Let’s face it, life has changed and for most of us the word balance or normal doesn’t even fit in our vocabulary most of the time. While we may not have as many additional activities, I tend to find myself with less time and less energy than before the COVID craziness (hence my hiatus from writing, emailing, etc). As I reflected on the last 5 months and what kept me sane, 3 things kept popping to the surface that I had not realized I had leaned on so heavily to keep myself sane.
Spoiler alert – these aren’t groundbreaking tips, but if you aren’t doing them consistently you may want to give them a second look and incorporate them into your life regularly. I know, I know….homeschooling, working a job, navigating your current environment still requires a lot of effort some days and the thought of trying to squeeze in one more thing may feel like a lot, but I promise if you don’t have some kind of plan and process for how you would like to be living a healthy life (whatever that means to you), you will feel like you are losing and drained to your core at the end of each day.
Tasks we once did without much thought now require planning and preparation. What time do I go to the store, do I have my mask, what new protocols exist at school and work, not to mention the challenges we had before March. I can no longer rely on Amazon or the mail to deliver items in the same typical timing and items are often delayed. When I go to workout, I have my temperature taken, have to sanitize my hands and equipment frequently and instead of the friendly encounters during the class I find that my eyes no longer meet the eyes of my classmates because we no longer connect in the same way.
One thing I have realized is the importance that planning and preparation has placed on my life. Not just do I have a mask or not, but actually planning for the outcome I hope to achieve. I have always been a planner, but there are certainly times I fall victim to the last minute and the hope I can squeeze something else in or find the item I need on the store shelf. Those days are exhausting, I feel defeated and often end up being crabby and unhappy. The days I find myself feeling the most successful are the days I have spent time planning ahead and being intentional about what I hope to accomplish and create a plan that helps be achieve what is most important.
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So many moms that I talk with and have taken as clients struggle to create a plan that works for them and then struggle to actually work their plan until it becomes engrained as habit. For those women who most desire change in their lives, whether it be stress reduction, getting enough rest, getting regular exercise or eating in a healthy way must be purposeful in their approach. Unfortunately, things left to chance or to be squeezed in when you “have time” never happen.
In my experience and the planning tips that I find lead to the most long term change align to 3 key areas. This is not a catch all list but if you find yourself starting over every week hoping things will look different and each day ends much the same as the day before try these 3 tips to jump start your goals.
- Plan your goals (2-3 that are most important) – start by printing a blank calendar. I am a big fan of printing a blank calendar or buying a blank planner and writing what you hope to accomplish each day related to health and wellness goals. There is something about physically penning the actions you want to take by hand vs putting them in to a virtual calendar. Not only can you see it but it also helps you look forward and backwards to where you have come and what you hope to accomplish. What do you most want to focus on? Being to bed by 10, decreasing social media, exercising 3 days a week? Write it out – what day, time, etc on the calendar. I would also suggest making a copy and hanging your written out month or week on the fridge or another location as a visual reminder of what you hope to achieve. Use technology to your advantage and take your written plan and enter reminders into your phone or computer or use a tracking app to help you log exercise, recovery or meals consumed after completed. At the end of each day reflect on what you were able to accomplish and identify roadblocks that made reaching your goal difficult. How can you work around these roadblocks to overcome them the next day, week, etc.?
- Plan your meals – am I beating a dead horse? Seriously, plan what you are going to eat, even if it is a protein shake. If you don’t have a plan or the ingredients on hand chances are you will make a food choice you don’t really want to make. Also, in this day and age do you really want to go to the store more than necessary. Start with planning only 1 meal each day for the first week and then add in meals over the following weeks. By starting with only 1 meal (say dinners) and planning for those meals you can minimize the amount of change to what you are used to
- Plan your recovery – build in time to slow down. Schedule this time much like you would a hair appointment or work meeting. Block out time on your calendar daily to recover. Do not leave recovery to chance and hope you can fit it in. This can be in the form of reading (books or bible, not the news), meditation, sleep, relaxing quietly by yourself, exercising or yoga. What time do you want to go to bed but never seem to make it happen because there is so much to do? Get to bed at the time you desire for 1 week, odds are you will be more productive when you are fully rested and actually able to accomplish more. Plan a recovery break each day to focus on calming the mind – turn off your cell phone or computer and remove yourself from the chaos, even if for just 10 minutes. I enjoyed sitting on my back patio the other morning and watched the sprinklers while sipping a cup of coffee. I only managed to sit for 10 minutes before my children found me, but what a gift! I seriously felt so relaxed and had a much better outlook to start the day.
I am not going to pretend that managing life now is easy, it is down right wacky and weird, but if you create a plan for what you WANT your life to look like that is a great starting place. By implementing my 3 simple steps above, you are taking action and that is a great start. Need someone to hold you accountable, find a friend, an exercise group or reach out, I would be happy to help support and guide you so you reach your goals!
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