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2. Start the day with a clear mind.
“I go for a 30-60-minute walk, hike, or jog every morning—no matter the weather—to soak in the beauty and quiet and appreciate everything around me,” Patrice M., 52, tells SELF. “It allows me to focus and prepare for the day ahead.” Your version of starting the day with clarity doesn’t have to involve physical activity if you don’t want it to. Just choose any activity that lets you clear your head and feel at peace before starting a busy day.
3. Go through some positive affirmations.
Okay, yes, it may sound cheesy, but reminding yourself of things like how great and capable you are can set a great foundation for your outlook for the entire day. “I write myself encouraging notes and put them in my lunch, like a [parent] would,” Amy R., 35, tells SELF. “They say things like ‘You are strong and determined and you can do this,’ or ‘Take it easy on yourself today. You got this.’”
4. Use a guided meditation app.
Meditation can be a handy tool for becoming more present and reducing stress. But if you’re like me, you have a hard time sitting down and figuring out how to do it. Thinking about it and if you’re doing it right can just feel more stressful. To make it easy, use an app that guides you through meditations. Many are free, and some just cost a couple of dollars a month to subscribe.
5. Schedule workouts in your calendar like meetings.
Exercise is one of those things that always makes me feel more clear-headed and ready to face whatever the day throws at me. But I’ve found that it can be really hard to make time for a workout, especially when I’m at home all day and there’s no natural break in the day to leave the office and go to the gym. Scheduling my workouts in my Google Calendar, just like I would a work phone call, helps a ton. By simply carving out a dedicated time for exercise, I’m much more likely to do it. And boy do I feel like a completely new person once I sweat a bit.
6. Write in a journal every night.
It can be easy to focus on the negative and hard to stop those thoughts from spiraling, especially now. Nightly journaling is a really easy way to reflect on the day and get yourself focusing on some positivity amidst the chaos—which we could all use. “I have a gratitude journal on my nightstand, and I write down three things that I am grateful for every night before I go to bed,” Brittany H., 30, tells SELF. “It really puts life around me into perspective.”
7. Establish a bedtime routine that relaxes you.
Getting good sleep is one of the best ways to take care of both your physical and mental health. Establishing a relaxing pre-bed routine can help get your body and brain ready to doze off. Shana H., 29, says that every night before bed, she has a mug of hot tea and uses her jade face roller to help her relax. Similarly, Jamie B., 42, swears by a white noise machine to help her relax and wind down after a long day working and running after her three young children. Doing anything small like this that makes you feel at ease is a great way to prime your body for a restful night.
8. Take advantage of meal delivery kits.
I personally love cooking, but I also know how hard it can be to plan out your grocery shopping in advance to make sure you have the ingredients to make healthy meals. And then you have to spend time chopping the ingredients, too. That’s why meal delivery kits are pretty awesome—they make it so easy to whip up delicious meals. If you can afford the premium price (the convenience comes at a cost, of course), they can be a really useful tool for feeding yourself and your family without all of the extra stress of menu planning and ingredient prepping.
9. Take regular breaks from social media.
Social media can do good things, like connect us with like-minded people and open us up to new, supportive communities we couldn’t find otherwise. But it can also take a huge toll on our mental health—hello, doomscrolling. Taking a break regularly can help you be more present in your actual life. “I detox from all social media on Sundays,” Allyson C., 37, tells SELF. “I set this boundary over a year ago, and have truly experienced a difference in my overall wellness. This weekly pause helps me to consistently ‘break’ the habit and reset. On Mondays, I find that I am not reaching for my phone first thing in the morning and not mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, which always leads to incessantly checking email.”
10. Start saying no. It feels so good.
You know what they say: You have to put your oxygen mask on first. Sometimes that means saying no, including to things that you know will take a toll on your mental health. It can be really hard to do—I’m still working on learning how to do it without apologizing profusely for it at the same time. But it’s life-changing once you learn to say no and set healthy boundaries for yourself. That can mean saying no to a friend or a family member or a virtual social event you don’t have the time or emotional bandwidth for. Figure out what’s best for you and your mental health, and then nicely say no.
