My Health 30 daily routines of healthy, productive people that are easy to adopt By Laura Berlinsky-Schine | www.theladders.com
This week: Morning routines Next week: Daytime routines Small changes can have a big impact. That’s certainly true of routines. While some people believe that developing a concrete schedule is too difficult, even implementing minor alterations to your daily life can have enormous, positive consequences.
a handful of them will have a positive effect on your life.
Morning Routines 1. Wake up at the same time every day.
This is particularly true On weekends, so during times of great many of us love to uncertainty, such as sleep in. But waking the pandemic. When up at the same time our lives were upended every day is a critical by COVID-19 more than a year ago, many of us felt a loss of routine to follow for good sleep hygiene. Ever wondered why control. But a routine can help establish normalcy in the face it’s so difficult to get out of bed on Mondays? Part of the reason of an unpredictable world, giving us more structure. could be because you’ve thrown off your routine for two consecutive days and are having trouble resuming normalcy. According to Rachel Goodman, a psychologist and clinical assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine, “If people 2. Make your bed. don’t have structure and are sitting around with less to focus on, then they also probably will find themselves thinking about Ugh, you may be thinking. Why is this so important? Accordthe stressful situation more, which can also lead to additional ing to Navy Seal Admiral William H. McCraven, it will give stress and anxiety.” you a small sense of accomplishment to kick off your day. No, you haven’t conquered your potentially massive to-do list, but What’s the answer? Routines. you’ve done one crucial thing. And as an added bonus, you’ll be able to get into a nicely made bed at the end of a long day, Northwestern Medicine finds that routines positively impact which is just, plain satisfying. our mental health, leading to less stress, better sleep, increased productivity, improved eating habits and more focus, among other benefits. Moreover, routines can even be enjoyable — dare we say fun? You don’t need to bend over backward to make your life better. Here are the first ten of 30 routines that are easy to implement and stick to — every day. Not all of these will be your cup of tea. But even adopting just
TT 141 | FEB 22nd - 28th | 2022
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