Yesterday, I was working with my life coach (yes, even professional coaches have their own life coaches!) and I brought up the fact that I’ve been feeling a little burnt out someday. As she explored my thoughts on the meaning behind wanting to address the feelings of burn out, the words “consistency”, “daily routine”, and “schedule” kept coming up for me.
As she asked the questions to explore this in more detail, I realized I wanted to leave our session with 2 or 3 action steps that I could consistently implement in my daily routine so I could be more energized, experience less burn out, and have a positive impact on my life. By the close of our session, I came up with three doable action steps that I actually implemented that evening. I realized I needed to manage my time as well as my energy. Below are three lifestyle changes that I’ve made that are having a positive impact on my life.
1. Establish a regular bedtime
A necessary part of a successful day is getting the proper rest the night before. Right now I’m trying to implement a habit where it’s lights out by 10p.m. no excuses. This has been so hard (but so worth it) for me to implement. I need about 5-6 hours a sleep a night to function properly and being in bed by 10 allows that to happen.
Another perk to establishing a regular bedtime is that it makes me plan my evenings. During the week, I rarely go out which makes this easier. I have gotten clearer about:
- decompressing after work
- scheduling clients during the week
- spending time on creating valuable content for this blog
- spending at least 30 minutes each evening doing something fun
2. Practice A Regular Mind-Body-Spirit Morning Ritual
The second lifestyle change that will have a profound impact on your life is to implement regular mind-body-spirit rituals in your daily routine. I’ve found this especially useful to engage in first thing in the morning. Some practices I’ve implemented included:
- physical exercise – weight training followed by a bit of cardio,
- yoga – a great way to end my workouts,
- meditation – love to do this after yoga,
- Bible study & prayer – after showering to get my focus and emotions right,
- Reiki – a clearing video from YouTube on any area of my life where I feel blocked.
3. Disconnect from all screens
We all spend a lot of time each day connected to screens. Computer screens and phone screens are at the top of that list. All of that ‘screen time’ is hard on your eyes and body. With all of my work online writing for this blog, brainstorming on a book, and working with clients via online coaching sessions, I spend alot of time online.
My eyes are usually tired and dry by the end of the day. And this is with minimal break. So one thing that seems to be helping me out is to disconnect from all screens for a set amount of time a day. After a few days of trying this, I have found my personal sweet spot with disconnecting from all screens for an hour when I am transitioning between working on different things.
BONUS: Get rid of dairy & caffeine in your diet
Since diet has an impact on everything we do, it’s very important that we pay attention to what put in our bodies. The newest thing that I’m trying and I think will have a positive impact on your life as well is ridding your diet of caffeine and dairy. Dairy causes inflammation in the body and can make it hard to lose weight for many people.
Caffeine, though useful in the short term, has a lot of drawbacks in the long term. It dehydrates your skin (contributing to premature aging) and system, can cause you to have energy spikes and crashes throughout the day and can interfere with having a good night’s sleep.
To make these changes permanent, they should be done gradually. For example, if you like to have a cup of coffee in the morning every day, for the first week maybe switch out a cup of coffee for one day with a cup of strong herbal tea. Peppermint, lemon, and ginseng are just a few powerful herbs that can perk you up.
Here are some great books about routines and habits that can have a positive impact on your life:
- Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
- Ready-to-Use Habit Trackers: Log Daily Actions, Build Healthy Routines, Achieve Goals and Live Your Best Life
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Other blog posts of interest:
♦ 5 Ways Self-Sabotage Is Stopping You From Reaching Your Goals
♦ The Secret To Creating A Lasting Morning Workout Routine
♦ Overcoming Self-Sabotage: 3 Steps to Take Today
♦ Secret Reasons Why Professional Coaches Are NOT Calling You Back
Do you have some habits that have had a positive impact on your life? If so, let me know in the comments below! Also don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share!