Tips and tools for thriving in a time of isolation, social distancing and uncertainty.
1. Establish healthy eating habits
Let food be thy medicine. When we are stuck at home we are never too far from the fridge or pantry. Now is the perfect time to gain greater awareness and insight into your eating habits and try to develop a heightened sense of accountability. Perhaps keep note of what you are eating and drinking with a food diary. This way you can see any patterns which occur and get curious about what you are putting in to your body. It’s easy to neglect good nutrition when everything is at arms length, but taking hold of this aspect of your life will supercharge how you feel and look and have numerous positive flow on effects to all aspects of your life. Check out the following healthy eating tips from the Nutrition Foundation for more information and ideas.
2. Get busy moving
Move your body. Push play 30 minutes a day. Exercise is good for the body, mind and spirit. Find ways to incorporate exercise into your daily routines. Now is a great time to try something new, maintain what works, or challenge your status quo. Whatever it is make it work for you and enjoy making this a part of your daily practice as it will give you the energy and vitality to tackle your day whatever it throws at you. Whether you are a member of a gym or not, there are a lot of online workouts from beginner to advanced which are currently offering free trials which gives you plenty of choice to find what suits you best in your bubble.
3. Pay attention!
That’s right, remember when you got told off at school for daydreaming and you’d hear your name called, closely followed by “Pay attention”. Well, now more than ever, it is important to pay close attention to where our mind and focus goes. With so much fear and uncertainty it’s easy to be distracted and to take on anxieties and insecurities from the world around us. What better way than to train our minds during the chaos than by implementing a mindfulness meditation practice. There are many different options and the beauty is you can’t get it wrong. Just give it a go and explore what might work best for you. See my blog All in a state of mind for links to free meditation apps and information on mindfulness meditation and the vast range of benefits it provides. Personally, meditation allows me to process the information and distractions that are coming in constantly and enables me to mentally step back, process what’s going on and then choose to focus my mind on what matters the most. Mindfulness meditation trains us to bring our minds back to the present moment.
4. Sleep
Sleep is crucial. Most of us know that getting a good night’s sleep is important, but too few of us actually make those eight or so hours between the sheets a priority. Sleep enables the body to repair and be fit to tackle each new day. A good night’s sleep provides better productivity and concentration, lowers the risk of weight gain, enhances athletic performance, boosts the immune system, prevents depression, the list goes on. Knowing all this, it is then important to have good sleep habits and a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends. Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual and beware of hidden sleep stealers like caffeine and alcohol. Make sure you turn off devices before bed or put them into sleep mode during your sleep hours. Don’t be a slave to your devices – YOU are in charge. Make sleep the priority.
5. Keep your structure
Ensure you stick to a solid game plan. With so much disruption it’s important to keep sound reliable habits and routines in place. Now, more than ever, it’s key to manage our time. Adequate planning and preparation allows you to do so. When we don’t have any formal structures in place, it’s easy to take the path of least resistance, and that’s often to do nothing. Take confident actions in the face of fear and uncertainty. Small actions daily add up over time.
6. Be thankful for what you do have
It’s very easy to get caught up in all the external chaos and lose sight of what’s good in our lives. You get to choose your perspective, your mindset, so choose to express gratitude and focus on the things that bring you joy and happiness. Research shows that expressing gratitude regularly improves mental, physical, and relational well-being. By taking the time to be grateful, for even the small things, you will begin to experience a positive attitude that actually creates a ripple effect into your physical life. Make time to be thankful and embrace the challenge.
Stay great and stay well.
