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I've been trying to live life a little more "mellow" lately. It's been a little bit difficult, considering everything going on in my life outside the internet, but not impossible. I set my mind to keeping up with a few simple, but effective, habits that are entirely designed to keep me happy and calm. At least, as much as possible.
Daily doodles
One of the first things I started keeping myself accountable for was putting something in one of my sketchbooks every day, when possible. Now, I know that there's plenty of folks who will say it's not good to force yourself to draw every day. Well, that isn't what's happening here. First, I don't force myself to draw anything. Sometimes, I just play with paints and mix colors and textures to see what happens.
There's times I will just move the pen around on the page in nonsensical shapes.
There are days that I don't end up doing anything in a sketchbook. That's fine too. I try not to let more than one of those days happen in a row but I also don't get down on myself when they do. I should also probably note that, as a working professional, I do typically have paid jobs to work on every day whether I pull out a sketchbook to fiddle with or not. Not to brag, but I haven't been able to formally "open" commissions in months because every time I think about it, someone contacts me with another project they are willing to throw money at me for. It's been nice!
Listening to Music
Another "happy habit" that I've been working on is listening to music. This one might seem silly, but it's honestly been a really effective tool for keeping my mood mellow. Maybe if I explain a little more of the details it will make more sense.
Basically, I've been listening to music specific to the task or mood I'm looking to enhance. So, if I'm winding down to go to sleep, I'll take a moment to pop in my earbuds and kick on some super smooth jazz or meditation music. If I'm working on a project, I'll pick something with a higher tempo to keep me motivated. If I'm writing, I make sure there aren't any lyrics to distract me from my thoughts. If I'm working out, I pick something high energy with some attitude. I'm sure you get the idea, by now.
Even if I only have one earbud in, so I can still hear Lee and make sure Buffy isn't asking for attention, I've found that setting the tone with my own personal a soundtrack has done WONDERS for my overall mood!
Check in with Yourself
What I might argue is the most important habit for happier days is checking in with yourself. I mean really checking in with yourself. Not just making sure you've eaten, or drank water recently. Take a couple of minutes, here and there, throughout your day to assess how you're feeling and why. This can be a great way to re-calibrate the way your approach your daily tasks.
Adjust as Needed
Aside from the last one, these habits aren't "one size fits all". Feel free to use this as an example for you to build your own goal list of habits you'd like to encourage to help make yourself a little bit happier and make life a little more "chilled-out".
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