How did wellness become so overwhelming? We are supposed to make healthy eating choices, exercise regularly, be in the present, stay connected to our family, and make time for at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Twenty-four hours is not enough time for you to prioritize wellness and the various hats in your life (e.g., aunt, employee, friend, sister, partner, parent, entrepreneur).
This article will provide an insight through 4 strategies that can help you fit wellness into your life, no matter how busy your day might be.
1: Create “brutal” Time In Your Schedule
Plan out your typical day, from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep. Start with writing down the time you spend preparing meals, commuting, being at work, watching TV, browsing social media, chores, and catching up on emails. Clearly, there are some time slots that could be better used. For example, your usual half hour spent scrolling through social media before you get out of bed could be used for a morning workout or meditation session.
Organize a list of “using my time wisely” time slots in your day. Then, think about the wellness activities that could replace them. The most important of all schedules is listed as “brutal” time to keep you responsible. However, this does not mean that your schedule becomes so rigid that you cannot be flexible with justifying circumstances. This can prevent you from missing a morning workout because you need to take care of family matters, etc. Instead, do your workout, and find the balance to take care of family matters.
2: Get Good at Saying “NO”
With that said, the tough work does not stop after you create “brutal” time in your schedule. There is temptation everywhere!
Consequently, you have planned for a rigorous workout after work. Your co-workers invited you out for drinks instead and thinking of that ice-cold beer sliding down your throat has got you drooling. Whenever you feel close to deciding, ask yourself: “What are my priorities? Or am I just people pleasing?” You are more likely to be saying, “No, thank you” frequently.
However, you can still have fun with your co-workers. You can let them know you will take a raincheck. Or you can tell them, “I will meet you all after I hit the gym!”
3: Identify & Eliminate Friction
For those individuals struggling to keep to their wellness schedules, it is making it a habit in your daily routine. Once you do it will become normal in your day. A couple obstacles that prevent you from achieving your goals is friction, normally comes in three forms: distance, effort, and time.
How does friction come into play with wellness? Essentially, this means that the habits you can stay consistent with are those that are convenient, close to home, and will not take to much time or effort.
You need to come up with a plan how you could make your wellness activity as friction free as possible. We all want a nutritious home cooked meal but going to the grocery store can be an inconvenience. An option is to subscribe to a meal kit delivery service. This goes also for exercising. If the nearest gym is not close to home, why not lookup a YouTube workout and exercise in the comfort of your living room?
4: Break through Mental Barriers
Revisit your “using my time wisely” time slots. How many did you decide not to follow through because you thought your exercise were too short (i.e., less than 15 minutes)? We often think of wellness as a strict activity that we need to do for at least 20 minutes for any benefit. But that is not the case:
Exercise
Working out for just 15 minutes, yes, 15! comes with a slew of health benefits, from upping your calorie burn and whipping your body into shape, to lowering your risk of certain diseases and even adding years on to your life.
Meditation
Meditation for 10 minutes allows you to sway into racing thoughts so that you can find mental clarity. It will help to improve your focus, mood, and productivity. Here are some steps on how to create a meditation routine.
Reduce Tension by Taking Supplements
Tension could hurt both physical and emotional well-being. This is where you can take a supplement to find balance like CBD softgels. It takes less than a minute to get them into your system, however, you will experience long lasting well-being benefits, must be taken daily to notice the benefit.
Do Not Be Afraid To Put Yourself First
It is important to prioritize your own wellness, but you feel bad about it. It is ok to set boundaries and say “NO” to your parent, partner, co-worker, friend. You can schedule another time to meet with them.
Have you heard of the “oxygen mask” metaphor? It means put on your own mask before helping someone else. This is the advice of an airplane safety demonstration, and it is good advice for the rest of your life. Putting yourself first is not selfish.
It is important that you are in the best state of physical health and emotional well-being, this helps you better take care of your loved ones in the long term. Go ahead and put on that oxygen mask. Once you have recharged, connect back to life so you can be the best version of yourself.
Comments