How To Improve Your Life This Week

I'm pretty sure we all know by now that I love to tell you what you're doing wrong, so today we're gonna talk about things you could easily start doing to generally do better.

1) Take your vitamins - It sounds obvious, right? So are you making it a point to do that? Maybe not. But once you start, you'll realize your mood, productivity and health improve. Also, if you're like me and in love with energy drinks, you'll realize you don't need those quite as much as you might have thought.

2) Exercise, somehow - This is as much for me as you guys, cuz I absolutely HATE exercise (the perils of having been naturally skinny for the majority of my life). Exercise creates endorphins, which make you happier and the whole exercise thing will make you healthier. If you're extra lazy and opposed, come up with a workout plan that's designed to work like a drinking game during your favorite TV show. Every time someone says their trademark line, do 20 pushups, or whatever. Adjust it to your desired level of activity.

3) Talk to someone you miss - We all get busy and sometimes that means friendships slip through the cracks. And this can go on for years, just forgetting to call someone you legitimately care about because you were busy organizing your fridge or whatever. Make some time for someone you haven't in a while and would like to, and you'll feel better almost immediately.

4) Apologize to someone that deserves it - You probably acted like an asshole to someone in your lifetime, we all have. If you regularly think about it, just suck up your pride and say you're sorry already. Karma will thank you.

5) Get the hardest item off your To Do list - If you consistently make it a habit to get the more difficult stuff out of the way earlier, the rest of your projects will go easier. Check out my post on making a To Do list to help you decide what's the task demon you should be vanquishing.

6) Do something good for your brain - Read a book. Start learning the language you've always wanted to. Even if you just open the dictionary and learn a new word everyday, you're enriching your brain. And it's fact that if you don't use it, you'll lose it - and that's not a cliche, that's scientific evidence referring to your brain cells.

7) Relax and think - spend some time doing absolutely nothing but relaxing and marinating on your thoughts. You can meditate, if you're into that sort of thing, or just watch the sunset everyday and ponder. Alone time is good for your soul. Our brains also work out problems for us when given a chance to not be doing 20 things at once.

8) Drink less - Here's a challenge for you borderline alcoholics that like to claim you're just social drinkers : go stone cold sober for the week. Give your liver a break, seriously.

9) Spend less time on social networking - You don't really need to know what everyone you're vaguely associated with is up to. Especially if you're just lurking to compare your life to other peoples. Worry about yourself.

10) Take some time to make sure you're doing something you like to do - Maybe you love the beach, but never make time to go. Or you just wanna sit and listen to music instead of it only being background noise. Whatever it is, make it a point to indulge yourself a little. You deserve it.

11) Get a good night's sleep, at least once - Take melatonin or something if you have to, but get a solid 8 uninterrupted hours to refresh and catch up on any missed sleep. Your body will thank you.

12) Make a budget - If you don't already have a budget in place, set one up so you can keep track of where your money goes. It'll take you no more than an hour and help you plan for years to come.

13) Keep track of where your time goes - Clock everything you do for a couple days. Figure out where you're wasting time, and cut that down to a more reasonable level. Do something fun or productive with your extra time as a reward.

14) Drink the appropriate amount of water - I couldn't tell you what the actually ounces are, since I hugely fail on this... but Google it and start doing it. Ideally, set up times for yourself where you are supposed to drink however much to keep you on schedule. Most people are perpetually dehydrated, which is never good for you. Even if you refuse to cut out your coffee-soda-energy trifecta, at least you're balancing it out for a change.

Doctor B prescribes you take 2 of these tips a day for the next week, and you'll be feeling much better. Oh, and probably eat an apple or something too.