Mental health has become an increasing priority in society today, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, there are a lot of events going on in the world today that can cause stress, anxiety, and depression in even the brightest of souls. Taking an active approach to getting mental health support is a good idea for everyone.
There are a lot of different approaches to managing mental health. Since mental health is different for everyone, your strategy might be completely different from your neighbor’s. This article will present one way you can support your mental health through the use of Microsoft Calendar and its organizational tools:
Organize More, Worry Less
The more organized you are, the easier it is to manage your mental health. For example, anxiety often comes from chaos and disorder. With Microsoft Calendar, you can regain control through customization features such as color-coding events.
Color-coding your calendar events is a straightforward process, but it can make all the difference. It will make even the busiest of schedules more manageable. You won’t feel as stressed out when going over your calendar as you might have done in the past.
Try using just a few different colors to divide up your calendar. Too many colors can be equally chaotic. Colors that are too similar also won’t be very effective. You could try something like this:
Red – Work events
Yellow – Personal activities
Blue – Family matters
Get Social
You might find it harder to get the mental health support you need when you’re by yourself. But, even if you’re a little out of your comfort zone, getting social can help you boost your mental health. Microsoft Calendar has some valuable tools for improving your social life.
For example, you can share calendars with family and friends to easily organize and plan events. As a result, coordinating schedules and committing to dates is simpler than ever. In addition, you’ll be able to attend more social events, which will allow you to let loose, laugh a little more, and forget about your worries for a spell.
You can also use your Microsoft Calendar to plan and attend workshops and help groups if you’re struggling with your mental health. Getting this kind of assistance is nothing to be ashamed of, primarily if it provides the support you need.
Compartmentalize
People undergoing stress often compartmentalize whether they intend to or not. When you compartmentalize, you divide or isolate the different events and feelings you’re experiencing to tackle them one at a time. Again, you can use your online calendar to do this in times of extreme stress.
With Microsoft Calendar, you can create multiple calendars to separate your work events from your family events. Some people might prefer to stick with color-coding, but it’s easier to keep everything separate for others. This can make it easier to keep a good work-life balance or maintain low-stress levels, both essential ingredients of good mental health.
Compartmentalization can be a negative if you take it too far. You can’t push away the things that stress you out indefinitely. Ignoring what stresses you out may end up making it worse over time. Try and use compartmentalization to focus on resolving issues that affect your mental health instead.
Make Time for Yourself
Regardless of the online calendar you use, you should be setting aside time for yourself. Sometimes our mental health gets out of hand because we’re getting too caught up with work or worrying about current events. Some scheduled ‘me time’ can be more beneficial than you realize.
Take a look at your Microsoft Calendar. What can you do to make some time for yourself? Perhaps you have some sick time accrued at work and can plan a day off to get pampered and get your mind off of work for a weekday. Maybe you need to block off an hour every night to enjoy a hobby such as reading or painting. These intentional activities, when planned out, will be an incredible support to your mental health.
Your Microsoft Calendar can also help you maintain a proper sleep schedule and make time for regular exercise. Both of these significantly impact your mental health state and should be prioritized accordingly.
Adjust Your Reminders
Reminders can be pretty funny. On the one hand, a well-timed reminder can save the day. But on the other hand, too many reminders can be overwhelming, stressful, and irritating. With Microsoft Calendar, you can find the perfect balance for your reminders.
Turning off unnecessary reminders will provide some peace of mind throughout the day when typically, your phone would be buzzing non-stop. If you have reminders set for only deadlines and meetings, you won’t be missing anything of great importance.
You can create your own reminders for different activities as well. For example, this could be an hourly reminder to drink water or an evening reminder to repeat some affirmations. These custom reminders can come in handy when looking to support your mental health.
An online calendar in and of itself is a simple tool that’s great for time management and organization. However, it can be used for so much more, even making it possible to improve your daily mental health.
Image Credit: by Andrew Neel; Pexels; Thank you!
Angela Ruth
My name is Angela Ruth. I aim to help you learn how Calendar can help you manage your time, boost your productivity, and spend your days working on things that matter, both personally and professionally. Here's to improving all your calendars and becoming the person you are destined to become!