GYST-ing: The Key to a Productive Lifestyle

GYST: Get your sh*t together.

Do you ever have those days where you assess your life and the damage from the past week? We've all been there, it's Sunday morning and the scaries are setting in. Dirty laundry everywhere, dishes from last night's dinner and a to-do list a mile long. Before you enter a full-blown panic attack or sleep-in and ignore your problems (I know that this is a very tempting option), take a minute, take a deep breath and have a GYST day!

GYST-ing is the practice of organizing your space, tasks and essentially just getting your life together. It's so easy for the little chores and tasks to pile up and become overwhelming but this can all be easily avoided. Take a day, preferably Sunday, to set yourself up for the week ahead. We all know that we work better in a clean and organized space and knowing that every little thing is exactly where it's supposed to be. Do yourself a favour and add a GYST day or two to your weekly routine to increase your productivity and improve your mental health!

Below is an outline of what I do on my GYST days, it may seem like a lot to get done in one day and for beginners, you can split it up into two, adding a second GYST day halfway through the week to re-boost the serotonin you'll produce from being an organization ~Queen~. As you become a GYST freak like me you'll find little tricks to get the tasks done faster. I start with the maintenance items and work my way through the prep work until I finally get to relax and reward myself for getting my sh*t together! GYST-ing is a huge part of my mental health routine, when I feel productive and make my space comfortable and clean it impacts the way I feel about myself and puts me into a positive headspace.

Sarah's GYST day hacks:

1. Batch your laundry and dishes. Start the laundry right away as it takes time and you can complete other tasks simultaneously.

2. Make your to-do list for the week in order of priority and duration of the task. Let's say you need to send a couple of emails, conduct research for an assignment, and meal prep for dinner. Start with the emails because even though your homework is important it will take longer and you might never end up sending those dreaded emails, get the little things out of the way first so you can focus on the larger tasks and check everything off of your to-do list!

3. Make a GYST day playlist. I know this seems silly but good tunes always help the work get done faster, plus dance breaks are always important!

4. Multi-task. Who says you can't prep your food or write in your journal while you're doing a face mask?

5. Don't stress if you don't get everything done, the whole point of a GYST day is to relax and be good to yourself, your GYST-ing abilities will only get better with time!

6. Follow Kalyn Nicholson – Youtuber and GYST queen!

7. Become a Pinterest fiend – The ultimate source for GYST inspo

Stay Glowing,

Sarah