Us humans don’t always know what’s good for us. Truthfully we probably do know but our brains like to sabotage us sometimes. I know sometimes my brain is all ‘Let’s drink 5 pints of beer on a Tuesday afternoon. TASTY FACE!‘. Then I end up drunk at the pub, yelling at a stranger about my theories of feminism on Game of Thrones at 11pm on a weeknight. I know what works for my body but my brain likes to hijack my self control sometimes. So a few years ago I wrote a list of things that I need to do every single day in order to feel good and function as a relatively stable adult. I’m pretty sure Oprah made me do it. Writing my non-negotiable daily tasks in list form means that my brain can’t pretend like these tasks don’t exist. I have the list written in my calender and I actually mark them off every day. It seems silly to have ‘wind down in the evening’ on my list but if I don’t acknowlege it and write it down, I always forget. The list keeps me accountable. Here’s my top five things I need to do every day to stay healthy in my body and my mind.
The Every Day List
Exercise
I do ‘proper’ exercise every week day. I usually alternate between Barre Body classes and 5km runs on my treadmill but I just do not function unless I move my butt. On weekends or on particularly busy days I simply make sure I’ve done at least 10,000 steps with my FitBit One. If I don’t exercise every day, I don’t sleep well, I’m cranky and my mind isn’t as focussed or clear. Having this on my list acts as an excellent reminder when I can’t figure out why I’m tossing and turning in bed and I realise I’ve only done about 4000 steps and I skipped my Barre class.
Do something silly
Laughing is so good for your mental wellbeing and not enough people conscientiously try to bring joy and laughter to their day. It could be something as simple as sending a cute puppy picture to my friend or making a funny face at a kid on the tram. I’m also partial to flashing my bum at Mr Smaggle several times a day. A good giggle can be so refreshing.
Take a proper lunch break
Most people experience some kind of energy crash in the afternoon and it’s usually because they didn’t take the time to have a proper break. I work from home so I always make sure to eat away from my computer. I’ll watch an episode of a funny show or read a few chapters of my book. It always refreshes me and no matter how much I think that I don’t have time to have a break, I waste far more time by not having a break because I just get useless in the afternoon without one.
Eat something green
I like to think I’m a consistently healthy eater but if I get really busy, I’ll often go a whole day without eating anything green. I try to sneak a few handfuls of spinach in at every meal. It makes me feel a lot less gluggy at the end of the day. Having this written on my list reminds me to order a salad for lunch instead of pumpkin soup.
Wind down in the evening
This is a new one for me and something that I took away from my Luxury Retreats Bali detox last week. I’ve implemented the rule that I go screen free at 9pm on weeknights and then I read before going to sleep instead of watching YouTube clips on my phone. Actual books, not my kindle. It makes for a more restful sleep and I’m able to totally switch off and prepare for it.