DE-STRESS, ENJOY, RESTORE: SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER

“Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul.”

-Alice Walker

Warding off stress and burnout can be done incrementally and in lots of different, enjoyable ways. Making a lifestyle change doesn’t always have to be with a grand sweeping gesture but several little tweaks and improvements. A little nap, a yoga session, and even arranging a small bouquet of flowers for your desk are all simple, doable practices to make life lovelier. There are endless ways to de-stress and boost your mood; here are just a few easy tips to try:

Don’t push through exhaustion. Instead, take a twenty-minute nap. Running on fumes is not a good idea, even if you are working to meet a deadline. Prioritize your time and make sure there’s room for rest. Making to-do lists makes this easier. Check off your accomplishments as you complete them! Reward yourself after finishing small tasks or, by the same token, make chores a time for something fun. Wash dishes or fold laundry while watching your favorite guilty pleasure TV show or listening to a podcast.

Rewarding yourself can be as simple as resting your eyes. After working for a while in front of your laptop, let your eyes adjust to the bigger picture. Moving your desk in front of a window with a view is ideal. If that’s not an option, actually go outside, take a break, and breathe the fresh air. Positioning your desk in front of something you like to look at is always a good idea: spruce up the walls with art that’s visually appealing or add a new plant to your décor scheme for levity. Some of your best plants options for longevity, low-maintenance and purer air include peace lilies, snake plants and any type of succulent. Le Corbusier said that “The home should be the treasure chest of living” so adding small personal touches—such as knick-knacks and trinkets, touches of color and favorite fabrics—can really boost one’s mood and makes any space special.

Don’t sit all day. If you’re at a desk, make it as comfortable as possible but get up to stretch and walk around. Shift the energy by splashing your face with cold water or take a hot shower for stress relief. Small pleasures and beauties, according to the poet Sharon Olds, are what bind us to this world. Find something as seemingly common as a steamy bath to revel in or the sweet cacophony of birdsong to fall in love with life.

“Happiness is in the quiet, ordinary things. A table, a chair, a book with a paper-knife stuck between the pages. And the petal falling from the rose, and the light flickering as we sit silent.” -Virginia Woolf

Rearranging a space is an easy way to clear your mind. By cleaning off just one shelf, you’ll notice things—especially books—you may have forgotten all about, and this modest act will shift the appearance of your personal surroundings. Getting started with one redecorating task is all you need to ignite the desire for beautification! And no, this doesn’t require spending a lot of money and acquiring a lot of stuff you don’t need. Dust away old memories and bring books you want to read to the front of the shelf or place them in a to-read pile by your bed.

Utilizing aromatherapy is a highly beneficial practice of self-care that serves as décor for the home or office, too. A beautiful soy-based candle or glass fragrance diffuser with bamboo reeds brightens any room and creates a personalized perfumed ambiance. Make sure to light a Nabila K candle while participating in your self-care rituals; this can be when you wash your face or as you’re smoothing on hand cream before bed. Something as mundane as changing your sheets is also wonderfully refreshing. Setting a reminder for yourself to start unwinding an hour or two before bed will do wonders for your rest. Put away screens, turn down all the lights (except for a reading lamp), and take time to engage in meditative rituals that promote sleep, such as deep breathing, getting cozy, and completing your skincare routine.

For more information on Nabila K’s contribution to aromatherapy and décor, check out her candles and fragrance diffusers below:

https://nabilak.com/product-category/home-ambiance/candles

https://nabilak.com/product-category/home-ambiance/diffusers