It’s been over a year since the pandemic started and while the past year has been rough with staying home for the majority of the time, there are some daily habits that I have implemented from the start which have shown to improve my physical and mental wellbeing tremendously here are four of my best:
- Waking up before sunrise
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There’s a reason that CEOs, marines, fitness gurus and many admirable people develop the habit of waking up at 5:00am. Given that you have gotten enough sleep the night before, getting out of bed before the sun rises will set you up for a very accomplished, productive and joyful day. It allows me to ease into my work, and implement a morning routine in which I can cook a delicious breakfast, spend an hour watching the Gilmore girls while eating, and focus on my physical and mental wellbeing with other healthy habits like meditation, journaling, cardio, etc. I have a positive relationship with work, and don’t get too stressed and overwhelmed by deadlines. Waking up before sunrise has been a huge contributor to my healthy mindset.
- Journaling
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We all have very unique human experiences and personal struggles which is why journaling is so important. Every day I put a 20-minute timer in which I write out my thoughts, feelings, and things I am grateful for. Our minds are running with thoughts everyday and documenting those on paper allows you to reflect back on how you reacted to certain situations, and manage emotions better moving forward. The best part of daily journaling is being able to look back at past entries and realize how much I’ve grown. Filling my doubts and worries onto a paper almost allows me to resolve the issue quicker and essentially be more productive throughout the day without things taking up too much space in my mind. I can’t say enough good things about the practice of journaling and I urge everyone to start if you haven’t.
- Tracking my steps and moving my body
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I am obsessed with tracking progress, I am motivated by numbers and goal setting. It’s not enough for me to just take a walk every day, I like to track how many steps I took every day using my Apple Watch, while this can become obsessive it’s important to be intentional with moving your body. Moving your body will not only improve your physical health it will also improve your mood by releasing endorphins which are chemicals that relieve stress and pain. I like to spend one hour on cardio and strength training because I have certain physical transformation goals. But if you’re a newbie to the world of fitness just start small with 20 minutes of an at-home workout or a long walk outside. Even on days when you don’t feel motivated to do anything else, I think you should still get your body moving. I promise you won’t regret it after it’s done.
- Engaging in a creative activity
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As relaxing as it is to watch Netflix after a long workday, it’s important to have hobbies that help you grow and become a more well-rounded person. You need 5 hobbies and among the five one of them should keep you creative. While it may feel daunting to make time for a creative activity every day, scheduling out a minimum of 20 minutes will be beneficial. I like to spend an hour every night creative writing, using writing prompts as I feverishly type words onto my laptop as they come to my head. It doesn’t have to be perfect and every day that I do this I’ve gotten better at capturing a reader’s attention and conveying my ideas into words. I highly recommend that you partake in a creative activity that’s not work-related whether that’s painting, playing an instrument or pottery, it will help you relax more productively as you are also excelling at a skill.
Implementing new habits into our lives is difficult, it’s not easy to let go of things that give us momentary comfort like watching Netflix till midnight, binge eating and sleeping in till noon on a weekend. I think the key to establishing habits that stick with you is recognizing where your priorities are in life. If you don’t value physical health as much as expanding your artistic career then your daily routine will probably look very different and that’s okay. Nevertheless, I hope that by sharing my favourite habits I’ve inspired you to create more of a routine for your hectic and busy lives.