I was really struggling with stress (followed by depression) last summer into the fall and winter. Weight went up (down and up, but overall, way up). There just wasn't a light at the end of the tunnel, and then the light I was counting on, got extinguished.

Came across a podcast that I started regularly listening to while doing my part-time side hustle job, and found a few things in there that have been HUGE in helping turn things around for me.

Probably the biggest was a daily critical task list aka "Win the Day."

For me, I chose 5 areas of my life that I feel are priorities (fitness, nutrition, career, mental, and "life"). Every single morning right after I let the dog out, I sit down and write one task for each category for that day. Some of them have carried over one day to the next since I started, some have evolved, some change almost daily depending on what life has going on that day.

The entire thing is based on moving those needles in the right direction in those ever so tiny amounts every single day. At the end of the day, I can say I've "WON" the day if I've completed all my tasks (and they don't need to be big things, but they do need to be things you aren't otherwise doing and/or struggle to keep doing).

This has really, REALLY, helped me mentally as I know every single day I have touched those areas, and those needles are moving. It's not overnight, in fact, I've been at this for almost 60 days by this point, and the changes and movements are small, but they are MOVING, and mentally I'm much better off.

Here's an example of one of my days:
1. Track kcal (may or may not include staying in/under range - there are days I don't! as long as I'm tracking it all)
2. Meditate/visualize for 8 minutes (started out with 5 minutes - this has really helped me flesh out some of my goals and desires for my life, even in areas I've never been able to define)
3. Workout (and then specify what is is that day - for example, Block 1, Day 2 of my plan, or a minimum 20 minute walk, or a 30 minute zumba video....I'm specific about it though).
4. Read a career/personal development book (10 pages) [or apply to 3 jobs or update a section of my resume, spend 30 minutes on a LinkedIn learning course, etc (but only ONE thing a day)]
5. Fold and put away laundry (or call a friend, or offer emotional support for a friend in a hard time, or whatever else "life" has going on that day).

I'm seeing the results of this already - and I am excited to see what my life looks like after a year, or 5 of doing this every single day. The whole point for me is that they do NOT need to be big things - sometimes it's just a touch, but I am touching the things every.single.day in a positive forward way. Even on the days/weeks I'm in the dumps, these small wins have been awesome to have in my back pocket.