I’ve just returned from a two week cruise holiday around New Zealand – what a beautiful country!

We had such a wonderful time, and it was truly relaxing – no phones, no internet, no live TV (just sitcom and movie reruns). When not in port exploring we spent our time reading, watching movies and making new friends (I know, I vomited in my mouth a little too. But it was glorious).

Before we even got home I made a resolution to make some small changes in my life to hold onto that relaxed feeling, starting with these three simple ones.

>> Turn off notifications on my phone.

I realised after about 8 minutes how nice it was that my phone wasn’t dinging at me all the time, but it really hit home when I connected my phone to the ship’s wifi. Within seconds it was pinging and updating apps and shooting emails at me.

I immediately freaked out and shut off the wifi without checking anything. As soon as it had started beeping I could feel tension creeping back into my shoulders, that feeling that I should be on top of everything and had to check my emails in case there was something important there. As soon as I disconnected, I felt soft again. Yesterday when I trawled through the (hundreds of!) emails waiting for me, I had ‘missed out’ on a couple of things, but it’s not really that big of a deal. And yeah, I now have a lot of reading I want to catch up on, but I’d still prefer to put in a bit more time in the real world than have it intrude on my holiday.

I was hoping to reduce the frequency of notifications to once or twice a day, but apparently the apps don’t make it easy to do that, so I may just have to bite the bullet and turn them right off!

The added bonus is that going notification-free will force you to be more present when you do check email or social media – choose a time, sit down and do it, rather than letting it intrude on your day willy-nilly.

>> Consume less news (if you can).

For two weeks, I had no idea what was happening in the world, and it was pretty great. I’m sure if there was some major event it would have filtered through, but the day to day just sailed right past us (no pun intended).

Contrast this with the cab ride home when the driver had the radio on and the news bulletin was filled with murder, betrayal, complaint and unhappiness.

Without getting preachy, it seems most news outlets go for the sensational news bites, the outrageous and horrific stories that will generate strong reactions. Having this come at you throughout the day, day after day, is just depressing. Yes, there are terrible, awful people out in the world who will inflict unspeakable pain on one another. But I don’t want to hear about it anymore.

If you want or need to keep an eye on the (real, complete) news, do it but try to find a reputable source that minimalises the sensationalism (if you can!)

>> Just be.

Sit, stare out a window, people watch (in a non-creepy way).

Like the rest of the world, when I have a quiet moment I usually pull out my phone to check Facebook or email. On our holiday though, the phone was often left behind in the cabin so that wasn’t an option. Even when I had a book with me, I’d often find myself putting it down and just looking around.

Happily this carried into the real world yesterday when I went to meet a friend for lunch. I was early, but instead of using the time to phone-check I just stood in the shopping centre and looked around and waited. I watched other people hurrying about their day, catching up with friends themselves, chatting to colleagues and so on. Just watched.

Instead of filling my head with other peoples’ status updates and emails I was just with myself, taking it all in.  Plus, letting the world wash around you opens up room for your own thoughts and reflections. Sounds a bit foofy, but it was very calming.

Now, I know we don’t all have the luxury of whizzing off on holidays to help re-perspectivise our lives (that was my first real holiday in years!), but if you can find a quiet moment, have a serious think about the little things in your life that perhaps inadvertently creep up your stress levels.

What change can you make, today, to bring a little bit more peace to your day? Let me know in the comments below.