Hi there. How are you? How are you feeling? What’s on your mind?
I’ve been thinking about you. And I’ve been thinking about what to write in Wellness Words. I like my emails to be informative and something to look forward to, but writing about skincare at this moment, seems, well, a little frivolous. Not that I’m not taking care of my skin mind you. And I have been sharing some skincare stuff over on IG and FB.
So let’s consider our wellness today. What are you doing to stay sane?
To help deal with all that’s happening, I’ve resorted to what I know brings me comfort: having a routine. I appreciate that this may be anathema for you, but trust me, it really does help to have consistency and clarity where you can. Particularly when the world seems upside down. Our brains love routine and it makes it easier for us to deal with all the uncertainty.
Each morning starts with some exercise. I’ve been doing a variety of routines for legs, core and arms through an app on my iPad, which keeps it interesting and challenging. And my faithful jump rope is used each day for 15 minutes. When I finish my workout in the AM, it always gives me a major sense of accomplishment.
I’ve also returned to using a paper diary. I love an electronic calendar for appointments, so it may seem strange to adopt this in a time when I’m not working, but I’ve found that physically writing down what I want to do each day and what I actually accomplish is very motivating. Rather than keeping a mental to do list, I write down what I intend to do on the appropriate day.
This keeps me focused and also helps prevent trying to do too much on any given day. I learned the hard way that grocery shopping and house cleaning should not be attempted on the same day. This is clearly something I took for granted pre-pandemic.
There’s also enough room on each day to note the minutiae of it: the weather (it snowed last week - I’m serious!), what’s for dinner (the never-ending question), what movie was watched (a lot of Hallmark, interspersed with some TV series), who I spoke to on the phone or Zoom and other small details of life that I’m sure I used to take for granted.
I’m also trying to get plenty of sleep and drink enough water. I endeavour to go to bed at the same time each night and I set an alarm for the morning. I have a goal to drink 3 litres of water each day and track it by removing rubber bands from my refillable bottle with every litre I complete.
I’m trying to eat healthy, but I will definitely admit to indulging in an extra adult beverage or two and also eating more crisps than normal. It’s always hard to be perfect, particularly during this time.
So that’s what I’m doing. What are you up to?