Category: Healthy Habits

(photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash)

I’ll admit upfront, that I’m not the most organized person. I have always enjoyed the concept in the beginning stages. I’ll come up with grand schemes on organizing a drawer, papers, or my clothes. Yet, after about a week, the drawer is a mess, papers are lost, and clothes are spread out on the floor.

Who wants to waste time searching for things; Time wasted at work looking through piles of paper folders or computer files. Spending twenty minutes looking for my favorite shirt, or my coworker’s phone number.

I have had a recurring theme in my dreams over the years. I would have plans to go out but I would never make it to the event because I’m stuck at home looking for something, or trying to pack but have too much stuff on the floor. By the time I find what I’m looking for or packed my bag, I’ve missed the event, train, or person.

I recently sold my parent’s home and my home. All that remains is in two storage units. If you ask me where something is, I can tell you if it’s in unit #1 or unit #2. But I still won’t find it quickly. And although I have two full size filing cabinets in unit #1, I still have to dig to find the documents I need.

I am ready to make organization a habit that sticks. And I will begin this process by creating a goal. Here it is…

I am easily and proactively organizing my belongings, electronic info, and ideas on a weekly basis.

For this goal, I will create tasks, such as:

Clean out email inbox.

Balance my checkbook.

Cut down storage unit space from two units to one unit, by donating, selling, or discarding things I longer use or want.

Organize remaining physical belongings in a way that allows for easy access and natural flow.

Create a filing system for paper documents, and working folders.

I will break these tasks into bite-sized pieces, performed in short-duration timeframes. In advance, I will block off time on my calendar to get these mini-tasks done. Slow and steady is the name of the game here. From a high-level perspective, I will break out my work time into two categories: catch-up, and new.

And organization would not be complete without bringing up a difficult topic. I will create a living will that states my desires in the event I become incapacitated. And I will create a will. In addition, I will store all of my important documents in a safe place, and share this location with a family member, close friend, or attorney. This will be a welcome time saver for my loved ones when the time comes.

Organization will become my good friend. Through these new habits, I will find things quickly and effortlessly, have more time for fun, and be more relaxed. How sweet it is!

What is one small step you can do to get more organized?

(photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash)

Each day of May, I present to you a different Healthy Habit. I hope that you get some good ideas to implement for yourself. I am choosing topics that are of interest to myself, as I plan to implement these into my daily living. As my parental chores wind down with the completion of their tax return (going in the mail tomorrow), I now have more free time for myself. After spending nearly every waking hour helping them for several years, it is a shock to my system that I’m left with no set agenda or plan for myself.  It’s time to get back on the horse, and re-create a new life, a new way of living; One that truly encompasses aspects that are deeply important to me.

In effect, I have a clean slate to build my life over. This will be a process. Slow and steady wins the race. When I saw that this Ultimate Blog Challenge was starting, I felt that this would be the perfect way to get started. First, I am beginning a new daily writing habit. And second, I’m putting down in words those healthy habit areas that I’d like to focus my time on.

During this new phase I plan to create a mission statement, a brief summary of my life focus. This process includes identifying my core values, and ensuring that my values line up with my beliefs. Then as future opportunities arise, I can ask myself if this new opportunity is in alignment with my mission statement.

Then I would like to create some long-term and short term goals within a variety of life categories (i.e., health, career, financial, hobbies, family, social, etc.). It is easy to spend a majority of our time on just a couple of life areas. And at times, that may be necessary. However, balance is a key aspect of maintaining health.

And from there, I will identify specific tasks associated with each goal. The specific tasks will get entered on my calendar. And I will identify due dates too. Dates can always be changed in the future. But having the due dates in my consciousness will help me move forward towards my goals, and reach them.

An overarching goal I have is to continually make improvements to my everyday moments. Thus, as I go through my daily tasks, (some long-time habits, and others brand new), I would like to ask myself a question…

“How can I make this moment even better?”

By asking myself this question often, I can use my creative side to make improvements. I can make tweaks to my daily processes, revamp them, or blow them up and start over.

Many of my daily habits have been done the same way for years. Are these habits truly necessary at this point in my life, or are they just being done because I have always done things that way? I want to know.

What defines a better moment? Of course that is different for everyone. But here are some examples: consistent growth, more efficiencies, making the task fun, establishing priorities, cultivating good habits, greater creativity, and investing in self.

How can I make this even better?

Perhaps I will start by creating a morning routine upon waking, as well as a nighttime routine before bed. For example, I’d like to make time for meditation, journaling, stretching, deep breathing, etc. Initially, I have two ideas on how to make time for each of these. Each morning I give myself a set timeframe (i.e., half hour, hour) and break down the tasks in ten minute increments. This way, in just a half hour I can complete my stretching , meditation, and journaling. Or, another method might be to do just one task each morning for a half hour, i.e.,  journal on Sunday and Wednesday, stretch on Monday and Thursday, meditate on Tuesday and Friday, etc. And with some creative time I may come up with other ways to fit in all the important tasks that I desire.

To summarize some points…

Be clear… create a vision.

Establish priorities.

Cultivate good habits.

Create a routine/structure.

What works for someone else, might not work for you, so pay attention to how you feel as you take action steps. And ask yourself…

How can I make this moment even better?

(photo by Alexandru Rotariu on Unsplash)

The mind likes to think. Left alone, our thoughts focus on all sorts of things, like our present situations, past memories, and possible future outcomes. Many of them may also be negative and repetitive. Pay attention to your thoughts. Be an active listener. Give yourself compassion through supportive self-talk.

Because society encourages thinking all of the time, many of us have not yet acquired the skills of moving beyond thinking into other realms of being. For example, if we pay attention to our body, we may find out what it is telling us through our body posture, physical sensations, and energy level.

It can certainly be a challenge to maintain a healthy mindset when in the midst of a challenging and stressful ordeal. I know this first-hand. During my long-term primary caregiver responsibilities with my parents, I had many stressful moments. And I was unable to maintain a healthy mindset, a lot. A lack of sleep, eating unhealthy foods to escape, and continual tasks under stressful situations produced a negative mindset that I was unable to shake. I knew all about the concept of “caring for the caregiver”, yet I was unable to implement these steps until late in the process, when professional caregivers came on the scene. It was a challenge to find a caregiver that was a fit for my mom. And when I did bring in an overnight caregiver for my dad, the caregiver was caught sleeping more than once. So, I continued the primary role.

In the perfect world, it would be ideal to implement healthy mental mindset habits when life is calm, in order to get good at it. Then when the challenges arise, we will be better able to adapt and continue with our self-care needs. Yet, most of us have stressful challenges on a regular basis. So the time to start is now, regardless of our life situation. It is necessary to care for ourselves as best we can when times are rough.

From my caregiver experiences, I have learned some lessons relating to mindset. As many things in life are out of our control, like parental health, I have found it helpful to stop being attached to the outcome. I still want a good outcome, of course. For me, I would like to identify my goals, and then simply focus my attention on the task at hand in front of me right now.

Affirmations work for me too. If a negative thought pops into my head, I try to combat that by consciously stating a positive affirmation over-and-over. I find that this temporarily stops the negative thought, and allows for the positive affirmation to slowly sink into my unconscious mind.

And as our mind and body are connected, exercise, nutrition, and sleep do make a difference in our ability to remain in a positive mindset.

By consciously changing our thoughts, we can over time, shift the energy in our body with beneficial results. Illness is really a sign that we are out of balance in some way and need to address a particular life situation, feeling, or thought. With practice, we can begin to recognize that we have more choices at our disposal about how to live, as opposed to responding to situations strictly due to a long-standing habit or automatic response.

What is one small step that you can implement to improve your mental mindset?

(photo by Kulli Kittus on Unsplash)

We live in a fast-paced environment where our attention gets pulled in different directions. It is no wonder that chronic stress, poor sleep, and nutrition deficiencies affect many of us. There are ways to achieve our own needs through effective healthy habits and changes. The results of these changes may not be noticed immediately. It is a process with ups and downs. In time, your future self will look back to your current self with appreciation. To get started, ask yourself the following questions.

Do I want health now or do I not want health now?

Do I choose health now, or do I not choose health now?

What action do I need to take or not take right now?

Explore daily practices that produce clarity of mind, a fit body, and uplifting spirit. Use food as medicine. Eat a variety of nutrients to help your body thrive, build a strong immune system, and achieve sustained energy. Exercise (approved by your physician), such as walking and yoga, provides cardiovascular health, strength, and flexibility. Also try deep breathing exercises to expand lung capacity and relax the mind. And journal. Write upon waking when the mind is clear, or before bed, as a transition towards sleep. Tap into your unconscious mind by writing without filtering or editing. Let the words flow from pen to paper.

You have a natural power to realize optimal health. Your body and unconscious mind sends signals when something is out of balance and requires attention. Learn how to sense these signals. Explore new ways of being, and create a vision for your optimal future. Begin this journey now by answering the above three questions.

I want health.

I choose health now.

I am taking action now.