Let National Wellness Month be a reminder to take care of yourself
Stressed out? You’re not alone. In fact, a recent study conducted by Value Penguin found that “nearly 8 in 10 Americans feel stressed weekly — and 1 in 7 do every day.”
With everyone going through the ebbs and flows of their day-to-day lives, new projects stacking up at work or at home, not to mention the added anxiety experienced over the past year and a half, it’s no wonder why people have reported feeling this way.
While stress may be heightened during this time, August is National Wellness Month and serves as the friendly reminder we needed to reprioritize self-care. And I’ll be the first one to admit that I need to work on this myself, as I’m sure others do too.
Where to begin? As I’m sure you can relate, many of us have tried a new healthy routine and have abandoned it within weeks. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to start back up, take time for yourself, and to make a new wellness routine last, even if it’s mini breaks here and there to unplug and refocus.
Some tips from the NY Times that could be helpful when starting new habits include:
1. “Stack your habits” – Tie your habit to an existing habit, for example thinking positive affirmations while brushing your teeth in the morning.
2. “Start small” – Often the big changes we want to make “require a high level of motivation.” Smaller first steps are more manageable and realistic.
3. “Do it every day” – A study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that the amount of time it takes for an action to become a habit has a median of 66 days. Making incrementable steps every day can speed up the time it takes for a habit to become ingrained in your daily life.
4. “Reward yourself” – Treating yourself is an important part of building new habits, especially if the result takes longer to have a noticeable impact.
So, start to reflect on your self-care again. Consider how you want to make changes, not just in your personal, professional, or physical life, but also think about your psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being too. There are many opportunities, whether starting a new workout routine or diet, making a goal to drink more water, spending more time outside, getting more sleep, calling a loved one, and meditating. Do something for yourself rather than getting wrapped up in the same day-to-day routine you always talk about changing.
Even at work, whether you work remotely or are heading back to the office, start thinking of ways you can promote your wellness. Some things you could consider are healthy lunch and snack options, taking short breaks to go on walks (which has shown can re-energize employees), making sure to stretch and move around every hour, and having conversations with co-workers. If you’re looking for some additional ideas, Forbes lists out a variety of options to enhance your well-being when working from home, which can be applied to the office too.
Even though it may not officially be time for “new resolutions,” discussions around wellness and taking care of ourselves should always be at the forefront. Now is as good of time as any to think about what can work in your life, and to shake things up for the better.
