How to Set Up Your Home to Avoid 9 Top Daily Stresses
Beware the dangers of an always-on, too-busy lifestyle – here's how to turn things around
Do any of these modern problems sound familiar? Too busy, always exhausted, addicted to social media, always switched on, not enough time to exercise, comfort eating or no time to eat at all? It’s a mad, mad world out there … but it doesn’t always have to be. Why not set up some boundaries and turn your home into your sanctuary to escape some of these present-day scourges?
2. You don’t get enough sleep
Do you lie awake when you get into bed or wake before dawn, your mind ticking over with all the things you have to do?
Solution: If so, it’s time to put some thought into creating a cosier, more relaxing bedroom that reflects your tastes, be that fluffed up cushions and warm furnishings or a minimal, clear space – whatever works for you.
You know the drill: no phones, no computers, and no food in the bedroom. Keep it clear and clean and reserve it just for sleeping. If that still doesn’t help, increase your daily exercise, reduce sugar, caffeine and alcohol consumption, and try a short meditation before you go to sleep.
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Do you lie awake when you get into bed or wake before dawn, your mind ticking over with all the things you have to do?
Solution: If so, it’s time to put some thought into creating a cosier, more relaxing bedroom that reflects your tastes, be that fluffed up cushions and warm furnishings or a minimal, clear space – whatever works for you.
You know the drill: no phones, no computers, and no food in the bedroom. Keep it clear and clean and reserve it just for sleeping. If that still doesn’t help, increase your daily exercise, reduce sugar, caffeine and alcohol consumption, and try a short meditation before you go to sleep.
Browse more bedroom photos
3. You eat the wrong things (or too little or too much)
Solution: Ensure that your eating space is a relaxed, peaceful and attractive one. Take time out – no matter how busy you are – to sit down for meals, and just as your grandmother taught you, take the time to chew your food – a lot. If you have family near, gather everyone together and of course, make it a phone-free zone.
Solution: Ensure that your eating space is a relaxed, peaceful and attractive one. Take time out – no matter how busy you are – to sit down for meals, and just as your grandmother taught you, take the time to chew your food – a lot. If you have family near, gather everyone together and of course, make it a phone-free zone.
4. You’re addicted to your phone
Does this sound like you? You carry your phone around everywhere, check it regularly, and just as you’re about to breathe in and relax, you hear the familiar ‘ping’ of a text message. You want to resist but you simply can’t help yourself; you must look at it and you always feel compelled to reply straight away.
Solution: The answer is to cut yourself off from the world by creating a phone-free zone, inside or outside your home. Switch off your phone whenever you don’t really need it; just put it in a drawer and forget about it, and make it your new habit to respond to texts and calls just at certain times of day. At weekends, switch it off for hours at a time. Your friends and family members will soon come to expect it to take a while for you to get back to them, and that’s alright.
Does this sound like you? You carry your phone around everywhere, check it regularly, and just as you’re about to breathe in and relax, you hear the familiar ‘ping’ of a text message. You want to resist but you simply can’t help yourself; you must look at it and you always feel compelled to reply straight away.
Solution: The answer is to cut yourself off from the world by creating a phone-free zone, inside or outside your home. Switch off your phone whenever you don’t really need it; just put it in a drawer and forget about it, and make it your new habit to respond to texts and calls just at certain times of day. At weekends, switch it off for hours at a time. Your friends and family members will soon come to expect it to take a while for you to get back to them, and that’s alright.
5. You watch, scroll through and listen to too much news
It’s easy to get caught up in political battles and all the wars, carnage, death and destruction going on in the world. But it’s not such a great idea if all this negativity is stopping you from ever feeling truly relaxed or content. And do you really need to know what the latest celebrity to give birth named their child?
Solution: Even if you don’t have a large home, are there places you can make strictly screen-free and devote to relaxation? This is a novel example of making every space count – an under-stairs area that might otherwise go unused has been transformed into an enticing nook for relaxation and reading.
It’s easy to get caught up in political battles and all the wars, carnage, death and destruction going on in the world. But it’s not such a great idea if all this negativity is stopping you from ever feeling truly relaxed or content. And do you really need to know what the latest celebrity to give birth named their child?
Solution: Even if you don’t have a large home, are there places you can make strictly screen-free and devote to relaxation? This is a novel example of making every space count – an under-stairs area that might otherwise go unused has been transformed into an enticing nook for relaxation and reading.
6. You don’t seem to have any time for your own pursuits
Solution: If you have a hobby or interest outside of work – whether it be writing, sewing, painting, reading or something else entirely – don’t kid yourself that you don’t have time for it. Even if it’s just one hour a week, make it part of your routine and stick to it.
Tip: If it helps, dedicate a space in the house for it. Still not convinced you have time? Concentrate on streamlining your job or cutting back on your family commitments to create some extra time for you. It’s no crime to put yourself first now and again.
Solution: If you have a hobby or interest outside of work – whether it be writing, sewing, painting, reading or something else entirely – don’t kid yourself that you don’t have time for it. Even if it’s just one hour a week, make it part of your routine and stick to it.
Tip: If it helps, dedicate a space in the house for it. Still not convinced you have time? Concentrate on streamlining your job or cutting back on your family commitments to create some extra time for you. It’s no crime to put yourself first now and again.
If not inside the house, is there a place separate from your home that you could make your own?
Sensational studios that delight and inspire
Sensational studios that delight and inspire
7. You’re cooped up all day, with no time for exercise or outdoor activity
Solution: Make getting outdoors for play or relaxation such a priority that you come to view it as something you simply must do for at least 20 minutes each day. Whether it be walking, gardening or simply sitting on the deck for some quiet contemplation, being outside is a wonderful way to truly switch off.
Solution: Make getting outdoors for play or relaxation such a priority that you come to view it as something you simply must do for at least 20 minutes each day. Whether it be walking, gardening or simply sitting on the deck for some quiet contemplation, being outside is a wonderful way to truly switch off.
8. You’re so overloaded, you don’t have time to think
You would have to be living under rock not to have heard about studies finding that stress and work overload are taking their toll on health.
Solution: In a world where we’re always busy, it’s worth noting that it’s okay to sit and do nothing every now and then.
You would have to be living under rock not to have heard about studies finding that stress and work overload are taking their toll on health.
Solution: In a world where we’re always busy, it’s worth noting that it’s okay to sit and do nothing every now and then.
If simply sitting doesn’t work for you, have you heard about all the wonderful benefits of reading? A great book, whether it be the latest thriller, a classic novel or a biography, can be a wonderful way for you to tune out from the world for a couple of hours, forcing you to slow down and disconnect.
10 ways to create tech-free boundaries at home
10 ways to create tech-free boundaries at home
If you have the space, find zones in the home that are purely for switching off. Whether that be a tea ritual, meditation or stretching, it’s a space just for you to unwind. Let everyone know you’re there to relax, make a Do Not Disturb sign if it helps. If you don’t have the extra space, create a nook somewhere quiet or use your bedroom.
Your bathroom can also become a sanctuary. Clear it of everything except perhaps a beautiful soft rug underfoot, and a pretty plant or flowers, and treat yourself to some calming tub time. Shut the door, switch off, take a deep breath and … relax.
9. You’re doing too much sitting
Do you go from sitting down all day at work to sitting down at home? Studies show that too much sitting is bad for our health and can even decrease longevity.
Solution: Pay attention to how much time you’re spending sitting and make an effort to get up and move around more – a wearable step tracker can provide extra motivation. If you do work at home or spend time on your computer, try a standing desk and build in five-minute breaks for sit-ups, push-ups and stretches every hour.
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Do you go from sitting down all day at work to sitting down at home? Studies show that too much sitting is bad for our health and can even decrease longevity.
Solution: Pay attention to how much time you’re spending sitting and make an effort to get up and move around more – a wearable step tracker can provide extra motivation. If you do work at home or spend time on your computer, try a standing desk and build in five-minute breaks for sit-ups, push-ups and stretches every hour.
Browse home office ideas
Tell us
What do you do to switch off at home? Share your tips in the Comments.
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Read more lifestyle stories
What do you do to switch off at home? Share your tips in the Comments.
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Read more lifestyle stories
Solution: The French got it right when their government recently passed a new employment law that requires French companies to guarantee the rights of employees ‘to disconnect’ – meaning they no longer have to check work emails after hours. The internet, bless it, has resulted in the expectation that we’re always available to check (and deal with) work emails. This means we never quite switch off from work, so can never really relax.
Tip: Pass your own version of the French law at home by creating rules and times around email – if you must check work emails on weekends, restrict yourself to half an hour at a certain time, and to one place in the house.