Life
10 Life Upgrades You Can Do For Free In 2018
The great Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter once said, "Let me upgrade you," and that's unofficially-officially the theme for 2018. There are so many ways you can improve all aspects of your life. And a lot of life upgrades, or tiny things can vastly increase your quality of life, can be free. So if you want to improve a particular part of your life, it can be really easy.
The cool thing about life upgrades is that they can help improve many aspects of your life simultaneously. For example, keeping an extra pair of glasses at your desk can keep you from straining your eyes too much by letting you switch out your contacts once your eyes get tired at work. It will also help you be more productive, since you're not constantly rubbing your eyes, improving your professional life. See how that works? Keeping an extra pair of glasses in the desk drawer where you keep your stash of granola bars isn't a monumental task, and that's the beauty of life upgrades — they're easy, but they usually come with an unexpectedly big payoff.
If you're interested in improving something about yourself, check out the list below for suggestions of life upgrades you can integrate into your daily life. Research says it takes 21 days to create a habit, so after just 3 weeks, you won't even have to think about these life upgrades to do them.
1Do A Social Media Cleanse
Sometimes you just need a break. A social media cleanse — picking a length of time to delete all those apps off your phone and recalibrate your swiping habits — can help with staying focused and living in the moment.
2Clean Up More
Seeing my room go from a cluttered mess to a neat and orderly space is the best feeling in the entire world. Set a schedule for giving your room/apartment/house a deep clean, or even a reminder to just pick up everything up off the floor. Your future self will thank you.
3Meal Prep
So, this one is only sorta free since you have to buy the veggies on the outset, but meal prepping can help you save time and money for the week by pre-planning your lunches in advance. And meal prepping doesn't necessarily mean eating the same gross leftovers for lunch, either; you can make a few different grains, roast a few different kinds of veggies, and whip together a few different dressings, and bam: five different grain bowls for every lunch al desko.
4Choose Outfits The Night Before
Have you ever stumbled out of bed and gotten dressed in the dark only to realize you have on two different shoes around noon? Yeah, me too. Avoid this embarrassing situation by picking out your outfits the night before.
5Set Mini Deadlines
If you find yourself consistently getting behind on major projects, it’s probably because you aren’t setting smaller deadlines before the final deadline. Break up a project into three to four increments and set a deadline for each one. Not so hard to finish the project now, is it?
6Try A New Hairstyle
Switch up your look this year by adding a new hairstyle to your repertoire. It's an easy (and free) way to feel refreshed, style-wise.
7Donate Items You No Longer Use
If you have a bunch of clothes you no longer wear or books you’ve already read, consider donating them to someone who would get more use out of them. It’ll help declutter your space and improve someone else’s life. It’s a win-win.
8Structure Your Schedule
Sometimes it feels like there’s not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Try structuring your calendar to maximize your time (a la setting small deadlines, above). You’ll probably notice you can accomplish more in a day than you originally thought.
9Enjoy Nature Each Day
Being outdoors can improve your mood and your overall health. Take a moment each day to stop and smell the roses... or at least walk around the neighborhood.
10Take A Break Without Feeling Guilty
If you’re going to take a break to relax actually relax. Don’t feel guilty for not being productive 100 percent of the time.
Try out a few (or all) of these life upgrades and watch your life improve for the low, low cost of free 99. 2018 is going to be your best year yet.
