Hi, I’m David a fourth-year design and business student. During this past semester I came to the realization that health is an indispensable asset; there isn’t a lot you can do if you don’t have health, both mental and physical. The relevance of this statement came into play in my Business of Design class where I began learning about sustainability. In the class there was an emphasis on the idea that I CAN and SHOULD try to improve the factors that come into play when trying to live more sustainably. Through my own introspection, it was evident my physical and mental health was not where it should be, and this was playing a role as to how effectively I was practicing sustainable habits. It became clear that both health and sustainability were interconnect. As a result, my primary focus this semester was to achieve a healthier lifestyle that would facilitate implementing sustainable habits.
After a failed attempt at becoming vegetarian, I became curious as to how my unhealthy behaviour was unsustainable from a waste perspective. Was me eating junk food unsustainable? I decided to find out. As a result, I thought it would be an interesting experiment to track and carry all my food waste for an entire week. This would allow me to realize the extent of waste that I produce and have produced for many years; the results were humbling to say the least. Making my waste visible proved to me that in fact I was making a negative impact. I was drinking too much bubble tea and eating too much subway; and not only was that creating way too much garbage, but it was making me fat.
It dawned on me that the primary cause of me eating unhealthily was time. I was always out of time, or in a rush and quite lazy. Instead of trying to tackle my eating habits, I went for my sleep. Was a I really getting enough sleep? Did I have a good sleep routine? Was my life organized? The answer to all these questions, was no. As a result, I decided to start waking up early and sleeping at the same time every night; 5:30 am – 10:00pm. I was going to prototype this lifestyle and see in what way my life would change, while documenting it all. You can watch the video to see what happens.
The journey was a huge learning experience, but part of the project was also sharing my experiences so that others can learn from me. If anyone can derive value after watching my video or hearing about my personal journey, then I know what I’ve done has been successful.
