Spring into a Healthy Headspace
Every spring, I get the itch to give my home a serious deep cleaning, declutter the unnecessary items accumulated throughout the school year, and organize everything. Turns out, decluttering your brain is just as important as organizing your home. Here are some of our favorite tips for a healthier headspace this spring.
1. Start Journaling
Keep a journal of your thoughts, worries, fears, and upsets. The research shows this is highly effective in allowing them to release from your mind.
2. Drop a Bad Habit
Pick an area in your life that has an impact on your mental health. For many of us, this might be diet or exercise. Make an effort to drop the habit and replace it with a healthier option. Instead of lazy Sundays (which are totally great in our book), maybe switch to lazy Sunday afternoons after a Sunday Run-day?! Or instead of hoping on your phone to scroll first thing in the morning- open your journal or meditate instead.
3. Tackle Projects You’ve Been Putting Off (or send them to TULA)
We all have a mental (and physical) list of projects we really need to tackle. Kick off your “mental health spring cleaning” by writing down all of the things that you’ve been putting off, like scheduling the gutter cleaning and window washer you have had on your list for going on two seasons now, or finally going to the skin doctor, and making the necessary appointments to get everything in hand. Shameless plug- send that list to TULA and let us take care of all of those projects for you. We promise it still feels just as satisfying to cross them off your list.
4. Focus on Positive Relationships
We all have people in our lives that we love, but with whom we don’t have the healthiest or most enjoyable relationships. Instead of spending time prioritizing those people, consider dedicating your time to positive friendships or relationships instead.
5. Get back to Gratitude
One great way to ignite a bit of a release and promote a healthy mind is to take some time to focus on everything you have to be grateful for. You can do this in a number of ways, I personally use a gratitude journal because I like being prompted to think about things that don't always immediately come to mind, but you can simply dedicate time to make a daily list or incorporate it into your family rituals. This is a common dinner question for us (though admittedly we definitely could be more consistent) However you practice gratitude, there is no doubt if you spend more time thinking about all you have to be thankful for- there is less space to stress over things you don't have or have control over.
6. Get Outside
Open the shades first thing in the morning. Take your work meetings on a walk. I don't know about you- but I feel very strongly that meetings don't ALL have to be video anymore just because we got accustomed to that after the last two years of back to back zoom meetings. Walk and talk- spend your lunch break outside! Enjoy those extra hours of sunlight in the evening to do something outside...or simply eat your dinner outside. Megs and I started going on TULA walk meetings, and I swear we cover more on a walk than we do sometimes in front of our computers. Regardless, one thing is for sure- a little dose of Vitamin D and fresh air no matter when you can fit it in will do wonders.
7. Shift Perspective
Accept that you’re not perfect and neither is the world around you. Look closer at the moments of progress and joy instead of the ones that bring you anger and frustration.
8. Digital Detox
I have heard this a few times and in a few different ways- but the way it really stuck for me was when I heard someone say 'hey think of it this way- what do you do or what does 99% of tech trouble shooters tell you to do when a computer or electronic device isn't working correctly? Answer- power cycle of course (which is just a fancy way of saying turn it off and turn it back on). Once in a while we need to do the same. Get off your phone, your computer, social media- and truly recharge. It can be a few hours, a day, a weekend, or even longer if you can do it. It is magical and you may even forget why you were so attached to your devices in the first place.