field that interests you and look into it to have a new mastery: you can learn cycling, programming, a new language, etc.
Indeed, a new thing learned is never a loss, you will be able to develop your general knowledge while enjoying your time to the fullest!
Enjoying the moment
We always tend to think about the future, make plans, always see far and foresee things to come. Indeed, ambition and the desire to carry out projects are important factors for our personal and professional evolution, it is what motivates us to continue moving forward and always challenge each other.
However, focusing on the future can have a negative effect on our daily well-being. This is the problem faced by most entrepreneurs, project managers and people with great responsibility.
Always seeing far away and focusing only on the results we hope to have, makes us no longer appreciate the present moment and the pleasures of everyday life.
This leads us to underestimate the modest achievements, the simple steps forward made in the moment: as long as the big goal is not achieved, nothing is achieved.
However, this method of reflection is a huge obstacle to our mental health, not allowing us to fully enjoy the present moment, our surroundings, everyday gestures: projecting ourselves towards a distant and vague moment leads to a loss of self-confidence, doubt and anxiety.
Focusing instead on the present, enjoying the day to day and appreciating small achievements, allows you to build self-confidence, be grateful for the opportunities that come your way, have gratitude and inner peace.
Have fun: try a challenge!
Instead of spending days staring at the phone, scrolling through pages aimlessly while watching videos on social networks, it would be interesting to keep busy and let off steam by testing one of the challenges that have gone viral on the web!
Indeed, several challenges are adopted by Internet users, whether physical challenges of dance, choreography, games; Or personal development challenges such as habits to keep for 30 days, adopt a new routine, read as many books as possible quickly.
As long as you are attempting a challenge to improve your state of mind, morals or physical health, it is always a good approach to personal development.
Take time for yourself
With the movements of modern life, it is not easy to find time for yourself. Taking time for yourself means taking care of your body, having a good bath, preparing a dish that makes you want, making a new haircut, etc.
Time for oneself can also be used to rest morally, do meditation, yoga, read a novel, watch a series, etc.
Thinking about yourself may seem simple, but it is not easy to really find the time: try the experience, you will notice the impact on your personal development.
Do you have any other personal development goals to achieve in your list of resolutions for this year? Do not hesitate to let us know.
