What does your lifestyle say about you?

You may have heard of the messy desk philosophy. It goes along the lines of, ‘a messy desk represents disorder, clutter and a lack of organisation in all areas of that person’s life’. A person that has a tidy desk is said to be in control, enjoys structure and is organised. I tend to agree…..I dislike clutter on my desk, office, or home. A lack of tidiness to me feels like a lack of control.

So let me bring this back to lifestyle. What does your lifestyle say about you? What does it help or hinder you in accomplishing? An example of the common lifestyle structure:

• Waking around 7:00am
• First action is to check e-mails, the news, and of course social media
• Strong coffee
• Rush off to work
• Throughout the day there is no walking or exposure to sunlight, instead spending the whole day behind a desk, except to perhaps pop out and grab a second coffee.
• Before heading home, a non-structured gym session of somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes. During that 45- 60 minutes more social media scrolling or e-mails.
• Returning home to prepare dinner. Dinner will reflect whatever is in the fridge or cupboard at the time, and if nothing can be agreed upon, it’s food delivery.
• Wind down with a couple of drinks whilst doing a little more work, checking e-mails, or watching television.
• Heading to bed to toss and turn before finally dropping into REM sleep for 5 – 6.5 hours and the cycle begins again the next day.
• On weekends, unless kids’ sports derails this, there is a need to ‘sleep in’ because the person is exhausted. Perhaps staying in bed until 9:00am.

I would find the person above is often feeling stressed, overwhelmed, uninspired or motivated, tired, and lacking energy and direction. I do not want to cast a net, but social research has led me to believe this to be the case more often than not.

I want you to take back control of your day, of your time and of your lifestyle. Your lifestyle should support you and you personal/professional aspirations. The above is simply going through the motions each day. Do you simply want to go through the motions for the next 20, 30, 40 years? So where to begin making changes to your lifestyle that really matter?

1. Make your morning works for you. This is where you set the tone for the day. Waking at a time that means you do not need to rush is key. Even 30 minutes earlier will change the trajectory of the whole day. Instead of 7:00am, get up at 6:30am. Do not check social media, e-mails or watch the news, instead use this time for journaling, meditation, stretching, reading/podcasts or movement. Note that not every day needs to be the same. One day you may exercise, the next day you may just stretch whilst listening to music. Use this time to frame your mindset and allow the body to wake up organically.
2. Either fast in the morning choosing to have your first meal approximately 16 hours post dinner, or feed your body fuel, not junk. I like my breakfast (first meal) to be focused on fats, proteins and often some greens like spinach. Fats and proteins are the key. The brain is 60% fat and needs refueling. This will also leave you feeling fuller for longer and therefore reduces un-necessary snacking.
3. Make time for movement each day. 5- or 10-minute walks even 1 – 2 times a day will enable you to get outside, get moving, gain exposure to vitamin D, allow your eye muscles to relax and adjust to looking long distance. These walks will increase creativity and focus upon returning to work.
4. Movement is critical to our every day but make it purposeful. That 45 – 60 minutes should be focused only on the exercise. Be present and in the moment, not trawling through social media and emails. Join a HIIT class, go for a walk or run, lift weights, play indoor soccer. I don’t care what you do, but just move and be present. This also reduces the chance of injury as you are focused on what you are doing and not distracted.
5. Your evenings are key to quality sleep, rest, and recovery. Find the method that works for you when it comes to dinner. Meal prep on a Sunday, have a list of go-to recipes that you can buy the ingredients for in advance, have meal boxes delivered to your door, organise delivery or click and collect food shopping. We are all different, but what we want to avoid is highly processed foods and fast-food delivery services. Avoid drinking alcohol on weeknights where possible or limit yourself to one drink. Anything beyond this will impact the quality of your sleep. If you do need to do work, wear blue light blocking glasses and set a timer to ensure that time does not get away and before you know it, it’s 11:00pm.