Making a shift from a hectic to a balanced lifestyle isn’t always easy. Making this move requires determination, consistency and discipline and often people give up quite easily.
Even though the move from a hectic to a balanced lifestyle may not be easy, it is possible as long as you take small steps at a time and ensure to not give up.
Steps To Take In Order To Practise A Balanced Lifestyle
- Time Management
Often people make excuses. They say they do not have time to workout or they don’t have time to make home cooked meals. However, it can all be done with proper time management.
While everyone has different schedules and it may be difficult for some to manage time, it is important. Remember that your health comes first and you must give yourself and your health priority.
Wake up earlier than usual and plan your day. Planning your day allows you to be productive and helps you allocate time and attend to all your tasks, this allows you to make time for yourself.
Managing your time allows you to prioritise your tasks, helps you stay productive, reduces stress and helps provide you with a proper work-life balance. Additionally, it can help you avoid procrastination and helps to provide flexibility in your daily life.
Also read: The 10 most important benefits of time management
- Workout
In order to practise a healthy lifestyle people often start working out but give up after a few days either because their body gets sore or they feel lazy in general.
No matter what you do, when you start something new there are going to be barriers. Similarly, working out may seem tiring and boring in the initial days. However, if you stay consistent and put in the efforts you will notice the healthy changes.
It is important to remember that once you start working out, you may get sore once in a while which is okay. However, if you consistently workout and have a healthy diet, your body starts healing.
To avoid exerting your body with heavy exercises, start light. Practice exercises with lesser intensity and slowly move your way up. It is important to remember that working out doesn’t only mean going to the gym but also includes home workouts, running, jogging, yoga, dancing etc.
As long as you are staying physically active and keep your body healthy, it doesn’t matter how you choose to workout, but it is important to be consistent with it.
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- Eat Healthy
Eating healthy keeps the mind and body healthy. It helps to provide your body with nutrients that are essential for the body and has several health benefits.
These habits are crucial for maintaining a balanced lifestyle, it promotes physical and emotional health and also assists in managing weight. Moreover, it also helps to build a positive relationship with food and allows you to practise mindful eating.
Eating healthy is not about eating vegetables everyday but more about having balanced meals including carbs, healthy fats, proteins, fibre etc. While eating junk food once or twice a month isn’t harmful it is important to not exceed that limit.
- Engage In Activities
Along with working out and having healthy meals you must make time for yourself. In this time you can do any kind of leisure activities you like for example singing, dancing, watching movies, etc.
Engaging in such activities helps to reduce stress. Moreover, it allows you to enhance creativity and help you retain focus and stay productive. As the saying goes “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy”.
When you work all the time and don’t give time for yourself to do things you enjoy it can cause exhaustion, fatigue and even a burn out. Hence, it is important to take out time for yourself.
- Stay Productive
In order to maintain a balanced lifestyle you must be consistent with your routine. Following a routine helps you to accomplish your goals and stay productive. Staying productive increases your potential and efficiency.
Moreover, when you have a productive day you feel a sense of accomplishment which helps as a motivation factor. However, it is important to remember that motivation is temporary, it is discipline that helps you stay in line with your routine.
Being productive not only helps you succeed in your personal life but also your professional life which aids in personal growth.
There are a lot of benefits of staying positive. It helps to:
- Reduce procrastination
- Enhances problem solving skills
- Stability
- Utilise time &
- Increase self satisfaction.
- Have Sufficient Rest
While being productive, following a routine, and managing your time is important, it is also important to give your body rest. Ensure that you have at least 7-9 sleep in order to give your mind and body rest.
When you sleep better and fix a proper sleep schedule it allows you to stay energetic throughout the day.
Having a healthy sleep schedule and taking sufficient rest increases heart health. When you rest, you are less stressed which causes your blood pressure to reduce. Moreover, it also helps enhance cognitive function of the brain.
If you are constantly productive and don’t take sufficient rest it lowers the quality of your life. If you are always productive and don’t rest, you are likely to feel irritated, agitated and miss out on enjoying life.
Hence, balance is important between productivity and rest. There may be days you feel lethargic, on such days it is important to give your body rest. Listen to your body as it helps you understand what your body needs.
Conclusion
These were some of the tips that will help you maintain a balanced lifestyle. While it may be difficult to get into routine it is important to maintain discipline. Following a balanced lifestyle will highly benefit your mental and physical health and hence it is important to give yourself and your health priority.
The initial stage may be difficult but don’t let that demotivate you. Keep trying and take small steps in order to achieve your goal.