New Year's Resolutions for Women with Too Much to do to Care
5 no-time taken tips for new year’s wellbeing
There’s a huge urge we can feel to make ourselves fabulous health-inducing resolutions.
And if we’ve allowed ourselves space and time to unwind over Christmas it can seem possible, doable.
But when life returns to normal, to the routine of work, and kids, time starts to feel constrained again it can feel so difficult.
Improving our eating habits is a great idea, but requires planning, thinking and cooking/shopping time.
Getting more exercise, running a 5K, or lifting weights can be a great ambition, but come February that time can feel better spent elsewhere when you’re back on the hamster wheel of work deadlines, kid taxi duty and trying to stay on top o home and family.
So, how about making it super simple?
5 easy and quick wellbeing habits to start right now
Drink more water. Start with an extra glass in the morning. You wake up dehydrated after your body has been super busy overnight cleaning up your organs, digestive system and generally sweating and breathing. One glass extra is a good start. And if you want to take the next step you could add in an alarm to have a drink of water every couple of hours at work and see how that goes too.
Leave your phone downstairs/out of the bedroom to charge overnight. Not only might you get to sleep more quickly, and deeply by reducing the stimulation to your brain and the blue light access, it will also stop you from checking the news/emails/socials before you get out of bed in the morning. You’ll be surprised by how much time this simple act can give you back!
Move a little more. Just a little. 10 squats, or a walk around the block might not seem like much, but they are so much better than nothing. It won’t give you a 6 pack to take micro moments like this but it will get the blood circulating, and might lead you to do a little more. You’ll find yourself feeling more refreshed between work meetings. Stack movement breaks alongside other breaks - 10 squats while the kettle is boiling, 5 wall press ups after a loo trip, a walk to the end of the road and back when you’ve finished writing that important document/email/report/etc etc.
Take a deep breath. Set an alarm on your phone, to take a big, deep belly breath with a slow exhale once an hour. This can help move you out of fight or flight mode, keep you focussed and help get you back into the present moment.
Eat slowly - even if it’s just the first bite. Chewing for longer improves our digestion of the food we eat meaning we extract more of the good nutrition and improve our gut bacteria’s ability to break it down. It may also help you to really notice what you’re eating rather than grazing mindlessly. Food is good. It’s important and it can be pleasurable too. Ideally eat without the distraction of phone, computer or TV. Try it, it really doesn’t take much time.
Pick one. Or all. Try it on for size. Micro habits can have a major impact.
And, if you’d like a little extra support with setting some intentions for your wellbeing and identifying micro habits that will really help energise, and support you, drop me a line.