5 Life Hacks You Should Explore in 2022
It is already the 16th of January 2022. How speedy time can be
For deep persons, it is the best time to reflect on the past year.
What has been achieved and what was not met.
For various reasons, I do not give a damn about new year festivities as most people do.
My mum, for instance, has an old tradition of washing all curtains, kitchen utensils before the new year. In addition to this, she ensures there are no leftover cooked dishes before the new year. Everything must go with the previous year. — I find this amusing and interesting.
While there is nothing spectacular about ushering into another 365 days of human existence, entering a new year can breeze in us, a sense of hope, the courage to try again, the desire to run and recover lost time.
I advice you go against famous motivational quotes that warrants you to write your new year goals down, please don't do it.
Rather, make a resolution in your heart about what you hope to achieve within the next 365 days. It should be realistic too.
Setting unrealistic goals for a new year is not the only reason why new year resolutions do not work out. -You can read this later
Whatever your goals or resolutions are, try out these 5 things to improve concentration, resilience, and grit in achieving your 2022 plans.
Stay away from your phone. I should blame my phone for all the failures of 2021. The long list of unachieved goals I can attribute to my phone. -but I will sound ridiculous if I did that. The endless scroll of social media, the endless and directionless chit chat. This article is not about social media addiction(a stale topic and I’d not sound cliché discussing such). Staying away from the phone can really help you to achieve a lot — I am not talking about money here but that sense that comes with living a fulfilled life. Here are a few ways to stay away from your device and concentrate on things that truly matter. -Keep yourself on a schedule, turn off as many notifications as possible(for me I disable apps I find their notifications irresistible and only enable those that make me more productive), stay accountable.
Don't subscribe to many subscriptions; the drive for a change and desire to cover lost tracks sometimes pushes us to go for anything we see. Newsletters, podcasts, news, motivational write-ups, etc. Too many newsletters in your email will burn you out trust me. Set your goals and utilize only unique resources that enable you to achieve them. Too many publications and newsletters on your mail discourages you from actually working or reading important mails. Sometimes when I open my mail, I find an endless list of so many solicited unsolicited mails. It tires me, and soon i find myself occupied with my phone which brings to my face things i want to see. (Your subscription algorithm should work like your phone) subscribe to the only things that matter
Show gratitude; I am not religious. I am a moralist (but not in my mind’s eye). Gratitude simply put is the thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. Showing gratitude makes you feel more positive emotions, improves your mental health and helps you build stronger relationships. There are various ways to cultivate the habit of gratitude. Thank people mentally, keep a gratitude journal, mediate , count our blessings an if you are religious, pray.
Be true to thyself: This phrase is one of the countless famous quotes coined by William Shakespeare. Although it has multiple meanings, I choose to pin point its meaning on time. The year is too short to pretend to be what you are not . Be true to thyself, don't go round wasting your time on irrelevant things, or actions you have no passion for . Be real, be you . Why engage in a discussion about politics when you know fully well you don't give a damn about it . Engaging in activities you have no affinity for will only burn your mental energy and leave you frustrated than you already are.
Have enough rest; through my adulthood I have never really been a sleepy person . I call myself a hyper active person. Then I began to notice some signs associated with lack of sleep. Mood swings, weight issues , mental instability, lack of concentration and focus. When I joined medium in 2020, the articles I read about self development hammered on getting enough rest which included deep sleep. Being in Nigeria, part of the world where long sleep is tagged with laziness and flippancy, it was not easy to imbibe this new habit. One rather had to be awake staring blankly at a computer screen to look productive when basically you are doing nothing.
All I am trying to say is that our focus should not only be channeled on our goals but also on how to reduce habits that steals time from us while we build on things that makes us better focused and productive.
I hope you find what you seek this year.
Ps; I appreciate all forms of feedbacks and criticisms
