A lot of us are time poor, which means we often forget to look after ourselves. We’ve come up with a few easy habits to include into your daily routine to help you lead a healthier lifestyle no matter how little time you might have (no excuses plz).
We’re not saying to include all of these straight away – start with one or two. Creating habits doesn’t happen over night, it actually requires some effort at the beginning to make it stick. Research shows that it can take 21 days for an activity to become second nature to you.
Here are some tips for creating new habits:
- Try it out for 30 days
- Be persistent and consistent
- Keep it simple
- Ask yourself about the pros/cons of including this into your routine (not all habits may agree with you so don’t forget this tip!)
Remember to reward yourself too!
Drink more
No, we don’t mean the wine! You’re probably sick of us mentioning this by now, but water has so many benefits – you can read more about this in our post here. Not a water person? Try infusing your water with fruits and veggies to add some flavour.
Walk walk walk
Make the most of your lunch breaks, park your car further away or take the stairs instead to get some extra steps in.
Smile more
Smiling and laughing is known to reduce stress. When you laugh, your body releases endorphins to make you feel happy.
Stretch those muscles
Take the time to stretch; some of the benefits include reduced stress, more flexibility in the muscles and greater strength.
Go to bed ½ an hour earlier
Do you wake up feeling energised or do you wish you could keep hitting snooze? We should be getting around 8 hours of sleep each night. There are many pros to getting enough sleep; it boosts your immunity, improves your overall wellbeing and prevents certain diseases to name a few.
Ban electronic devices before you go to bed
Looking at bright screens before you go to bed makes it difficult to fall asleep. The screen tricks our brain into thinking that we’re not sleepy, which leads to sleep deprivation.
Meditate
Meditation is a great way to relax your mind and body. If you’re a newbie to this, there are some excellent apps and videos around to help get you started.
Write to-do lists and set realistic goals
This helps you prioritise tasks that need to be completed so you can be more productive during your day. Write down a list and number them from most to least important and add how long each task should take. Remember to be realistic about this.
Take the time to reflect
Write about what you’re grateful for to remind yourself how lucky you are to be where you are now. It’s important to know that there’s always something to be grateful for no matter what the situation is.