The Tartt Take

I use a lot of life hacks on any given day, many of which involve doing something with my body. These are nice since I can do them anytime, anywhere, and I don’t need any equipment or technology to make them work (unlike floating, which requires me to be in a certain place within certain hours and makes heavy use of technology, so it’s not always available for me to do). I like having these portable life hacks in mind and I’d like to share them with you now so you can use them whenever and wherever you like.

1. Triple warmer smoothie. This is probably the most recent life hack I’ve learned. My mindfulness buddy sent it to me earlier this week and it’s quickly become one of my favorite calming techniques. Whether I’m out and about with other people or resting at home, the triple warmer smoothie always makes me feel more relaxed and at ease.
2. Ground myself. I do this every night to clear myself of unwanted energy before going to bed. I think it’s improved the quality of my sleep and made it easier to doze off. Sometimes I’ll do it during the day if I feel myself getting stressed. To do this, I simply focus on the upsetting thought, take a few deep breaths, and then imagine it going out through the bottoms of my feet and deep into the Earth on each exhale. Touching my fingertips together while I do this also helps.
3. Eye scramble. One of many incredible things I’ve learned from Charisma on Command. I can stop negative thoughts in their tracks and avoid being overtaken by them with this technique. I often forget about this one but it always works well when I remember to use it.
4. Relax. It’s easy for me to hold unnecessary tension in my body. Whenever I catch myself doing this, I try to relax and release that tension as much as possible. I concentrate on one area at a time before moving onto the next one. This is much easier to do while sitting or lying down. A few minutes of doing this makes me feel very light and serene.
5. Adjust how I’m sitting. When I’m having a conversation with someone while sitting down, I typically sit back as that helps keep me relaxed. If the exchange starts turning hostile, staying back in my chair makes it easier for me to stay calm and avoid escalating the situation. Sitting forward, in contrast, indicates to the other person that I’m interested in what they’re saying and makes me more receptive to their ideas. It can also make me appear as well as act more aggressively, so I tend to avoid doing this in tense situations.
6. Speak softly. In The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale says that it’s difficult to get upset or stay that way while speaking in a whisper. Just as picking the right words is important, so is choosing how I voice them. Speaking softly and slowly has kept good situations from turning into bad ones and prevented bad situations from becoming worse.
7. Draw out the exhale. Probably the best breath-related life hack I’ve found. Whenever I focus on slowing and controlling my breath, I make the exhale last longer than the inhale. This engages my parasympathetic nervous system and calms me down by reminding my body that I’m ok. There are plenty of good breathing tricks but I particularly like this one because it’s simple to do, easy to remember, and starts working almost immediately.