This post is slightly different from what I have been writing about in the past few weeks, but I felt it was time to amp up a bit with a challenge. If the past two years, which feels like a lifetime, has taught us anything, it is that life is precious.
Lost time is never found again.Benjamin Franklin.
All of us have been affected by Covid, from losing our freedom, at times, to losing loved ones. We all know of someone who has passed from this virus, be it a family member, a friend, a colleague or someone we knew.
The ramifications of this pandemic have affected every aspect of our lives. Most of us are wary, disheartened or trying to survive the knock-on effects, whether emotional, psychological, financial or physical.
This virus has shown us that life is precious and good health is an absolute gift. Now, more than ever, we need to seriously take stock of our lives and confront those problematic questions such as ‘who am I’ and ‘what do I want out of life”?
If it does not serve you, get rid of it!
An excellent starting point is to tidy up your life. Start with your phone and delete any apps that you have not used in the past several months. If you need them, you can always install them again. Go through your cupboards and donate any clothes that you have not worn.
Clean out the kitchen drawers and tidy up the garage. The primary purpose of this is to declutter your living space and simplify your life. Get rid of what you do not need.
According to Marie Kondo (2010), tidying is more than physical cleansing. It is mental and spiritual cleansing, too, because tidying your house helps you to discover the things you like. Being around things that spark joy gives you a glow and impacts every aspect of your life positively.
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Create space in your mind
One of the biggest problems we face today is that we are over-stimulated. Day in and day out, we are constantly bombarded with information, be it from our phones, laptops, TV, or radio. Working from home has escalated the number of hours we spend in front of our laptops due to Zoom or Skype calls. Even our children are exposed to more screen time due to online classes.
Emerging scientific evidence indicates that frequent digital technology use has a significant negative and positive impact on brain function and behaviour. Potential harmful effects of extensive screen time and technology use include heightened attention-deficit symptoms, impaired emotional and social intelligence, technology addiction, social isolation, impaired brain development, and disrupted sleep (Small et al. 2020).
Just breathe
Take a break, step outside and make the most of nature. Another suggestion is to have ‘tech ban’ times for the whole family, where no one can use technology for a set period.
Why is this important? Simply because life is precious, and if we do not rid ourselves of the clutter of everyday life, we cannot make space for the things that matter. So I dare you to take charge and clean up your life!
Works Cited
Kondo, M. (2014). The Life-changing magic of tidying up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organising. Ten Speed press.
Small, G. W., Lee, J., Kaufman, A., Jalil, J., Siddarth, P., Gaddipati, H., Moody, T. D., & Bookheimer, S. Y. (2020). Brain health consequences of digital technology use . Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 22(2), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.2/gsmall
