Introduction
2020 was an extraordinary year. For some, it was a terrible year, for others, it was a fantastic year. Personally, for me, it was a bit of both. The stuff I learned this year about myself really helped me grow and taught me so many valuable lessons. It taught me how to keep my mind clear, achieve my goals, and enjoy life overall.
In this post, I will share the main things I learned that really helped me during 2020 because I think that this stuff will be helpful for everyone. I'm going to share with you how 2020 helped me learn how to deal with anxiety and how to appreciate the life in which we live.
1. Stop Procrastinating
The main thing that I leŠ°rned this year is that procrastinating is one of the main reasons I feel miserable and unable of doing anything. I think that one of the main problems in today's world is that people can't find the motivation to do anything. For example, I challenged myself to finish a JavaScript course for one month (this was during the first CIVOD-19 lockdown). Instead of finishing it in the time period I gave myself, I kept pushing it back because I would always find a reason not to do it. And I think that's why so many people procrastinate. They always find excuses not to do something.
After realizing how rubbish this way of lifestyle is, I decided I want a change. So I decided to plan out my day. I know this may sound quite silly, but just by planning your day, you can do anything. Even if it's a small list, try to add different little tasks that will occupy your day. In the end, I found out that I did the stuff that I was supposed to do with much more ambition and enjoyment. Here is my morning routine for 2020 that helped me go into my day with the right mindset:
1. Get up, stretch and do some exercises
It takes your brain a little bit longer to wake up. So one of the worst things a person can do is whip out their phone as soon as they open their eyes. So waking up and letting your mind adjust by stretching and doing some exercises is crucial. It helps you stay in shape, and it makes you feel more energized for the day. And after time, you will feel that you are getting stronger. With time you are going to see so many results.
2. Take a cold shower
After a long night's sleep and doing exercises in the morning, taking a shower would be a good idea. An even better idea is to take a cold one. Firstly, nothing wakes you up faster than a cold shower. Secondly, there are so many benefits of taking that cold shower that you wouldn't believe. Cold showers actually help reduce depression and boost productivity.
That is because they increase endorphins. You can think of endorphins as the happiness hormones. Cold showers also help improve your metabolism and are better for your skin. One of the main reasons I take cold showers every morning is that it's actually a very calming place that all you think about is the cold. This may sound quite extreme, but it's actually very relaxing just to keep your mind off things for a few minutes.
If you want to start taking cold showers in the morning, I would recommend that you start getting into it slowly. This means that with every shower, just turn down the water to get colder and colder. It will look like what you are doing is a terrible idea, but trust me. In 3 to 4 days, you are going to start feeling the changes.
3. Eat a healthy breakfast
After sleeping and doing a little exercise, and taking a cold shower, your body has wasted quite a lot of energy. So you are going to need to recharge this energy to continue with your day. Taking care of your body is one of the number one things that should be on everybody's list. So eating a healthy breakfast is a great way to be healthy. I would recommend having some eggs, with a few fruits. One of my favorite thing to eat is greek yogurt with blueberries. Or if you can, just make some oatmeals with fruit. Taking care of your body is crucial, so after tour morning exercise and after the healthy breakfast, your body will be so thankful.
4. Study
Your mind is freshest in the morning. This means that when you wake up, You have to give it time also to wake up. After doing the previous steps, your mind will have woken up and will be ready for everything. So when you sit down and try to learn new stuff, you are going to remember it much faster and easier. It's gratifying to study in the morning because you don't have anything on your mind. And your brain will be willing to take new information in because it has nothing to worry about.
2. Change which sites you visit most often
We live in a time where social media run everything. You can waste so much time just by scrolling on Instagram or checking your Twitter feed. I would definitely recommend making sure you surround yourself with platforms that will actually help you improve yourself. For example, joining DevDojo, DailyDotDev and Dev.to. They are great and help you keep up with everything that is going on in the dev-world. It's also nice to surround yourself with people that share the same interest as you. You can join someone's project, and you can start building stuff with other people. You can also share your knowledge with the world. I used to stay on various social media sites way longer than I should have. And after joining these 3 dev community websites, I started to spend less time looking at useless stuff and more time learning new things.
3. Meditation is key
I think that 2020 hit a lot of people pretty hard. It was a super stressful and depressing year. So it definitely took a hard hit on people's mental health. What helped me was meditating. Just 10-20 minutes of meditation before going to bed helped me with my anxiety. I used this app called HeadSpace. It is a fantastic app with free articles and audios that guide you and help you meditate. There are all kinds of different audios for different needs. For example, some audios help you meditate, and there are ones that help you sleep, there are even ones that help you study. You could also get the paid version where there are even more articles and more audio guides, but I would recommend you stick with the free version. There are enough items there that can help you out. If you feel the need to get the paid version, go straight for it. It's much better to pay for something that will benefit your health than to pay for something you don't need.
4. Stop consuming
Consuming things in large quantities is one of the main reasons why people feel miserable. If you wonder what consumption I'm talking about, I'm talking about all of it, from consuming too much sugar to consuming too much social media. Even when the newest iPhone(or any phone) comes out, everyone wants to get it straight away, even doe they got the one that came out last year. I think that people should learn to deeply appreciate the things that they have and use them till the very end of their abilities. So the iPhone you got last year will certianly last you at least another 2-3 years. Everything should be consumed to a healthy balanced amount. Starting to acknowledge this thing really helps you appreciate everything in life.
5. Never give up
Life gets hard sometimes, and nothing may seem like it's going in your favor. But that shouldn't keep you down. You have to pick yourself up and fight over all the hard stuff and conquer your demons. I may have made it sound quite extreme, but in reality, it's a terrible thing for someone to give up. There could be so much potential in the project that you started but didn't finish because there was a big bump. Or maybe you planned to start working out and get into shape but just gave up because it was too hard. There are so many things that look like they are impossible, but in the end, if you give all your will and power to it, you can achieve anything. So remember to never give up.
Conclusion
2020 was a definite rollercoaster of emotions. It had its ups and downs, but in the end, I hope that you look back at it and think of all the stuff you have learned as I did. And I hope you go to 2021, the best way possible.