4 Simple Happiness Hacks

I’ve been stressed out lately, to say the least. As I’ve mentioned a bit here, there’s a lot going on right now– I’m working full time, studying for the GMAT, blogging, attending events and doing my best to be a good girlfriend + friend.

When people ask me how I’m doing it all, the truth is I’m not. I feel like an asshole when I cancel dinner plans on my friends because I’m way behind on GMAT work. I have to say no a lot to things I would rather be doing. Staying up late to finish what needs to be done has become the norm.

I loved this post from my friend Sam about managing your energy because it’s so true for me right now. I remind myself it’s only temporary. The GMAT is only temporary (thank god) and soon enough I’ll go back to only juggling 99 things instead of 100.

I have this grandiose plan to write a post about how to get shit done when you have no time… BUT I’m still trying to figure that out for myself at the moment.

So, instead I got something a bit more positive for ya. Here are 4 super simple happiness hacks I’ve been doing lately to make things… uh suck less.

Listening to podcasts during my commute

I was getting sick of listening to the same songs over and over again on my walk to work so decided to start listening to podcasts again since I loved listening to them during my training runs this fall.

It’s made my walk to work feel more productive in some ways. Maybe this is just me, but I love podcasts because they often times discuss similar topics to what I would read on a blog… but instead I can listen to these discussions while I walk. I’m currently catching up on season two of Starr Struck Radio and it’s made my 30 minute long walk to work far more enjoyable.

 

Reading juicy fiction before going to bed

I’m totally obsessed with non-fiction books– think anything Gretchen Rubin, #Girlboss, and memoirs of famous funny females (Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling…). Recently, though, I just can’t get into non-fiction and have been exclusively reading fun fiction novels before going to bed.

After spending the day working, reading blogs, writing, and studying word problems, it’s really satisfying to get sucked into a fun, juicy story, instead of something that feels educational.

 

Nothing wrong with a little bit of fluff reading because hey, it’s still reading.

 

Enforcing dinner time as a no-work zone. 

I’m really tempted to be productive during every waking moment. The reality? It’s not humanly possible and my attention span just won’t do it.

Dinner time has become me-time, and sometimes friend-time if I’m meeting someone for dinner after work. I refuse to study while I’m eating dinner and won’t even write a blog post while eating these days so I can truly savor meal-time as down time. I live alone so maybe this is a no-brainer for people that eat dinner with family or their significant other.

I give myself about 30 minutes to eat and decompress before getting back to it and find that it seriously helps me be more productive afterwards.

 

Booking my favorite workout for Monday morning

Waking up early lately has been rough. It’s SO dark out at 6AM and my bed is all snuggly and warm. Whenever possible, I book my weekly class at Uplift for Monday mornings because it’s my favorite and you’ll never see me miss an Uplift class. It’s been a really simple and small way to not only ensure I’ll get my ass out of bed and to the gym Monday morning, but also starts my week on a good note.

 

Your turn: hit me up with your super simple happiness hacks.