Living a Stress-free Life(Or at least trying to)

     There is always a ton of pressure put on us at any given time. When we are in school, we are expected to excel in our academic life, extracurricular life etc. After graduating, we expect to find the "dream job", which let's be honest is extremely difficult in today's world. When we are in the workforce, we are always expected to go above and beyond in our job. It can really be taxing, mentally and physically, trying to plan for the future or just trying to live our day-to-day life without going broke (or crazy, whichever comes first).

     I personally have a bad habit of giving myself too much stress. I stress out about the future, my life etc. In order to calm myself down and distract myself from all my problems, I have had to come up with some ways to live a relatively stress-free life.

Practice yoga.

Not only has yoga improved my posture, it really has taught me to relax and be more calm. Give yourself an hour every morning before going to work to practice some yoga. A lot of times, in life we cannot control what circumstances we will go through. Instead stressing about what might happen, or what has happened in the past, it is important to look forward and stop stressing out. What is meant to happened, will happen.

Be positive.

Being positive really works wonders. No one likes being around negative people who complain about everything, but never really does anything to change their current circumstances. Complaining never solves anything. Stop complaining and take action about the situation.

Remind yourself that things will change eventually.

Nothing is permanent in this world except change. If you are going through a bad phase in your life, of course you will be worried. That is normal. However, it is also important to remember that things will take a turn for the better, eventually. This does not mean, you can just expect everything to be handed to you. You still need to work hard and put effort in improving your situation.

Read more.

Not only will it distract you, you might end up learning something new which might be beneficial to you in the future. When you read, it helps you to escape the worries and stresses of your everyday life. You end up completely engrossed in the world that the author of the book has created. Reading also instantly helps to reduce your heart rate and ease tension in the muscles.

Give yourself a day off.

It is important to have some "me time" once in a while. You can treat yourself to a nice meal, go shopping, get your hair done etc. Anything that helps you to wind down and chill out.  Not only will it refresh you, it will also give you a boost. The next day, you will be ready to face any problem you have head on.

Enjoy Nature.

It is calming to go for nature walks or hikes. I like spending time in nature. It feels rejuvenating for the mind and body. Breathing the fresh air and spending time in the sun also helps you to feel better. Did you know going out in nature also helps to lower stress hormone levels?

Write. 

Sometimes it is cathartic just to write down what you are feeling. This way, you do not feel like you are just keeping all of your emotions bottled up inside you. You acknowledge your different feelings and emotions by writing them down which helps to give you a sense of relief.

12 Tips to Live a More Eco-Friendly Life

We all know that Earth is the our home we should cherish it. As climate change is impacting our world faster than ever(check out my blog post Thoughts on Climate Change for more information), it is crucial that we do our part to conserve our planet and reduce our carbon footprint on Earth.

"But I'm just one person, what difference will it make?"  I hear you say. Well, imagine if millions of people worked together to be more eco-friendly, won't it make a difference then?  It actually isn't as difficult as it sounds.

Here are twelve simple tips for you to move towards living a more eco-friendly life.


1) Save Water
Water is one of the most precious resource on earth. We need fresh water to survive, because there is not an abundance of it.  You can work to save water by turning off the tap while your brush. Time yourself when you are taking a shower. Five to fifteen minutes is more than enough time to shower. Do not waste water by taking long showers. Do the laundry only when you know you have a full load of clothes. Some countries are already taking action to preserve water as there is an ongoing drought in their country. We should do our part for planet earth by trying to conserve as much water as we can. Oh and by the way, did I mention that your water bill will be reduced in the process?

2) Turn off the lights
Whenever you leave a room, make it a habit to turn off all the lights in the room. It helps to save money and energy. Turning off lights in the room will also help to keep the room cooler as light bulbs tend to radiate heat. You can also look to purchase energy-efficient household appliances.

3) Use LED light bulbs
I would suggest using LED light bulbs instead of regular incandescent lights. Incandescent lights tend to be the least expensive types of lights to purchase however, they also are expensive to use. I would suggest investing in LED lights instead. LED lights convert 95% of energy into light while only 5% of energy is otherwise wasted as heat. In comparison, incandescent lights only convert 5-10% of energy into light while the rest is wasted as heat. It also has a better quality of light distribution and a longer lifespan compared to other lights. LED lights are more expensive at first,  however it will pay off in the long run by reducing your electricity bill.

4) Bring your own Utensils
Try to use your own utensils instead of taking the disposable plastic utensils whenever you order food outside. Some restaurants will just put in the disposable utensils in the bag. You can always tell them in advance that you do not need them as you have your own utensils. I developed this habit in college as I had to eat out often, but  did not want to keep throwing out plastic spoons, forks etc unnecessarily. I decided to go out and buy a set of utensils. After using them, I would just wash them at the sink and voilà, it was good to go.

5) Bring your own Bag
Instead of getting a new plastic bag every time you shop and contributing to the ever-increasing number of plastic waste in the world, why not use a tote bag which you can reuse again and again every time you shop? It helps to cut down on plastic pollution and besides it is really convenient. You can just fold it up and use it anytime you want.

6) Turn off your Electronic Devices 
This is something that needs to be practiced more often. When you are done using your laptop, turn it off! Especially at night before you go to bed. As long as long as your device is still turned on it is consuming electricity.

7) Use Public Transportation
Instead of driving the car or riding a scooter to work everyday, why not try to take the public bus or the metro to work? As a large number of people are travelling together, it helps to cut down on the number of carbon emissions released into the air and therefore resulting in improved air quality in the long run. If you don't like using public transportation, you can always choose to carpool to work or anywhere in general.

8) Stop shopping compulsively
When you shop compulsively, you usually end up with a lot of stuff you don't end up using. Try to make a list of things you actually need and only shop for them. Remember, your goal is to try to reduce the amount of waste you create!

9) Recycle and Reuse
When you recycle and reuse products, it helps to reduce energy use which would otherwise be used to manufacture new products. Other than that, it also helps to reduce waste in the world. For instance, you can reuse plastic bags instead of just tossing them away. Instead of just throwing out your old pair of denims, why not recycle it instead? There are a ton of creative ideas online on how your can reuse your old clothing and upgrade it to something new and different.

10) Donate items you no longer need
Instead of tossing away a product you no longer need, why not give it to someone in need? You can choose to donate to shelters, to the salvation army, to a children's hospital near you etc. 

11) Decrease your consumption of meat
Do you know how much water is used in order to produce one kilogram of meat? Not only that, did you know that the meat industry produces more climate gasses than the transport industry? It is appalling what goes around in the meat industry, therefore you can do your part by decreasing your meat intake. Instead of eating meat four times a week, try to eat meat only once a week. You can instead shift to a plant-based diet. Add fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet. There are a ton of healthy and delicious recipes online. If you are really committed, you can even consider going vegan or becoming a vegetarian.

12) Purchase locally grown products
This way you can support your local farms, instead of purchasing products that are shipped from far away and contributes to carbon emission from shipping. I try to visit the local farmers' market every weekend in order to purchase fruits and vegetables in bulk. It is convenient and also helps you to save some money at the same time.

10 Ways You Can Become a Regular Reader today

Are you one of those people who love to read but just is so busy with life that you do not have to time to read? Raise your hand if that is the story of your life. It is so easy to fall into a regular routine and not have time to read. With our hectic lives, it is easy to "forget" to read or to look for excuses as to why you do not have time to read.

However, there is hope for us! It is not actually that difficult to add reading into your regular routine as we tend to have time to spare during the day. It is how we choose to use that time which is important. Reading helps us to gain knowledge and is known to help with mental stimulation.

Here are ten ways you can work on becoming a voracious reader today!

1) Make a list of books you are interested in reading
This will motivate you to look for the books you want to read and then actually read it in your free time. You can look online for book lists for inspiration on books you are interested in.

2) Join a local library
Libraries tend to have a ton of books and you can just borrow it for free. Libraries also have a wide range of books so while browsing through the books, you never know what you might find. Try to challenge yourself and pick books from various genres. You can pick multiple books at once and return them once you are done. If none of the books grab your attention, you can always go back and choose other books.

3) Set aside time to read daily
You have to set aside time to read daily whether you want to or not. Try to set aside 15-30 minutes daily just to sit down with your book and read. You can easily get this time by cutting down on mindless surfing online(Read: Facebook, Twitter , Instagram etc) and instead giving this time to focus on reading.

4) Learn various reading techniques
The more you read the more you will start to pick up reading techniques such as skimming and speed reading. You can skim in the beginning of the book to see if you are really interested or not interested enough to commit to reading the book. This way, you will be reading more books as you will be able to get through a book faster.

5) Join a book club
Why not join a book club in your area? You will be more motivated to read this way. You will be able to meet with different members of the book club to discuss the characters and the plot of the book  which will keep you engaged with the story.

6) E-Books
If you are someone who prefers to read on a tablet rather than an actual book, go for it! It is convenient compared to traditional books. There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages of e-books and traditional books( https://chanda-chandasblog.blogspot.tw/2017/12/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-e-books.html) You can check out more information in the link above.

7) Keep a notebook
You can use it to write quotes from the book and follow your progress in the book. You can use it to write summaries, book reviews etc. A notebook can also be used to keep progress of how many books you have read so far. It can also be useful in looking back and seeing what you have actually learned from reading the book.

8) Go to a quiet place to read
Sometimes you really need to go somewhere peaceful and quiet in order to fully concentrate on reading. You can go to a quiet corner in your house and spend time reading there. You can also choose to go to the library if you do not want to be disturbed by others. It helps you to focus on the book and not be distracted by others things.

9) Read at night before going to bed
Sometimes we just want to read in a relaxed manner before dosing off to sleep. Why not turn off your electronic devices earlier and just spend the extra time in bed and read? It is so relaxing to just sit on your bed and read.Remember as kids how our parents' used to read us bedtime stories?  It is because reading before sleeping actually helps to get a great night of sleep. It helps us to relax and de-stress from our day.

10) Turn off your electronic devices
If you are someone who is easily distracted, I would suggest turning off all your electronic devices in order to concentrate on reading. This way, you can focus on reading instead of checking your phone every few minutes. Take a deep breath and only focus on the book as that is the only thing that should be on your mind.