How I became happier and healthier because of mini after-work rituals
Advice from someone who used to work four jobs on weekdays, and two of them on the weekends.
Back then, I wanted to get a really good apartment with amazing amenities. I wanted to eat well and spend money on my hobbies.
So, I took three part-time jobs and one full-time job.
Of course, it didn’t take long for this to take a toll on my health. I slept only 4–5 hours a day, and my idea of eating well was stuffing myself with junk food. My colleagues recognized me as the person who always got sent to the emergency room or had to take week-long sick leaves.
Because I started getting sick, I couldn’t do well in all of these jobs.
Everything I did was mediocre or poor, or worse: I had to cancel on project. This affected my performance reviews and also affected my writing rates. And it’s clear to me: you can’t do well if you are not at the top of your health. You can’t enjoy the fruits of your hard work if you are also not at your best.
But of course, change is not easy. You can’t immediately make time for self-care.
I am always busy. I don’t have time, as I always said.
Yet you have to make time. We only have one body to take care of; so, don’t take it for granted. But first, you must start small.
My idea of starting small was to have mini after-work rituals. These after-work rituals helped me detach and destress from work.
Here’s a list of my usual mini after-work rituals:
- Stopping at my favorite tea shop
- Buying my favorite bread
- Feeding my pet fish
- Making a vegetable or fruit smoothie
- Playing a puzzle game
- Calling a friend
- Going to the arcade
- Walking in the hallway while listening to music
- Watching nature videos
- Color one page in my coloring book
- Build a confidence playlist
All these things don’t take that much money, time, or effort in my end. I can do these things outside, or as soon as I get home. My main goal was to ensure in my mind that I was going home — I had to leave my work and relax.
Of course, it didn’t work like magic.
Everything felt boring and ordinary. In addition to that, I worked on digital, so I had to resist the urge to check my emails all the time.
But soon, like how my health plummeted, these mini after-work rituals helped me prioritize myself more and more. I began to feel happier, had fewer trips to the hospital, and started to avoid making work as my personality. Because I just knew I was more than that.
So, if you want to try building your own mini after-work rituals, here are some tips I would suggest for you:
List down the things that make you happy in a few seconds or minutes.
This activity alone is already considered a mini after-work ritual. Just pick a few things that will no doubt make you smile, no matter how the day was.
It doesn’t have to be something that puts you on cloud nine. Just something that will ease the negativity that happened throughout the day.
Pick after-work rituals that you can actually afford.
When you’re done with your list, pick the ones that fit your time or your budget. I had a few after-work rituals before that cost me more than 15 minutes or had cost me a day’s worth of expenses.
But what if it makes me happy? Yes, of course, that’s good!
However, it shouldn’t be at the expense of other things in your life. You will also feel miserable and stressed if you lose time for an important task on that day. Or even angry at yourself if it’s just the middle of the week and you’re already running short of money.
Make time for it. You probably have five minutes, right?
Even a song can only be just three minutes long, and it’s enough to cheer you up.
You’re not a machine. You shouldn’t wait for yourself to be at 1% to recharge. And having stress pile up is the worst feeling in the world — I wouldn’t want you to experience being in and out of the ER when it can easily have been avoided.
You truly have to try and set aside time for these rituals. Even have an alarm to remind yourself in case you forget to detach and destress.
You can change your mini after-work rituals anytime you want.
I had mini after-work rituals that I don’t always do. Some of them I had also given up for various reasons, but mostly it’s because I don’t find joy in them anymore.
When it starts to feel like a chore, drop that after-work ritual. At the start, incorporating these rituals will feel like a chore. But it should be something that makes you happy — so that it doesn’t feel like an obligation at all.
If you want to go for bigger after-work rituals, especially during weekends, then do so!
I invest money and time for bigger after-work rituals. Simply because they make me happy. I have something to look forward to, even if things don’t go well at work or even at home.
I attend brunches, festivals, workshops, and art exhibition openings. I save up for them and definitely put a space for them in my calendar, no matter how busy I get.
I hope that no matter how busy you are, you don’t forget about yourself.
It’s okay to work hard for your dreams. But you shouldn’t also fail to take care of yourself. It shouldn’t be at the expense of your health or the good relationships you have around you.
Even if it’s just a minute or two of your day, I hope you don’t forget to make time to detach, destress, and smile at the end of your workday. You also deserve to be in your best condition, you see!
