Keeping on top of your mental and physical wellbeing
WFH VOL2: Routine
This word scares many of us, yet it’s a necessity for survival in one way or another…
Whether you’re a fan of routine or the very word gives you the shivers, THIS is the time to include one into your daily lives.
Week two completed — How are you feeling? Still holding in there? Whether you’re struggling with the lockdown or finding it ‘a walk in the park’, all this down-time can be used in such a way that you will emerge from this feeling confident, motivated, focused, recharged and ready to win at life. How? With a killer routine…
Week 3 is about to commence — As I mentioned in last weeks post about Habits, Routine is what will support your efforts and assist in these new behaviours forming into your new ‘good habits’. Ok so let’s assume you’re on board with this, you’re open to designing a lockdown-routine that will see you arise post-lowdown in peak physical, mental and spiritual shape…
I know I know, this probably won’t be the first time you’ve attempted to incorporate a routine into your life in the name of personal development — but this is for sure the first time you’ve attempted to incorporate a daily routine into your life during a global pandemic.
(Again, I have to do another shout out, but this time to the community spirit I’ve seen so much of. It’s a beautiful thing that I’m seeing so many exhibit…. Let’s just say that after the early days of the toilet roll stock-pilers, my faith in us humans wasn’t where it is today. So this is a mention to all those banding together, being considerate for the less fortunate and clapping outside their homes at 8 pm for the NHS.)
New times new you — Let’s design a routine;
Routine
/ruːˈtiːn/
noun
- A sequence of actions regularly followed.
Action — What are your current actions? Are they pushing towards your 360º approach to health (I go on a lot about health being a 360º thing i.e. Mind, body and spirit as you’ll probably figure out over the next coming weeks. I will go into more detail about why it’s important to pay attention to all three if we’re to truly experience fulfillment and happiness).
If there were to be only one thing I could give you take into the weeks ahead to consider when designing your routine, it’s this: PUT YOURSELF FIRST — Parents, please continue to feed your kids… What I mean by this is that it’s OK to do things for you, actually ‘OK’ isn’t the word, it’s NECESSARY. When you look after no:1, you’re in a much better position to look after no:2 and no:3 or however many numbers you have to look after.
When you’re feeling good, calm, stress-free and at peace, you’re able to give more, care more, nurture and support more, which is why it’s so important to ensure you’re fully charged if you’re wanting to make any kind of positive impact.
Ok with that said, I mentioned last week that I’ll be supporting you all by providing some of the fundamental tools and practices needed to get you through the next few weeks which will ensure an easy transition back to the ‘new version’ of normality.
I’ll be introducing new topics each week to cover a 360º approach to your wellbeing i.e. Your mind, body, and spirit. Next week we’ll be looking at Motivation, and how to find, and most importantly, how to keep it.
If you’d like to jump ahead and grab a free eBook that covers some of the things I’ll be touching on how to — Be your own Life Coach — simply follow the link. Re Routine, consider these 5 steps;
Step 1: Set yourself a goal that you’d like to achieve whilst in lockdown (and beyond)
Similar to step one in last weeks ‘Habits’ blog post, know what would your routine be geared towards. If your goal is to get overweight and finish Netflix’s library, then we know what would be needed for that… I’m hoping that’s not your goal. But find it, is it a financial goal, a fitness goal, an emotional goal or something else?
Step 2: Research the actions that will need to be taken to achieve the goal
Don’t be put off by the word research, it sounds like work because it is, but it’s working on you, which I’d suggest is the most important thing we should constantly be working on. Look at what others have done to reach the same goal (youtube is a great resource — after reading).
Step 3: Prioritise
Time to get real. You find that the higher the difficulty of any given task, the lower it may find itself on the to-do list. Visualise the outcome in order to know what your priority is. Feel the outcome, connect to it, live it. Then decide where your new goal fits on the hierarchy ladder.
Step 4: Diarise
Don’t go mad and put a crazy amount of tasks in your diary. That will only add stress to the stress. Let’s make this achievable and fun — Achievable does not mean easy — What needs to be replaced? Where will all these new good-habits fit into your daily routine?
Step 5: Mirror talk
It may sound a little silly but it’s been a game-changer for me. Take yourself to the mirror and have a word with the person looking back at you. Let them know why you want this, why it will work, and that together it’s already done.
Bonus Step: Accountability Partner
If you’re feeling brave, drop me an email with your goal and your new routine and I’ll check in on you to make sure we’re keeping on the wagon 🙂
I’m on contact@mindsetmason.com
To get the ball rolling, here are a few links to some FREE wellness practices to keep you active in the meantime;
For the mind:
Personal Development reading list
For the body:
For the spirit:
(Here is a little video that guided me on my path)
Ted Talk — Science and Spirituality
NOTE: If you (like many) find keeping to your best intentions a little challenging at times, gamify it and reach out to a friend/accountability partner to keep you on the ball.
Any questions? Feel free to drop me a line; contact@mindsetmason.com
If you’re looking for something a little more robust to keep on top your physical and mental fitness; The Home 360º Programme