You know you need to change something. Because right now things stink and you feel stuck. Your life needs a proper reboot and reset. In the previous posts, we learned how to identify what areas to reset, and how to plan a life reset. Now, let’s take a look at the most effective life reset tools you can use.
1. Improve Your Life with Journaling
During any type of life reset, journaling is one of the most important and effective things you can do.
It allows you to get all of those niggling thoughts and half-formed ideas out of your head.
The act of writing in the journal helps you find clarity in a moment of confusion.
It sheds light on why you feel the way you do.
Here are some things to know about improving your life with journaling.
Why Journaling Is One of the Most Essential Life Reset Tools
The reason you want to use a journal during any type of reset is because it becomes the safe haven.
Whether you want to change your body, reboot your health, upgrade your career, boost your mind or raise your spirit.
This is the place where your desires, thoughts, ideas, and feelings and goals and plans live.
A secret thing that is only between you and your journal.
Many people prefer writing in a journal as opposed to talking with people because they won’t be judged or because they fear criticism.
For a reset, you’re going to go through everything in your life, and figure out what’s working and what isn’t.
And you’re going to record all of that in your journal.
You’ll dig deep into what you want out of life and find clarity.
“The starting point of discovering who you are, your gifts, your talents,
your dreams, is being comfortable with yourself. Spend time alone.
Write in a journal.”
Robin Sharma
If you’ve never tried journaling before, give it a go.
The consistent practice of journaling is a massive game-changer.
You’ll be surprised.
What to Write About in Your Journal
When it comes to what to write in your journal, it’s going to depend on what your goals are with this reset.
If this is just a health reset, then you might write down what you eat each day, details on a diet you plan to do, keeping track of your workouts, and writing down triggers for your mental health.
However, if you’re doing more of a life reset, include journal entries about how you are feeling, your goals, working out what is bothering you, trying to get to the bottom of your issues with productivity, tracking your home organization, and anything else you plan to work on.
The Importance of a Journaling Routine
Creating a journaling routine is going to help you move forward, make changes, and stick to them.
Using your journal once and never again is probably not going to help you much.
Think of a time of day when you have at least 10-15 minutes of quiet, alone time to write in your journal.
Use this as part of your daily routine, whether it’s shortly before bed or when you wake up in the morning and have your coffee.
You can also bring your journal with you to use in your car while waiting for your kids to get out of school, or during your lunch break at work.
2. Add a Vision Board To Your Life Reset Tools
Vision boarding is one of the most powerful life reset tools. A vision board is a visual representation of what you want your future to look like.
Using a vision board will literally allow you to craft your future life.
If you’re a visual person like me, images are super powerful because they articulate, in specific form, what your desired reality will be.
Vision Boarding Increases You’re your Chances of Success
Paired with journaling, this is a very powerful technique to inspire you to take consistent action daily, to stick to your (sometimes tedious) routines and to keep your goals in from of your eyes every day.
While journaling enables you to elaborate in depth, it’s easy to detach yourself from the content once you close the journal shut and forget what you wrote.
But with the vision board, you’ll have you’re your future right there in front of your eyes.
Creating Your Vision Board
You might create a vision board encompassing all areas of your life reset.
But it’s ok to just focus on area at a time too.
Decide whether you want to focus on short-term or long-term goals.
If you feel generous, there’s nothing wrong with having two boards. One for the immediate life reset goals and one for the future that extends beyond the current plan.
Strong evocative visuals will help you to give your ideas and dreams a concrete tangible form.
You can use colours, textures and patterns. And these qualities make the vision a real possibility. They bring your vision to life that is to be.
You can use magazine photographs, post cards, prints, cut-outs, stickers, drawings, sketches, materials ranging from paper to fabric to any object that you can safely attach to the board.
Although I much prefer the physical vision board, you can easily create a digital one using Pinterest or Canva. This way, you can always access it wherever you go.
Place the vision board somewhere where you can always see it.
And, of course, update as you go!
3. Meditation and Mindfulness Are Super Effective Life Reset Tools
A common theme surrounding improving your life and especially your mental and emotional health is doing meditation or mindfulness.
I am a big fan of doing both.
Each of these practices benefits you in a similar way, with a slightly different technique.
But they blend beautifully into one life-changing practice.
Meditation and Mindfulness
These are similar practices but done in slightly different ways.
With meditation, you’re most likely focusing on your breathing, closing your eyes, and trying to clear your mind.
When you’re practicing mindfulness, it’s not done with your eyes closed, but instead when participating in another activity.
When to do meditation – If you’re in need of calming your mind. If you need to get all the static out of your head. Or if you’re struggling with your excessive worrying and anxiety. In each instance meditation is a great option. It does take a bit of practice and patience, so don’t expect to master it on the first try.
When to practice mindfulness – Mindfulness is easier to do on a regular basis, as you can turn your everyday activities into practice. This is great if you struggle with a bad relationship with food. Or if you have difficulty concentrating. If you have issues with focusing too much on the past or future. Or if you just want to slow down and appreciate each moment in your life.
Start With a Simple Meditation Routine
If meditation interests you for your reset, start small with just a simple breathing or visualization exercise.
Breathing exercises provide a way to meditate without putting too much pressure on yourself to be perfect.
Just sit in a quiet room with the door closed, find a comfortable spot to sit down, and close your eyes.
Just take the first couple minutes to sit quietly and let your thoughts dissipate.
Once you feel more relaxed, begin focusing on your breathing.
Inhale and exhale slowly, feeling your diaphragm and focusing only on your breathing.
Notice the sound and feeling of each breath as you breathe in and out.
The more you concentrate on your breathing, the less you will focus on the intrusive thoughts.
Practice More Mindfulness
Being more mindful is a practice, but something that can benefit you so much.
The great thing is that mindfulness can be done just about anywhere.
To be more mindful, you are simply acknowledging and appreciating the current moment.
For example, when you’re eating, you turn off distractions and focus on your food and the enjoyment you get from each bite.
You’re not thinking about the calories or what you plan to do after you eat, just focus on your meal.
Some other easy ways to practice mindfulness include:
Turning off the radio and enjoying the sights when you are on a drive.
Going for a walk and taking deep breaths to enjoy the fresh air.
Letting your mind relax when you are in the bath or shower.
4. Maintain Peace with Hygge
Hygge is a wonderful practice that can be done any time of the year. And you can add it to your arsenal of the best life reset tools.
Though people often focus on it in the fall and winter months.
When the weather is cooler, it’s darker outside, and the need for comfort and coziness becomes a priority.
Hygge is a Danish practice of winding down, getting cozy and comfortable, and indulging in relaxation.
There are many ways to practice hygge, and all of them can bring you peace during your time of reset.
Bring Nature in Your Home
An easy way to start practicing hygge is to bring nature back into your home.
Instead of using fake plastic plants, consider getting some live plants.
It does take more time and attention to care for them, but it can really help you to connect with nature and even improve the oxygen quality in your home.
Another option is to start getting fresh flowers every weekend when you go to the supermarket or farmer’s market.
It allows you to create a homier environment, which is wonderful for hygge.
Think Soft, Cozy Materials
Hygge is all about comfort and relaxation, so try to use more soft and cozy materials.
This is both on your person and in your home.
Get some soft blankets to put on your bed and sofa.
Have plush carpets in areas of your home where you have cold tile or hardwood flooring.
Put lots of pillows on your bed.
Get thick, warm sweaters to wear indoors, and fuzzy socks or slippers.
Set the Ambiance
Ambiance is also a big part of hygge, including using candles, dimming the lighting in your home, and using your fireplace on cold evenings.
This is one of the reasons why people practice hygge more in the fall or winter months, as opposed to the summer.
A big part of ambiance is not only controlling the lighting in your home but making it warmer as well.
Indulge in Relaxing Activities
Think of some activities that are soothing and relaxing.
What do you typically do when you want to unwind?
This is going to be completely unique to you.
This might be curling up with a good book and cup of tea in the evenings.
Or working on an art project during the weekend.
The activities should be soothing and calm your mind as you do them.
Unplug as Often as You Can
With hygge, you want to unplug when you can.
This is the time to give your mind a break.
Stop taking in so much news and information, and just relax.
5. Boost Your Motivation With a Seasonal Bucket List
Did you ever think that a bucket list has a place amongst your life reset tools?
A bucket list is a great way to do a “Reset” of your life.
This is where you take stock of what you have now, your goals’ progress, and how you spend your time.
Then make tiny tweaks where you feel you need them.
With the bucket list, you can choose activities you want to participate in either alone or with friends and family.
However, this time, put them in the calendar and focus on following through.
Seeing on paper what you’ve already achieved and what you can look forward to, is an invaluable motivator!
Here are some tips for creating a bucket list.
Make a List of What You Love Doing
Just like with a vision board, you can create a short-term or long-term bucket list.
However, for the purposes of the immediate life reset, I’d recommend focusing on the short-term.
Say you’re in winter and start planning the entire year.
Summer seems so distant; chances are your plans will change and the determination to do certain activities will fade.
The advantage of the seasonal bucket is that it creates a sense of immediacy and urgency.
In short, you won’t give yourself too much time to overthink and you’ll just go for it.
To start simply, just make a list of write down notes of what you love doing during your chosen season.
This can be any type of activity that reminds you of this time of year, or you tend to enjoy more during your chosen season.
Does fall make you want to bake more or cook with seasonal ingredients?
Are you excited to go to the mountains in the winter when the weather is cooler?
Do you tend to want to do more crafts in the spring?
You get the idea.
Write Down What You Have Always Wanted to Do
You can also include activities that aren’t necessarily related to the season, but that you just really want to do.
It’s easy to have those ideas in your head of what you would love to do, but the “someday” never comes.
Now is your chance!
Have you always wanted to visit a national park in your state, but never had the opportunity to?
Or maybe you want to try a local workout class or learn how to paint.
These can all be added to your bucket list.
Create a Spreadsheet or Printable
Once you have your list, go through it and highlight the ones you definitely want to keep on your list.
Then, you can create a printable or spreadsheet with the information.
This can be done just with a ruler, pen and paper, or you can create one digitally.
All you really need is space for lines to write in your bucket list items and checkboxes to check off as each one is completed.
There are, of course, many other tools you can use for an effective life reset. Those we listed here are nothing fancy-schmancy. They’re simple, easy to implement and affordable. Yet they are so powerful it’s almost perverse! So use the hell out of them and because you don’t need to spend a lot of money to make significant changes.
Disclaimer
This article was written by Zuzana Halliwell. I am not a doctor or health professional and cannot be held liable for the information written here. This article is meant to provide information about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and diet. The content is based on my own personal experience and on information provided by medical professionals that is available to the public. It is not intended to provide medical advice. Do not use it as an alternative to seeking help from a medical professional.
