Category: Self-improvement

Remember when you were a child and you thought that when you grew up, you’d be able to do whatever you wanted? How wrong we all were.

For many of us, it’s harder to achieve goals as adults because no one is pushing us. That is, until we learn the self-management skills that let us push ourselves.

Self-Management Skills Everyone Can Use

One of the few guarantees in life is that you will lose motivation every now and then. Keep yourself on track with these self-management techniques.

1. Creating Accountability Systems
Everyone talks about setting clear goals and writing them down. As important as that is, it’s rarely the only thing we need to keep us moving.

Hold yourself accountable for each task. For some people, positive reinforcement works best, so set rewards you can earn. For instance, if you complete this task today, you can watch the new episode of your favorite TV show.

Other people are more motivated by negative consequences. You might tell yourself that if you don’t complete that task, you have to deep-clean your refrigerator.

Use trial and error to find the rewards or consequences that motivate you best. Above all, track them in your planner and follow through with them.

2. Crafting Success-Based Routines
Sometimes we have big goals but we never start the little steps it takes to achieve them. This especially true if we’re working toward multiple goals at the same time.

Set up a daily routine that includes steps toward each of your goals. This might include an exercise regimen, reaching out to business contacts, organizing one area of your home each day, and more.

When you have that routine, keep track and hold yourself accountable. A bullet journal is a simple way to see your progress.

3. Managing Stress
As important as motivation is, you can’t solve all of life’s problems by working harder. In fact, pushing yourself too hard and burning out will do more harm than good in the long run.

Make your mental health a priority and include stress management in your daily routine.

There are plenty of helpful options: meditation, exercise, aromatherapy, bubble baths, reading a book, or playing a video game to name a few. Find out what works and make time for it.

4. Being Selectively Social
Self-management isn’t just about you. None of us exist in a vacuum, so the people you surround yourself with will impact your success too.

Keep this in mind as you look around your social group. If there are people in your life who push you to do things that go against your goals, take a step back.

Try making friends with people who have similar goals. This could include your co-workers or other people in your industry. If weight loss or fitness is a key goal for you, get social with other people at your gym.

Being Your Own Boss

Whether you’re your own employer or you just need to hold yourself accountable for your outside goals, self-management is no easy task. In many ways, it’s easier to motivate others than it is to motivate ourselves.

If you’re struggling, the self-management skills above can help you get out of your own way and get on the road to success.

For more help, check out the Elisi self-management app.

For many of you, the time during college signifies the apex of your school life. It is when you start to live your life as a real adult, making important decisions about your future and taking responsibility for those decisions. It is also when you start to build up expertise, moving forward in becoming a real professional. However, after being gone from college for years, you may (or better not) be surprised to find that knowledge only takes up a tiny part of your college memory. The crueler fact is that knowledge can “fade away” anytime, especially when your occupation does not have a 100% match with your major. Continue reading What should you learn from college?

6. Stop thinking. When you find yourself stuck with thoughts that are causing anxiety, tell yourself “Stop!” This word is short, quick, and effective.

Practical steps
Tell yourself to stop each time you start thinking about a situation that makes you anxious. If you continue to do this, it will soon become a habit.

7. Take care of and help others. Anxiety and worry can lead people into excessive self-concern. To get out of the cycle of self-blame, a good countermeasure is to consider what you can do for others. Think about how you can help your friends and family. If you know people who are going through a tough time, act now to support them.

Practical steps
Send a thank-you card with a short, thoughtful note or call a friend to follow up about a current situation.

8. List and plan. Empty your mind by creating a list of all the tasks you are worrying about. This will give your brain room to think about other things. In the same way, planning can also help to free your mind from endless worries and fears by organizing your thoughts.

Practical steps
List all the things you want and need to do, prioritize these tasks, and implement your plan. If you start to worry about something you’ve already arranged and organized, tell yourself: “Stop, I have this planned!”

9. Experience being in the moment. When you find yourself thinking about something over and over, take a deep breath and look around. Pay attention to the sky, the trees, and the sounds of nature. Remind yourself to wake up from your “daymare” and you will start to feel differently.

Practical steps
When you find yourself in a negative mood, practice appreciating the beauty of the world around you.

10. Ask a professional for help. When anxiety becomes overwhelming, long-term, and interferes with your daily life, consider getting professional help. A meditation class or a visit with a therapist can calm a tired mind and improve your life.

Practical steps
Find a therapist or counselor, or attend a meditation class.

(By Elisi Studio)

1. Blame the problem on the brain. This is not to blame all the anxiety problems on your brain, but you need to know that anxiety may come from the neurophysiological structure, and bad thinking habits are one of the reasons for creating additional anxiety. For example, excessive or lack of a certain chemical substance in the brain, or excessive activity in certain areas of the brain, may cause anxiety in your body. Think of excessive anxiety as a natural consequence of chemical changes in the brain rather than your personal weaknesses, this idea is helpful in relieving anxiety.

Practical Steps
Tell yourself “Don’t worry, it’s my brain that enters an anxious environment.”

2. Hold hands or embrace with who care about you. When you are highly anxious, you will find it’s difficult to calm down. At this time, handle and hug can effectively reduce the stress response. Once you feel your emotions are alleviated, you can try other techniques to divert your attention.

Practical Steps
Holding hands or embrace with someone until you are calm. If you don’t have a companion around you, you can give yourself a massage or take a deep breath.

3. Use your invisible “support circle.” If no one around you can give you comfort, just think of the people who support you and the things happened before that you have received support. Recalling our family and friends can give us a sense of security, which reduces our stress.

Practical steps
Write down the person who is important to yourself on the card, put the card into the wallet. When you feel pressure, take out the card and read it. Whether in the office or at home, put some photos of people you value.

4. Breath with your abdomen. Learn the abdominal breathing method and use it as a relaxation technique. Deep breathing can send an “all good” signal to the brain. Relax your body with deep breathing and your brain will relax too. You don’t need to set aside time to practice as you do meditation, taking deep breathing as a daily breathing method.

Practical steps
When you start feeling anxious, start taking a deep breath with your abdomen. This breathing method can initiate a relaxation reaction.

5. Relax or exercise yourself. Meditation and yoga are common ways of self-relaxation, there are also loud singing, reading, chatting and knitting sweaters, etc. Even washing dishes can eliminate anxiety. For people who are energetic but physically stressed, exercise is more effective than self-relaxation. 20 minutes of exercise can reduce anxiety and improve resilience. Aerobic exercise can consume chemicals that make you nervous, such as adrenaline. Even walking around can offset the side effects of sedentary.

Practical steps
Choose activities that relax your mind and body to alleviate your anxiety, or just go out for 20 minutes every day.

(By Elisi Studio)