This was long overdue for me personally, but throughout 2020, I collected statements I heard, whether it were through podcasts, videos, or books I read, that I felt changed how I live my daily life.
1. “Be Unapologetically Amateur”
One of the biggest challenges was simply starting this blog, because I definitely feel this sense of “imposter syndrome” where I don’t feel qualified enough to have my own blog, to put my words out there. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon really motivated me to just try something new. I also tend to want to show my best and most perfect work, but this statement changed my perspective, and made me realize that it’s okay to learn and get better as I go, and the only way to do so is to start putting my work out there in the first place.
I definitely think that if you’re considering doing something new, whether it’s starting a business, showing your art, just take the first step. That’s the hardest part.
2. Your Choice of Priorities are Your Prerogative
A huge shift in mindset for me, was realizing that it’s not that “I don’t have time”, but rather that something may simply not be a priority for me (although, I think it’s now become sort of a pet peeve for me when I hear someone say that they don’t have time, rather than something simply not being a priority LOL). And that being said, what you prioritize is your prerogative, and no one can tell you otherwise.
At some point in the year, I felt like I was missing out because I did not necessarily dedicate as much time to hanging out late night with my friends, but I realized that I simply have other aspects of my life that I prioritize more, and that’s completely okay. And it’s completely okay for priorities to change as well.
3. Do What You’re Inner-Self is Telling You Not to Do
This is something I learned from this podcast called, The Mindset Mentor. This particular episode focused on simply the idea of conquering that inner voice inside your head, that often prevents you from something you intended to tackle.
I also have a habit of overthinking more with small decisions, so at least with the things that I have to complete sometime during the day, if I find that little voice in my head giving me excuses, I try to incorporate what I learned from that podcast, and just do it in that moment. It a), gets that task over with, and b) makes me feel like I have conquered and taken more control over my own mind.
4. Embracing Vulnerability Leads to Courage
This idea comes from Brené Brown, who is the author of Dare to Lead, and I started listening to her podcast this past year. I would highly recommend this podcast!
I really loved hearing this idea from her. It seems so obvious, but when hearing that some of the world’s biggest leaders have a sense of fear even in their status makes each leader seem more human. Hearing this idea really helped in realizing that if anything, you develop a better sense of courage and leadership if you own the vulnerabilities and insecurities you have. You push yourself to new heights by overcoming what makes you feel small.
5. If You Can’t Change It, Accept It
This really only hit me at the end of 2020, when I was talking to one of my friends. I was frustrated at the situation I was in at the moment. He simply asked me, “can you change it? If not, then accept it.”
Even though it’s such a simple statement and has been a mantra for many for many years, hearing it from someone else really changed my perspective. I try to tell myself this whenever I am feeling a little more frustrated at things I have no control over.
6. Change can be Made within Minutes
“You’re under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago” – Alan Watts.
The key word in this statement I believe is “obligation.” I love this quote because it definitely feels very freeing to me personally. To me, it separates an individual’s personality or identity currently, from what they could be if they wanted. At the beginning of 2020, I found myself in situations where I was hindering my own growth simply because I felt obligated to act a certain way.
Reading this really helped in allowing myself to try new things, embrace change, and continuously grow into a better individual.
7. You can Be Grateful while being Ambitious
A lot of times I faced the dilemma of feeling like I couldn’t push for more because of what I already had and was blessed. The following statement also seems so obvious, but was further solidified when hearing Brené Brown talk to Abby Wambach, who is the author of WOLFPACK (one of the books I hope to read this year).
It was stated perfectly in the podcast:
“Be grateful for what you have, demand what you deserve.”
I find this statement also sort of freeing. It reminds me to never settle, and to keep striving for more while acknowledging what I already have. In other words, the two acts are not mutually exclusive, you can do both!
8. The Components of An Ideal Life
This stems from another podcast led by Samantha Ryan that featured Naval Ravikant. I heard about it from a youtuber I watch (who wrote about it in a blog post), Ali Abdaal.
Ravikant says,
“The ideal life would be one where you had a hobby that as a byproduct made you money, you had a hobby that as a byproduct kept you healthy, you had a hobby that as a byproduct made you smarter and more creative.”
I think as of right now, I think I have 2 (ish) main hobbies that accomplish some of those components of life “as a byproduct”. Condensing what is considered an ideal life into four simple components makes it a lot easier to understand what I may be lacking or not prioritizing in my life, and thus, work towards fixing or improving that aspect of my life.
I also really like that this quote makes your life set up to feel like a bunch of hobbies, rather than work that you have to get through. It ultimately makes your days more enjoyable if you look forward to what you do since they are hobbies of yours.
9. Treat Your Life as Story
I really love this idea. I wish I could remember the name of the book or the author of this concept! By treating every day as a “story,” it ultimately made me realize what I want my life to look like, and what the highlights of my life are so far. Thinking back to or writing about your day and trying to find one statement that describes “the best part of your day, similar to how you could with a book or a movie, shapes the way you approach your day.
I think this idea also allows me to be a little more creative and theatrical, which is always fun. I hope in 2021, I can get better at actually reflecting on my day as if there were a climax at some point.
10. Own Your Face
I happened to come across a TED talk given by Robert Hoge during one of my study breaks. He states this idea of owning your face beautifully:
“Understand all the love, and the life and the pain that is part of your face that is the art of your face.”
I definitely recommend watching that video. The way he carries himself throughout the video with grace and confidence is inspirational, and he truly embodies the phrase, “Own Your Face.” I love that he refers to what makes up your face as “art.” It definitely made me stop picking at myself as much, and embrace every aspect instead.
11. Energy Can be Affected By Who You Surround Yourself With
I noticed that after hanging out with certain people, I would tend to feel lower in energy, rather than motivated or more willing to take on the rest of my day.
Safe to say I definitely have changed who I hang out with regularly and am also simply enjoy being alone more if that’s better than the alternative. I definitely had this sense of missing out on experiences and if I didn’t hang out with every single group or person, but I think I have come to terms with the fact that sometimes I’d be losing more than gaining if I were to do so.
12. Incorporate a “Write-Off” Day
I really like this idea that comes from one of Ali Abdaal’s YouTube videos. The idea (at least, how I’ve interpreted it) is that you specifically give yourself one day out of the week to do anything besides pure academics. During fall quarter, I would give myself either Sunday or Saturday to do anything else I enjoy or need to get done such as meal prepping, writing, reading, exploring, etc.
The fact that is intentional and you have planned it ahead of time firstly lets me personally feel less “guilty” about not being “productive” or progressing towards my academic goals specifically. It also in turn, makes me more motivated to be on top of my tasks for the week because I know that I will have one day to do whatever else I want. Through this one day, I am able to recharge at the end of the week, and it becomes a cycle! I am less likely to be burnt out at the beginning of the next week if I have had a proper, full “write-off” day.
During busier weeks of the quarter (definitely often the case during winter quarter), I try to at the very least, devote half a day instead of a full day. I definitely think that half a day is better than no “write-off” day at all.
13. Consistency is Key
I think the biggest aspect of my life where I applied this idea was my health, especially in terms of working out. I enjoy exercising (90% of the time haha), but I remember at the beginning of 2020, I found myself being inconsistent with how often I worked out every week (besides the fact that COVID forced gyms to close and all).
Some of the things I did which made me more consistent with working out are firstly, writing it into my routine. At college during COVID, I have to reserve times to use the gym. What I do is I have my planner out and look at the available times and simply schedule it wherever I can. That way, it’s not an option and the idea of working out doesn’t become inconsistent depending on what other academic and extra-curricular commitments I have during the week. It also pushes me to go on days where I feel like I should be studying more or simply am not feeling it (that 10% of the time), like when I spend a lot of time walking across campus to attend cycling classes.
Another thing I had started to do in 2020 is prepping my protein smoothie the night before (definitely recommend investing in those small blenders, they are so, so convenient compared to a huge blender). If it’s already made, then I know that I have that to consume after my workout, and I also don’t want to waste it in a sense if I don’t work out (especially if I add the protein powder, since I’m too broke to not be consuming it at the prime time after working out LOL).
I also purchased an app that tracks how often I work out, provides a mix of workouts (which I then adjust to my liking), and keeps streaks of how many weeks I have stayed consistent with my weekly goal for workouts.
Essentially, making it easier for myself to regularly reach my goal for the day, and treating whatever I am trying to do as part of my routine made it a lot more possible to stay consistent with my goals. It is definitely a work in progress with other aspects of my life, but I think it’s a good start.
14. The Two Minute Rule
This is a rule I learned from David Allen, who is the author various books including Getting Things Done. The idea is that “if it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.”
Again, as a college student I implement it through things like getting up to wash my empty coffee mug (definitely super guilty of being lazy when it comes to this one task LOL), making my bed in the morning, or cleaning my desk to set up for the next day. This rule can definitely be used for more academic or business tasks, but I tend to overthink the most but need little planning to execute these minor tasks. It’s such a little thing but definitely think less with smaller tasks and simply get them done without the unnecessary dread beforehand.
I also use it as almost a break from bigger tasks. This way, I am still in some ways, being “productive” with my time without using too much brain power for an extended period of time.
15. The Access to Learn Instantaneously
Simply the power of a “search” bar is so insanely beneficial to improving our lives through learning. The gravity of our ability to receive and gain information instantaneously hit me hard this year. It made me realize that I don’t have much of an excuse, and should be striving to learn and gain more knowledge. I think especially as a teenager, I was so used to being able to receive instant gratification that I would tend to take it for granted and not use it to my advantage.
Of course, this is stated with the assumption that you’re like me and have the privilege of having access to the internet, amongst other advantages that others may not have.
16. Don’t Treat Your Health as Optional
This year, I had a pretty bad injury that really made me re-analyze how much I push aside my health for everything else like my education, relationships, etc. Especially as a college student, it’s definitely hard to manage every aspect of a balanced life.
But one thing I have learned is that if you have an overall healthy lifestyle (which can range from ensuring you sleep enough, to working out, to giving yourself a day to recharge), then everything else somehow seems to fall into place. I made sure to implement that mindset of not treating your health as an option especially this last fall quarter. I incorporated a day off every week, stayed consistent with at least one of my personal stress relievers (that I used to compromise on too much for the sake of my classes) such as working out, and tried ways to improve my quality of sleep (still a work in progress lol).
Because of those changes, I strongly believe that they had a direct and huge impact on my overall performance in other aspects of my life, such as maintaining my relationships (like talking often with my family while being away from home), and my classes (I had one of the best quarters thus far and felt I worked my hardest throughout).
I know it’s not easy to have almost a reset and dedicate time to maintaining your health especially when it has been treated as an option (as compared to studying for finals as a college student), but it’s 100% worth it!
17. The Hardest Part is Getting Started
I definitely have lots of days where I dread starting and completing tasks. Just reminding myself an telling myself that the hardest part is getting started, helps me push through and eventually get into the “flow state” with my task.
Just repeating this phrase in my head lets me tackle a lot more in the day because I know the task will get easier. I have definitely noticed that once I address that fact and am aware of the fact that it is hardest part is at the beginning, I am a lot more willing to put in the effort rather than being frustrated or procrastinating.
18. The Power of a Morning (and Night) Routine
I really think that only this year was I able to develop a proper routine in the morning that sets up my day for success. What’s really nice is that you can start small, and add more to your morning or night routine as it becomes a habit and more consistent. At the beginning of fall quarter, I did not really have a morning routine besides drinking my coffee and some water before getting ready to complete my workout for the day. By the end of fall quarter, it has become a lot longer and my mornings have become less rushed and less stressful. It’s also nice to wind down at the end of the day with less work on your mind before sleeping.
19. Changing or Upgrading Environments
I am not someone who goes all out when it comes to decorating my room—I started with all of these plans that I had envisioned for my room, and didn’t really do much. However, I think for this year (especially with my room at home), I plan on adding a little more to my room just to make it less bare and less correlated to stress or work.
Before COVID, I would go out to study at coffee shops, the library, etc. I would rarely ever study in my room—by the time I came back home from a long day, it would be around the time I would be heading to bed. Once quarantine hit, it was super hard for me to focus at home and stay consistent with an academic routine. Now I am living with apartment mates, which has allowed for a supportive study environment with less distractions. A lot of times, I study at the dining table so that I am not just working in my room. I have also slowly started adding little succulents (they have names) in my room which just add a little bit of positivity and make me smile for some odd reason LOL.
A lot of times, I split my day where I spend the first half of the day at the dining table doing work on my laptop and the second half of my day in my room doing revisions that require me to speak out loud. I definitely think when I start to feel a little slower or less productive, having even a small change in environment (given that you are still able to focus) feels like a reset which is super helpful on busy days filled with tasks.
20. Where You Spend Your Money Is Where You Spend Your Time
I wish I wrote down who I learned this idea from! This idea has really helped in letting me understand what I prioritize and what I want to prioritize. Towards the end of summer, I had been dabbling with the idea of getting an iPad for a very long time. I heard this phrase, and it made me a lot more inclined to invest in an iPad—granted, I knew I did not need the very best one or the newest Apple Pencil—I just needed a tool that would allow me to look more forward to studying while allowing me to be a little more efficient. Having an iPad also helped with future expenses because now I was able to get pdfs of textbooks rather than actual textbooks. It helped with not having to carry around way too many books and notebooks in my bag. I know that this investment has definitely improved the quality and efficiency of my life. I also personally do not have my own Netflix account because I don’t want to spend my time watching shows or movies on my own (I view that activity as something I would want to do with others or as something to have a conversation about).
As mentioned, I think this idea not only applies to understanding where you spend your time, but it also shows what you prioritize. Personally, I would feel a little guilty for spending a little more on groceries—but something that has helped is knowing that my health and what I put into my body is something I prioritize and an aspect of my life that I want to continue valuing, so if I have the privilege to invest a little more money into groceries, then that’s completely fine. I can also spend less in other areas that I don’t value or prioritize as much if I need to, in order to have the ability to spend more on groceries. It’s all up to my discretion!
This was a super long post LOL, but I definitely think it was much needed in order to reflect on what I have learned this past year. Hopefully I’ll be doing one at the end of 2021 as well. 🙂
