Adjusting to Your New Normal
Updated: Mar 30, 2020
If your head and heart have felt heavy over the last few weeks, this post is for you.
A Coaching Session for Myself
For me, the last few weeks have left me feeling less like myself - falling into comfortable habits counterproductive to my goals. I’ve become excellent at making excuses for myself. I’m aware these feelings make us human, but something inside me tells me I don’t have the right to feel this way. After all, I coach others on how to make change in their lives by incorporating constructive habits. Not to mention, healthcare workers and grocery store clerks alike are risking their lives while I selfishly complain about my own anxiety. So, I decided to coach myself - applying my own techniques to where I feel like I’ve fallen short. What I discovered wasn’t a lack of routine, it was a lack of consistency.
So if you can relate, I’m sharing areas either myself or my clients have consistently changed to yield desired results - the caveat, of course, is they must be committed to nearly every day. Hopefully, some—or all—of the below resonate with you.
For Goals Yielding Physical Improvements in Health
Eliminating coffee add-ins
Coffee in the morning provides comfort—and a necessary jolt—for most of us. It symbolizes the start of a new day, productivity and motivation. If you’re a coffee drinker, it’s probably an every single day occurrence. If an improvement in physical health is a goal for you, saying no to any additives in your coffee can yield fast results considering your coffee additive multiplied by 365 is probably more than you may like to admit to yourself.
Calendar exercise six times per week
Six times may seem like a big commitment, and it is - but only if your perception of exercise is an hour of hard work each time. Habituate the act of dedicating time to exercise. Even if four of these six efforts are 15-minute walks, that’s almost 500 more calories you’d burn in a week than if you chose to sit on the couch instead! After a month, this should feel like less of an obligation and more of a meeting with yourself - one that must be rescheduled if it gets canceled.
Get your hands out of your mouth
I’m sure your hands are extra clean these days, but consider keeping them this way. I’m talking about snacking and your oh-so-complicated relationship with it. If you’re truly hungry around your “snack time,” then small meals are a great way to keep your blood sugar in check. Since most snacks require little effort to eat, many snackers consume more than they think they do, and often more than they need. By committing to eating snacks that require a fork or spoon, you’ll be more cognizant of the quality and quantity of food you’re eating due to more mindfulness snacks that require utensils warrant.
For Goals Yielding Professional Productivity
Call, email and send gratitude
Have you noticed how kind the world has been to each other over the last few weeks? Let’s keep it going. Make a habit of reaching out to someone new every day. Call them, email them, check in on them, or send them something that made you think of them. During times like this, you’ll make someone else feel special, and in turn, reduce your own stress hormones resulting in an overall improvement in health. I personally received a gift yesterday from someone I haven’t seen in a while, and I immediately felt inspired and it shifted my perspective. Spread the love. Karma is just around the corner. s/o SQF <3
Get up, get dressed, get to work
Given how you’re likely guaranteed to be confined to your home or apartment for the foreseeable future, do you best to treat workdays…like workdays. You will subconsciously set the right intentions for your day by starting the morning the same way you have for the history of your entire successful working career.
Never miss twice
All of our goals are unique because we are all unique. You most likely know exactly what you need to do to be more productive. Whatever your personal set of goals looks like, make a choice to never miss your action items more than once.
For Goals Yielding Mental Improvements in Health
Wake up early every day
Sleep is for everyone, but sleeping in often makes people feel like they’re behind, causing self-induced anxiety. Choose to wake up before 7 am to approach the rest of the day with more inner peace.
Identify your purpose
Everyone has a purpose. As people age, sometimes that purpose can become cloudy. Work through your why, and your path will naturally plot itself.
Keep it all clean
Your environment can be a direct reflection of how clear your mind is. Choosing to put chores like cleaning behind you before you go to bed, leads to fewer decisions in the morning. As a result, you’ll gift yourself mental space and clearer thoughts before the snooze button becomes an option.
Every day we face thousands of choices - many of which are preconditioned. Over time, our bodies and our minds have the ability toreconditionhabits that may not be serving us anymore. As we watch our world rapidly unfold more uncertainty each day, the one constant we can rely on more than ever is - change.
When most of us are stuck home, it's human nature to feel guilty, anxious and stuck. But even now, if we all chose one habit that would better serve ourselves, we'd eliminate some uncertainty in our own life, subsequently reducing some of the worries of the world.