World Health Day

7th April 2022

It is surprising to see how people have started taking extra care of health post-pandemic. I remember even during the peak waves there used to be so many rumors to do or consume things, avoid particular food items. Thank God, neither I nor my family fell prey to any of it. I have always believed the fact that if you ponder over your daily routine, if you mindfully manage your micro-habits, healthy life is already taken care of !

As this blog is being written on the occasion of World Health Day, I would like to share micro - habits I adapted over the period, would love to hear yours as well so that eventually we end up building a healthy generation !

"Make Your Life Simple" I remember my engineering professor repeatedly saying this statement as he made Mechatronics easy for us! I used to like the way he said it and I also constantly thought of making things (that seem to be difficult!) easier for myself. I would break the whole task into fragments, focusing on smaller portion and doing it in the best possible way makes it so much easy! Also, it is a human tendency, we never say no to easy things! more.

"Stay hydrated" is something we get to hear more often, all year round irrespective of whether, or season! But starting the day with a glass of water does wonder! Have it lukewarm or with honey or lemon, or as it is! One glass of water energizes all the cells in the body to give it a refreshing and energetic start. It normalizes the temperature of the body by bringing it to ambient temperature.

Try to spend your mornings slow. Don't treat the workout as a task. Make it fun. Take time to decide the sequence of things you have planned for the whole day, and prepare yourself well for it. Make sure you are equipped with all the tools and resources you need so that there is no last-minute rush. Checking emails or phone (social media!) at least for the first hour after waking up should be avoided. I realized and applied it a little too late, but life is very much better since then! Enjoy the sunrise, have breakfast with family, and let that coffee take its sweet time to sip in!

Prioritize your tasks well. If you start your day taking too many decisions in the morning itself, an excess of brainstorming will leave the feeling of being fatigued for the rest of the day. Schedule high priority tasks, so that your energy and focused attention is not consumed by the lower priority tasks which can be addressed in the coming time as well.
Make sure when you are working, the atmosphere around you is just the way you want it. Avoid distractions, remove unwanted noises, fancy and loud ringtones, and quirky notification sounds. Anything that disturbs disconnects you from your focus which further leads to inefficiency in work.

Take scheduled breaks after every fixed time interval. Breakout for 5 minutes after every 40 minutes of work. Do some physical activities, it may be simple stretches. If you are doing a desk job and exposed to the screen continuously, prefer giving rest to your eyes. On a day when you feel low or exhausted, you may utilize your breakout time to tune in to some podcast to set your mood right.

Reserve a brief span of 10 minutes from your day for being close to nature. It may be a brisk walk, spending time in a park, engaging in gardening, reading a couple of pages of your favorite book under a tree, etc. Time and Nature are two proven healers. So make sure to spare 10 mins if your 24 hours for one of these!

Like we have a morning routine, a night routine, we should start following an end-of-day routine. A habit wherein we make sure we end the day properly, leave our desk clean so that it is set already, with a to-do list ready for the next day so that the first half of the next day is not spent in scheduling the rest of the day. Decluttering the stuff from the desk also helps in cleaning the mind and helps in focusing on desired tasks properly. This habit also helps get rid of procrastinating and helps become more punctual.

It is very important to start eating healthy in addition to scrolling healthy recipes on the internet. The quality of food and thoughts decide the quality of life. Good thoughts can be nurtured by reading good things. But good food cannot be consumed by only watching it, it has to be started as a part of meals. Healthy Food = energetic feeling, the equation is that simple!

No matter how busy your schedule is, and how much you earn, you should never give up on your hobby. I won't specify any time duration here. But it is important to make the hobby a part of daily routine. Doing what you love reduces stress in a way that nothing else would.

Whichever profession you follow, socializing will always bring out a different glow in you. We, humans, are social creatures; even the most introverted person will have a couple of close friends whom they interact with regularly. Interacting with different people brings different perspectives and exchanges of ideas. When you are putting forth your point of view, there is confidence that develops in you making your communication better.

The way how the day goes is majorly dependent on how sound your previous night's sleep was. It is always recommended to invest in a sound sleep for a better mind and body. Also, the key to a successful day is a good night's sleep. Hence keep all digital distractions at bay, keep a pen and diary/journal handy to make a note of 3 good things that happened to you during the day. It can be termed a daily review or a gratitude journal. This precisely won't take more than 3 minutes once you get used to it!

Make sure you save a small amount of money every month. This does not mean compromising on essentials. There is no escape from necessary expenses, however habit of saving and making small investments will lead to a lumpsum retirement amount for your future. You won't be dependent on anyone then. A penny saved is a penny earned! Hence make small investments and keep a watch on the smallest of expenses.

These micro habits are just like small investments, easy to execute, and sustainable to last. Also, the attribute of being easy to execute removes the barrier of consistency as we tend to adapt to them easily. Another advantage of building small habits is, that they don't appear as tasks and the brain does not get overwhelmed in executing them!