Responsibilities and habit-building

In light of my own little angel (responsibility) this week being my new little dog made me think about all the lifestyle changes that come with having responsibility. You know, all the things you know you should do but it's just so easy to avoid them, simple small things such as putting a coaster under your mug, washing up as you go when cooking and getting up earlier to walk the dog! Small and insignificant in the moment but stack up and next thing you know you have dirty dishes filling up your sides and finding yourself rushing for time every morning. I’m assuming most of us learn from these little moments of stress and change our habits to reduce this stress. Some stupid examples but think of your well being like this, all these small habitual tasks start to fall behind and you slip into doing things you haven’t consciously chosen to do. Such as inconsistencies in eating habits, sleep routine etc etc..

Whenever I first start working with a new client I am usually asking lifestyle questions before we even turn to the gym, this would involve things like steps, nutrition, activity levels, water intake, sleeping habits and time spent outside… the list could go on. You will likely feel pretty rubbish if you were lacking on all of these things, so imagine having all of these things not only working for you making you feel great but achieving them feeling like second nature. 

Some of my top tips to help you prioritize habits to best serve your lifestyle is to look at the following and give yourself an honest rating 1 (low/not at all) - 5 (high/a lot):

1 - Assess your lifestyle - how active are you now?

2 - What is your sleeping routine - do you have a similar wake/rest time?

3 - How much water do you drink daily?

4 - Do you eat consistent meals - are your eating habits regular?

5 - How much time are you spending outside daily?

Once you have given yourself an honest rating on a scale of 1-5 look at any habits with a rating of 3 and below and start here (this can be all of them and if it is prioritize 1-5). Having somewhere to start will always be step one, giving yourself a timeframe for each of these habits is really useful as it's very easy to become lax when life gets busy and other responsibilities happen. A realistic time frame to start nailing things 80%-90% of the time (no one is perfect) is between 4-6 weeks so don’t give yourself too much excess time. 

If you're lost on where to start, give me a message and we can discuss personalized lifestyle and priorities to get you on your way.