Take the 6 areas of life we have talked about in the past two weeks (there are more: religion / spirituality, parenting, intellectual, financial etc.) but the 6 we have talked about will give us greatest direct impact on our health:
Trainings
Nutrition
The sleep
Relationships
The stress
And our environment
Here’s how to identify the most important area of life right now. We start by drawing a spider web divided into six, on each slice we are going to write a domain, and we are going to divide it into 10 sections (and forgive the kind of third grade schoolboy nature of my drawing!):
The second step includes giving ourselves a score for each of the 6 areas based on our level in each area. For example in training I am currently at a 6, in nutrition an 8, in sleep a 1 etc.
We will then color in the levels acquired in each area, here is mine:
Once this exercise is completed it becomes very clear in which area we have to work. In my case sleep and stress are clearly my priorities!
It’s your turn!
Best regards,
Euan
PS: Here is the list of levels for each area, so you don’t have to search for them again:
Exercise
- Little stroll around the house
- Make the stairs in the building
- 10min of daily exercise on waking
- Moderate training of 30 min 3x per week
- 3x 30min of training per week plus 20min of walking per day
- 3x 1 hour training per week plus daily stroll
- 4x 1 hour of training per week plus daily stroll
- 5x 1h of training per week plus 1h of walking per day
- 60 to 90 minutes of intense training 6x per week
- Intense daily training
Nutrition
- Replace 1 meal with natural foods (non-industrialized).
- Add a green salad to a meal.
- Try a new healthy recipe per week.
- Sit at a table to eat each meal.
- Eat a source of lean protein with each meal.
- Eat a source of lean protein with each meal and a serving of fruit or vegetables.
- Eat a source of lean protein, two servings of vegetables or fruit, and healthy fats with each meal.
- Eat each meal slowly and without distractions (no TV, iPad, phone, etc.).
- Plan and prepare all your balanced meals, 3 days in advance.
- Plan and prepare all your balanced meals, 7 days in advance.
Sleep
- 5 minutes of calm without TV (phone, ipad etc.) before sleeping
- Less caffeine, alcohol and large meals in the evening
- Daily reminder 30 minutes before bedtime
- Leave electronic devices outside the bedroom and go to bed at the same time every day.
- No blue light 1 hour before bedtime, go out for daylight during the day.
- Relax before bed, keep the room clean and fresh
- Buy ‘blackout’ curtains, stop using the ‘snooze’ button
- Increase relaxation rituals before bed (meditations, salts, essential oils)
- Yoga before bed, wake up naturally with the sun without an alarm.
- No blue light except during working hours, sleep monitoring with a device or application, sleep coaching.
Relationships
- Ask for a hug from a loved one (not infected and living at home of course!)
- Call a friend
- Prepare a meal for someone else
- Pay attention and listen, give compliments
- Organize a small social event (via WhatsApp, Facetime, Skype, Zoom etc)
- Letting go and cutting toxic relationships around you
- Join a CrossFit class on Zoom
- Find someone who inspires you and do like them
- Do pro bono work or volunteer
- Find your soul mate
Stress
- Five minutes with a pet per day
- 1 minute of controlled deep breathing per day
- Regular 5-minute breaks throughout the day with access to outdoors
- 25-minute walk with a partner in the evening after a meal, without a telephone
- Daily guided meditation
- 15 minutes daily in nature, with gratitude practice
- A mix of Intense and gentle workouts several times a week
- Complete disconnection once a week, regular sexual intercourse
- Access to social networks is limited to once a week, regular therapy, having a hobby
- Fill the days with play, fresh air, relaxing work, meditation and regular massages – what a dream!
Environment
- Remove one unhealthy food from your kitchen.
- Keep a dumbbell, kettlebell, or resistance (elastic) band at home
- Serve your meals on smaller plates
- Move the television to a less accessible room, keep healthy snacks in your office
- Make healthy snacks and food easily accessible, and unhealthy foods difficult to access
- Arrange a place at home for exercise (Zoom WODs ;-))
- Empty your kitchen of any unhealthy food, and re-stock it with healthy food 1x per week
- Take part in group sporting events (challenges, competitions etc – at a distance at the moment of course)
- Have a stand up desk, or a treadmill desk
- Live in the mountains in a spa, have meals prepared by a private chef and own fully stocked home gym!