Tips to Feel Your Best

We are living in a fast-paced world, and many times, we match our speed to the demands of a hectic schedule. Have you ever experience that it might take you two to three days to slow yourself down when you are on vacation? We all have 24 hours in our day, but the way we spend those hours present different challenges to each one of us. Your level of well being and energy gets affected by what you do and don't do. So, if there is not much that you can do to significantly alter your present routine, what can you do to feel your best despite the demands of an intense lifestyle?

The following are tips to help you feel better while going thru your mundane chores:

1. Go to bed at the same time, or close to it (allow yourself enough hours of rest).

2. Wake up at the same time, or close to it (this will help create a pattern, an internal clock for your body to follow).

3. If you have a crazy work schedule with different shifts, then at least allow yourself plenty of sleep/rest.

4. Don't skip breakfast (breakfast will be defined as the first meal you have after so many hours of sleep). This will regulate the glucose levels in your body. If you can't eat too early, start small, with a fruit , until you get the hang of it. You will tend to feel less hungry.

5. Choose healthy options for your breakfast, lunch, snacks and diner. Your body will start performing better. Eat your food slowly, tasting it. Give eating its own time; don't do another activity while eating. This helps the brain and your body, to process what you are doing. The image in your mirror will thank you.

6. Exercise at least ten minutes every day. Don't count your usual routine as exercise (these are 10 minutes set aside specifically for that, whatever the activity may be: treadmill, jogging, hiking, biking ...whatever).

7. Enjoy your showers, even if you take 5 minute showers. Use this time to disconnect from the frenzy at night, or to energize you in the morning. Feel the water hitting your body and enjoy the scent of your soap.

8. Read every day, at least for 5-10 minutes. Your brain will thank you for it.

9. Have at least, one hobby - something that you feel joy doing, and do it regularly. You need time for yourself only, and no one else. Or, cultivate a talent.

10. Before going to sleep, don't review your day, which will get you thinking of everything that went wrong (and set the wrong mood to go to sleep). Instead, practice being grateful for all the good things going on in your life.

11. We all brag about multitasking, but focusing on the activity at hand, will help you feel more productive and accomplished.

12. Dress and look your best. Take care of your appearance. Sometimes what you put on influences how you feel throughout the day.

13. Take five to ten minutes of the day to think about your goals - the things that you are striving for (write them down) and review them every day, to keep you on track.

14. If you have a pet, go ahead and pet it. It will make you feel better right away.

15. When socializing throughout the day (even on the phone), enjoy the conversation that you are having, and stop thinking of what you have to do next.

16. Practice mindfulness, be present at the moment, and take notice of what you are doing. It will shift your perception, and you will start feeling better.

No matter if you live by yourself, or are a part of a bigger family, these are things that you have to do every day. The way you approach and perform them influence how you end up feeling at the end of the day.