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Everyone gets a little depressed from time to time. Some of us more than others. So I’ve put together some tips to help you beat the blues and get yourself out of a low patch.

If none of these work and you’ve been feeling this way for a period of time then it’s probably a good idea to seek the help of a healthcare professional.

1. Be around other people – Although you may feel like being on your own it might actually be better to be around other people. Friends and family can be a great way to pick yourself up.

2. Get some exercise – Getting physical activity is always a good idea. In the short term it can give you a lift. But more importantly over the longer term a healthy body can certainly help create a healthy mind. You can start small with a walk around the block and then move up to joining a running or sports club, or go to the gym and get them to tailor a program especially for you.

3. Eat right – Some foods make you feel energised, others make you feel like you’ve just eaten a brick! Think about what and when you eat. Here are some suggestions, and here are some more.

4. Do something that completely consumes your attention – Sometimes just taking your mind off things for a while can make a big difference so watch a movie, read a book etc.

5. Meditate – Meditation can have a very calming effect on the body and mind. It can slow things down and help you put things into perspective.

6. Get a good hobby so that you can escape to it and forget about everything else for a while. If you join a club then you can meet new people and make new friends. Learning new things is also a good way to keep your brain stimulated.

7. Pet your cat – As any animal lover knows, animals can have a really healing effect on people just simply by having them around.

8. Get a good night’s sleep – It’s hard to see the bright side of things when you’re functioning on very little sleep. Here are some techniques for how to sleep better.

9. Get spiritual – Even if this doesn’t come naturally to you it’s worth looking into. You don’t have to follow a traditional orthodox path. You can do you own research on the internet and at the library and find something that resonates with you. I personally think that all true spiritual paths are climbing the same mountain, they’re just taking different paths.

10. Omega 3 – There is research that suggests that increasing the amount of Omega 3 in your diet can help. Have a read of the research and make your own judgment on whether it’s going to be right for you.

11. Help someone – It might not seem like it, but helping other people can make you feel better about yourself. It can give you a sense of purpose and also a real satisfaction at the results you achieve. If you do some kind of volunteer work then research suggests that you’ll also live longer! Try it and you’ll see.

12. Hug someone – Good for them and for you!

13. Aromatherapy – This can be surprisingly effective and can sometime really alter your mood for the better. Here are some suggestions for the oils you could try.

14. Treat yourself – Go out to a nice restaurant, buy something you like, get a massage, go to a concert…

15. Learn about what depression is and different methods of improving your mental health – Get some books out of your local library about dealing with depression, search the internet, talk to health professionals. Here are a couple of places to get started with: 7 Myths of Depression at PsychCentral, and What is Depression? at The National Institute of Mental Health.

16. Avoid drugs altogether, take it easy with alcohol and stop smoking. These things all take their toll on you, physically and mentally so you’re better off without them.

17. Destress – Find ways to make your life less stressful at work, home, in relationships etc.

18. Talk about it with friends, family, your doctor, a counsellor…

19. Get better at solving the problems you face in life – here are some techniques designed for people with depression.

20. Know that you’re not alone – You’re not a loser because you are depressed. Most people have experienced it in some way, either themselves or their friends/family. Here are some well known people who have experienced depression at some point: Buzz Aldrin, Drew Carey, Jim Carrey, Winston Churchill, Kirsten Dunst, Harrison Ford, Gwyneth Paltrow and there is a big list of others on Wikipedia.

21. Lastly, there is a lot of truth to the old saying laughter is the best medicine. You could go to a comedy club, watch a funny movie, hang out with friends that make laugh, catch up with old friends and reminisce on old times, or simply look for funny videos on Youtube – this one makes me smile :)

If you have any other ideas then please share them in the comments.

Just to reiterate though – if you’ve been feeling this way for a while then it’s a good idea to seek professional help.

Image credit: kalandrakas

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I really wish I hadn’t.

I saw something that irked me and dived for the phone to make my frustrations known.

Just as I was about to call someone walked into my office to speak with me.

I could have stopped and spoken with them. But instead I dialled on and got through to the person I wanted to speak to.

I vented.

They defended.

It wasn’t the finest hour for either of us.

I shouldn’t have made the call.

I should have taken a moment to stop and breathe.

I should have allowed the heat of the moment to pass so that I could then deal with it more appropriately with a level head.

I should have…

I should have…

I should have…

But I didn’t.

Arghhhhhhhh!

Please learn from my mistake :)

Image credit: ♥ellie♥

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It’s taken me ages to get around to writing this post (cue laughter). That’s a terrible line to begin this post with, but it’s true.

Unfortunately for us procrastination is a part of human nature. You may even be procrastinating now – are you reading this blog when you should be doing something else?

Everyone procrastinates. But that’s no excuse.

Procrastination is something we all joke about but it’s actually quite a crippling thing. Think of all the things we could do if we didn’t procrastinate?

Personally I would have gotten out of bed earlier this morning, had a shorter shower, gotten more done at work, caught up on lots of things I’d been meaning to do for ages. I would be more productive and more effective. My life would be better, I would probably be healthier, have more money, better relationships, more fun…

Often we manage to break out of our procrastination for long enough to catch up on things. But then we get comfortable and slip back into it.

Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.

- Victor Kiam

Unfortunately it’s a constant battle with no lasting quick fix, but here are some tips that hopefully help you keep procrastination at bay:

• Do the difficult tasks first, and keep the fun tasks as a reward
• Break big tasks into smaller manageable tasks, that way they don’t seem so daunting
• Allocate times eg. check emails for 15 minutes, write essay for 1 hour, return phonecalls for 20 minutes, study for 1 hour etc.
• Play to your strengths. If you lose motivation in the afternoon then do the difficult things in the morning and keep the easier ones for the afternoon.
• Keep your place tidy. Tidying up is something we often do as a method of procrastination – if you keep your place impeccably tidy then that option won’t be there any more.
• Eliminate distractions: If you’re trying to work/study then: close your email/Twitter/Facebook/chat etc, ask the people around you not to interrupt you, turn off your phone, turn off your computer if you get distracted by the internet, turn off the radio or listen to music that doesn’t distract you, go to the bathroom/eat/drink etc before you start.
• Deal with things as and when they happen. When you check your emails either deal with them there and then or schedule a time to deal with them.

Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible.

- George Claude Lorimer

• Write a to-do-list. They’re out of fashion in some schools of thought but they still work. Write things down, then prioritise. Choose the most important 7 things and number them in order of importance. Then start doing them in that order.
• Plan ahead. Manage your time. Book in the important and time consuming tasks first. Then fit the smaller and less important things in around those.
• Be aware. Notice when you wander off task. Sometimes just being more aware of what you’re doing can help you get back on task.
• Reward yourself when you complete things: a cup of coffee, a chat with a friends, some time on Facebook, some fresh air…
• Take a break. You weren’t born to suffer so schedule yourself a break when you need it so that it doesn’t seem like it’s just hard work.
• Have a change of scene – work from a different office, study at the library, get up at a different time – anything to break your routine can also help break procrastination habits.
• Dwell on the satisfaction of completing things. When you achieve what you set out to achieve then notice how you feel about it. Really savour it so that you can look forward to that feeling again.
• Perfectionist? Some things are better done to an acceptable level than not done at all.
• Try not to be afraid of making mistakes. The fear of making mistakes can be paralysing.
• Cultivate habits. Make doing the thing you don’t want to do part of a daily routine so that it becomes a habit. Once something is a habit it’s easy to maintain.
• Think about why you want to do it. If it’s big things that you are procrastinating on: dreams, travel, relationships etc then think about where you want to be in the future with these things. Focus on why you want to achieve them and that may bring you the motivation you need.
• Just do it!
• …or don’t do it. If you really can’t bring yourself to do it then is it something that you really need to be doing? Can you delegate it? Can you just forget about it?
• Peer pressure – tell your friends and family about what you’re doing and when you’ll have it done by. This makes you accountable to someone.
• Reminders – put your homework on top of the Playstation when you get home from school to remind that it needs to be done first.
• Use tools – setup reminders in Google Calendar to text you at a time/date to ask you if you’ve done what you’ve supposed to have done.

Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.

- Wayne Gretzky

Remember that beating procrastination does require effort on your part and that isn’t always fun. In the long run there is no shortcut for effort. As with anything in life, you get out what you put in.

Here are a few more procrastination tips:

How to stop procrastinating: 7 Timeless Tips – The Positivity Blog

How to finish your work, one bite at a time – Scott H Young

Good luck!

Original image: Wikipedia

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