Last week, I committed to practicing thought stopping and positive self talk whenever I noticed myself doing negative self talk. While it was hard in the beginning, I did follow through most days and actually had 6 tally marks in my notes app. Even though it was hard to catch myself in the moment, I feel like having prepared phrases made the whole process a lot easier. My biggest takeaway was that catching my negative thoughts early helped decrease the buildup of stress.

This week I will try to do some acts of kindness as my stress management strategy. I will try to complete at least 3 random acts of kindness by Sunday such as holding the door for someone, giving compliments, or helping someone out with school. I will track it in my notes app.

I picked this because I feel like I am more calmer and just happier when I am able to help others. Acts of kindness connect to the chapter as the idea of altruism as we can reduce our stress levels and just boost our health. In the long term, I want to manage my stress levels by focusing on positive interactions and thoughts.

A barrier is that I might forget to look for those acts of kindness. I can overcome this by setting reminders every morning to keep the idea in my mind. Another barrier is that I may think that the "small" things don't matter, but they do. I can overcome this by knowing that any act of kindness is still an act of kindness no matter how big or small.

Last week, I committed to practicing thought stopping and positive self talk whenever I noticed myself doing negative self talk. While it was hard in the beginning, I did follow through most days and actually had 6 tally marks in my notes app. Even though it was hard to catch myself in the moment, I feel like having prepared phrases made the whole process a lot easier. My biggest takeaway was that catching my negative thoughts early helped decrease the buildup of stress.

This week, I will try a 5 minute mindfulness mediation every night before bed using an app to guide me. I can also listen to path (Sikh prayer) nightly to help me meditate and get into that mode.

I picked this because I usually go to bed with so many things in my mind and kind of overloading myself with stress. Practicing nightly meditation will help me relax and get a better sleep which supports my long term goal of being able to manage my stress.

One barrier is forgetting to do those nightly mediations when I am really tired, so I will set a nightly reminder to make sure to remind myself. Another barrier is getting distracted on tiktok or by my phone in general, so I will set the "do not disturb" on every night when I meditate.

Last week, I practiced a 5 minute guided mindfulness meditation before going to bed and I was actually able to complete about 5 out of 7 days. I recorded that on my notes and every time I tried to get into that spiritual mode before doing anything. I noticed that my mind was more calm in general and it wasn't really racing at night. Also I fell asleep much faster when I meditated and that really made my next day better.

This week, I will write my top 10 values on an index card on Sunday night and I will have it with me from Monday to Wednesday and just reference it at least twice a day. I also will record each reference and the decision that was influenced by it on my notes app. My goal is to have at least 3 examples.

I picked this because I feel like it really goes with my core values and having choices based on them will really help my mind and body feel like it is in control and making the right choices. Also I feel like it will help reduce my stress and also help me manage my stress through these spiritual based decisions. I also feel like I will feel more at peace with my decisions too.

One barrier is that I might forget to carry or check the card, so I could take a photo of the card and set 2 reminders on my phone throughout the day to help me remember. Another barrier is that I might skip recording and not count those small actions, so I could try doing check ins with myself every night to add notes about how the card effected my and my decisions in that day.

Last week, I carried an index card with my top 10 values and made sure to use it as a reference throughout the day as I made decisions. I did follow through and it was actually felt really good as I feel like I didn't make decisions that I would regret and actually focused on things that really mattered to me instead of minor spur of the moment things. I definitely did notice that I was less stressful and more calmer after making choices that aligned more with my values and principles.

This week, I plan to create a daily schedule and stick to it for at least 3-4 days. Every morning, I will write out my schedule and what I want to accomplish in the day and also make sure to incorporate what I value and honor in order to also make good decisions. I will mark each task off as I complete it to track my progress each day.

I chose this because I feel like time management is a major issue in my life and if I could implement some strategies to even get myself slightly better, I will be less stressed. Also by having a set schedule I don't waste my time on things that don't really align with my goals and priorities, making me live and more well balanced lifestyle.

A barrier is that I might get distracted on my phone and lose track of time, so a solution is to use the "focus" mode on my phone when I am studying or completing certain things with which having a phone would interfere with. Another barrier is an having a spur of the moment schedule change which could throw off my whole plan, so I will make sure to have some flexibility in my schedule so I can be able to adjust or shift things accordingly instead of just stressing on it.

Last week, I created a daily schedule and stuck to it for 4 days. It really did help me feel more organized and less stressed. I learned that having some sort of structure helped me balance my life and gave me more time to focus on things that actually matter.

This week, I plan to start a small family ritual. I will make sure that while me and my family eat dinner together, we will all share something positive about our day and also one thing we look forward to. I feel like this is great for us to just talk and engage with each other. I will put in my notes app every time we do it.

I chose this because family time is very important to me and it is something that makes me feel more grounded. Also this will allow me to build stronger bonds with my family and open up more which helps me mental health overall and reduces my stress as I can pretty much let it out.

One barrier might be we all might have different schedules and not everyone can be there, so I will plan the timings of the dinner beforehand when everyone is available. Another barrier is that we might get distracted with our phones, so during that time we could all leave our phones in another room so we can all really hear each other out with not distractions.

Last week, I started a small family ritual during dinner where we all shared something positive about our day and something we looked forward to. I put a note in my phone ever time we did it and it really did help me and my family feel more connected. Also just being there and present in the moment with them definitely helped reduce my stress levels and also help my mood.

This week, I plan to focus on improving my sleep by getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night by going to sleep by at least 11 pm and waking up around 7 am. I will track each night in my notes app to see if I meet my goal.

I picked this because I always notice myself being so tired throughout the day because I don't get enough sleep and that also makes me less productive and just more stressed out. Sleep is so important and making it my plan for this week will help me stay healthier in the future and manage my stress better.

One barrier is that I might stay up late on my phone or doing some homework so I will put a reminder of my phone and put do not disturb at around 10:30 every night. Another barrier is that I might have trouble sleeping at night so maybe I can add in some breathing exercises before sleeping to help calm my nerves and my mind so I can sleep.

Over the course of these months, I followed through with starting a small family dinner ritual as each night at dinner, we all shared one positive thing from our day and one thing we’re looking forward to. I feel like this really helped me connect more with my family and reduce my stress as I was able to have a time just dedicating to something actually meaningful. I realized that just talking about being present with people I care about has a great impact on my mood.

In the remaining weeks, i want to focus on keeping that consistency with rituals like that and maybe incorporate more rituals that we can add each day. I will continue recording things in my notes app to keep track of my goals and also maybe do a reflection on what each goal impacts my mood and stress levels.