You had been looking forward to the holidays and the time off, and here you are, beginning of January, all blue and moody. More tired than ever, overwhelmed by the year ahead, behind at work and in your emails, and way ahead when it comes to the pounds you have gained.
Don’t worry, you are not alone!
If you take the time to refocus your energy on what really matters in terms of wellness, you will be able to tackle everything beautifully, and set yourself up for success. You can do it on your own - and the tips below will help you do that! - or you can join my upcoming group coaching program to receive all the guidance and support you need to finally establish a healthy lifestyle that will stick, no matter what comes up in life. Learn more about "2022 Healthy Start for All."
There are 3 things you can do right now, on your own, to make 2022 a healthier year.
1/ Clean up your calendar
Sit down in front of your calendar and go through every event scheduled for January. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I look forward to this?
- Why is it in my calendar?
- Could I delete or reschedule it?
- Could I change it slightly so that I would actually look forward to it?
- If it’s something I look forward to, could I schedule it more often?
The idea is to do more of the things you look forward to, and less of the draining stuff. It sounds obvious, but if you actually go through an entire month, you will ask yourself questions about your priorities in life, the reasons why you do things, and what really brings you joy and energy.
Don’t try to skip events because they are recurring. Make the effort to question every single one of them.
This is your time, your life, and every moment is worth a slice of your attention. If you end up deleting a few events, postponing a few more (who knows, you might be able to postpone them indefinitely!), you will carve some time to relax or do things that help you recharge your batteries.
2/ Clean up your room
Take a look at your sleep routine and environment and again, ask yourself the right questions.
- Are your sleeping conditions offering you the best chances to rest and recharge
- Are there easy steps you could take to make your sleep more restorative?
You can tweak your environment. Adding shades, using darker linen, making sure no tiny lights are blinking, turning off all your devices or putting them under covers, etc.
You can isolate yourself more. Using earplugs, eye masks, closing a door, setting your phone on airplane/night mode, and asking others to respect your sleep as much as you respect theirs.
Sometimes, it’s your bedtime routine that you can improve. We often focus on our children, never skipping their story or bath time. But what about us? How are we getting ready for the night?
Turning off screens an hour before bedtime is not only for teenagers! And, as we grow older, some habits that were fine before might start working against us. For me, chocolate, alcohol, meat or screen time at night have started making it hard to sleep. I am not here to give you one-size-fits-all solutions. But if you look closely at what you are doing around bedtime, what helps you sleep well and what doesn’t, you will be able to make small changes, sleep better and wake up rested in the morning.
Of course, if you want to commit to good sleep for the years to come, I encourage you to check out my book SLEEP IT OFF. It comes with a step-by-step guide to improve your sleep and hundreds of tips and strategies that have tested and fine tuned with myself and my private clients.
3/ Clean up your cart
Next time you grocery shop, proceed as usual until you check out. Then, stop and look into your cart. Pick 2 items that you know are unhealthy for you. Put them back where they belong and replace them with 2 types of vegetables or fruits, fresh or frozen.
Make sure you pick replacements that you will eat. Because the whole point is not only to eliminate some of the foods that bring you down, but also to add foods that will increase your energy level. Fruits and veggies will do that! If you get into the habit of making them more available in your kitchen, you will naturally end up consuming them more.
If you are not quite sure what is and what is not healthy for you when you look at your cart, feel free to reach out to me. I have ways to help you through your grocery shopping list and will be happy to share some tips with you. If you wish, we can even go on a Grocery Shopping Tour together. It's a 90-minute process that allows you to find the best foods for your needs and your budget. To schedule a tour in your favorite grocery store, check out my services & fees and book a Grocery Shopping Tour in a simple click.
If you want to know more about my approach and how it might help you reach your goals, feel free to request a FREE Discovery Call.
This is just the beginning of many steps you can take to become healthier and happier. If you want to see all the tips I have to share, follow me on Facebook or Instagram. Of course, if you enjoy reading articles like this one, follow this blog and share with your friends, they will probably enjoy it too!