Outrunning the Fast-paced World

Words by Jae-lyn Yiew

Ever feel like we’re constantly running out of time? We live in a fast-paced world where the grind never seems to end! From rushing multiple assignments to cramming for tests and juggling part-time jobs — hmm, sounds familiar? We feel caught in a frenzied whirlwind of activity. Many of us probably struggle with separating work from our personal life, leaving us timecrunched, stressed, and overwhelmed. It’s time to find that perfect balance amidst all the chaos and squeeze in more self-care days! Your mental wellbeing matters just as much and here are a few tips on how to improve it.

Mental wellbeing is defined as having positive feelings about one’s self and being able to function well individually, as well as in a relationship. It’s about being able to cope with and manage stress. On the other hand, those with poor mental wellbeing tend to be easily overwhelmed by negative feelings due to stress or anxiety. This can eventually lapse into serious mental health problems. Other issues include fatigue, restlessness, impulsiveness, and having a short attention span, and an overactive mind. Hence, attaining and maintaining good mental wellbeing is vital.

Here are some ways to maintain your mental wellbeing

1) Build your self-esteem

Self-esteem is crucial when improving your mental wellbeing as it gives us self-confidence and the ability to love ourselves. This enables us to strive for a better and more fulfilling life. Some simple ways to boost your self-esteem include mastering new skills, listing your accomplishments because no feat is ever too small; or letting your brain juices flow and getting creative! Try taking a step out of your comfort zone and challenging the beliefs that hold you back. It’s time to stop worrying about what others think and look at failure as a part of growth.

2) Plan your schedule wisely

Do you find yourself swamped and drowning in work? Ask yourself: Are your priorities in check? It’s time to think beyond today and make the hard choices — what matters most? With school, co-curricular activities, and job commitments, we seem to find our workload piling up before we know it. The trick is to learn to say no and know when you’re taking on too much. Effective scheduling is key to achieve a good work-life balance.

3) Get some shut-eye

As students, we often burn the midnight oil and mug all night with little to no sleep, looking like raccoons with dark circles under our eyes the next day. Wonder what happens when we don’t get enough sleep? Lack of sleep results in short-term problems such as a drop in our quality of life. We become less alert, with an impaired memory that affects your ability to remember and process information; and our mood becomes negatively affected. If this continues, long-term problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation include high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, depression, and obesity can occur. It’s impossible for me to overstress the importance of good quality sleep! Research shows that young adults aged 18 to 25 years old require seven to nine hours of sleep a night. So do have an adequate amount of sleep to maintain good mental wellbeing.

4) Try out Self-Help Apps

Listed below are a few self-help apps that you can find to combat the problems mentioned!

Personal Growth

a) Self Improvement — Building Self Confidence

With the aim of improving your self-esteem and confidence levels, Self Improvement — Building Self Confidence gives tips on self-improvement and techniques to help you achieve success. Boosting self-love is absolutely crucial when maintaining one’s mental wellbeing!

b) Fabulous: Daily Motivation

Fabulous: Daily Motivation aids in motivating you to achieve your fitness goals through meditation or yoga, keeping track of your sleep cycle, and discovering mindfulness to reduce anxiety levels.

Productivity is Key

a) To-Do List, Planner, Calendar & Reminders

To help you stay on track and on top of your busy schedule, To-Do List, Planner, Calendar & Reminders aids you in managing and organizing your daily tasks, to-do lists, notes, reminders, checklists and calendar lists.

b) Forest: Stay focused

A gamified timer, Forest: Stay focused aims to cure your phone addiction and helps you to stay on task, beating procrastination. It motivates you to throw pesky distractions aside if you want to build your very own in-app virtual forest.

Time to Hit the Sack

a) Sleep Cycle

Besides acting as a smart alarm clock, Sleep Cycle tracks your sleep patterns with detailed reports analyzing periods of light sleep, deep sleep and overall sleep quality.

b) Calm

A leading phone application for meditation and sleep, Calm is recommended by healthcare professionals. It lowers stress and anxiety levels with quality sleep and guided meditations, sleep stories, breathing programs, masterclasses, and relaxing music.