What does improving your quality of life mean to you? You will need to answer this question before you can figure out exactly what you need to do, and the answer will be different for everyone. However, there are some broad categories that can help guide you.
Satisfying Work Life
Having a career that feels meaningful to you in some way is important. For some, this could mean a career change. If this is the case, you might need to go back to school and get a degree. You can take out Earnest private student loans to pay for your degree along with applying for grants, loans, and federal aid. For others, changing careers may not be possible or desirable. In this situation, you might want to look into whether there is another position you could do at your same job, or you may find volunteer work that feels meaningful to you.
Your Relationships
Good relationships with others are also important to quality of life. As is the case with your career, it might not always be possible to distance yourself from every difficult relationship in your life. There may be a family member or a colleague from whom you cannot separate yourself. However, as much as possible, you should make an effort to cultivate relationships with people who are positive and minimize your time with people who are not. You and your loved ones should treat one another with support and respect.
Movement
You don’t have to run a marathon–you don’t have to run at all–but some form of physical exercise will reduce stress and improve your quality of life for many different reasons. Your physical and mental health will get better. If you have a sedentary job, movement can help the soreness and stiffness that may come from sitting all day. Your movement can just be taking walks or doing some stretches, but you will feel better in general whatever you choose.
Your Physical Wellbeing
In addition to getting some exercise, you need to take care of yourself physically in other ways to maximize your quality of life. One of the most important things you can do is make sure that you get enough sleep. Eating a balanced diet and making an effort to add other healthy habits into your life can boost your energy and ensure that you feel good.
Leisure Time
There’s pressure in our culture to be productive. It can be so intense that you can start to feel like a failure if you aren’t performing at the high, multi-tasking level that you may feel is demanded of you. However, making room for leisure time is critical. While this shouldn’t feel like an additional burden, some of that leisure time should be high quality. In other words, while everyone needs to zone out sometimes with the internet or binge-watching, if that’s all you’re doing in your down time, your quality of life is going to suffer. Work on cultivating hobbies and spending time with friends or family.
