In choosing what my final self intervention may be, I wanted to focus on my mental health and well-being. I’ve noticed, as the weeks progressed, I’ve always been glued to my laptop or phone, working away. My mind never had a moment to rest! My day-to-day schedule says it perfectly:
- Wake up, walk to class (answer texts and emails that are unread on my phone)
- Get to class and whip open my laptop (work for 2-3 hours on school projects)
- Walk home from class (on my phone, again answering messages I’ve missed)
- Get home and whip open my laptop (to work for my internship, which is remote, and also all digital)
- Walk to my next class (on my phone)
- Get to my second class (more lecture based and laptop/phone are put away, yet I can’t help myself and check up on messages and projects when I can)
- Walk home from class (on my phone)
- Get home, work on school projects (on my laptop) or work for my internship (on my laptop) until bed
- Sleep, for the next cycle of this…
And so, for the past week, I’ve made sure to make time to put away my electronics and enjoy the little minutes I have between working away. Every day to class, I had my phone on silence! This little change for the week really made a difference, as I enjoyed my walk to and fro, and also got to see so many familiar faces to say “Hi!” to. I even stopped, and got to catch up with old friends I hadn’t seen, which I don’t think actively being on my phone, preoccupied with messages and alerts, would have allowed.
I made other commitments inline with my self intervention. On Monday, I went on a run. Now, it’s not out of my norm to go on an outdoor run. Out of my norm, is how I didn’t schedule in my Apple calendar (yes, I’m one of those who lives by their calendar), nor did I bring my phone (for music and for tracking time). On Tuesday, I went to dinner with my friend Ruby, put my phone on silent and enjoyed catching up with her. It was a break from digital interaction, to real-life interaction. On Wednesday, I made reservations with a new friend (a new member in my sorority), and we did a spin/cycle class together! Although it was “scheduled,” it was a break from always feeling like I’m working.
Overall, my self intervention the past week made me take the time to make these “little moments” and take a breather. I feel like taking breaks in-between and enjoying those breaks without worrying of what I still need to do made me more productive, coming back with a clear head, stress-free. I’d like to continue doing this in the future, I’ve seen the difference it can make, though small, has a large impact later.
– Kelly Kavousi