If you’ve ever tried to overhaul your health habits but felt like you weren’t making progress, try adopting some simple health tips for everyday living instead. Building a routine of simple health tips for everyday living is holistic and includes mind, body, soul, the space we live in, the food we eat and more. As a parent it can be incredibly hard to prioritize healthy habits amongst raising small humans and working, so start small. The tips below are easy tips you can start right away and eventually turn into habits and routines.
This post is all about simple health tips for everyday living for your mind, body, and soul.
Click to go directly to:
SIMPLE TIPS FOR THE MIND
SIMPLE TIPS FOR BODY & MOVEMENT
SIMPLE TIPS TO REFUEL YOUR SOUL
The importance of good health habits:
- A healthy parent is a happier parent. You’ve heard it before but it’s 100% true: You can’t pour from an empty cup.
- You are a role model to your child/children. They are watching how you take care of yourself, your habits, and how you lead with love. We can’t expect our children to be more than we are ourselves.
- By adopting simple health tips for everyday living, you’ll have more energy, a stronger immune system, tactics to cope with stress, and better mood overall.
How to make habits stick?
It can be overwhelming to think about starting ‘another’ habit. Instead of thinking about how to build a habit, think about it as swapping old habits with new healthy tips. Don’t take on too many new things at once, choose 1-2 new healthy tips you want to adopt and stick with them and track them until they become part of your routine. Consistency is the toughest part! There are so many schools of thought on creating good habits from how many days/hours it takes, to creating environments for habits to thrive. Here are some of the philosophies that have worked for me:
- Atomic Habits by James Clear: This book is having a moment right now and rightfully so. If you haven’t read it, it’s about how tiny changes can lead to remarkable results. The book is a framework for building habits through pairing them with existing habits to achieve results. Example: if you want to floss regularly, make sure your floss is right next to your toothbrush or the rest of your toiletries. I’ve really oversimplified it here so I highly recommend you read the book yourself.
- Tracking my habits: You can use a planner, a template, goal tracking notepads, whatever works for you. I’ve found that using goal tracking habits separate from my everyday planner helps me adopt new habits. Once it’s a habit that has become more of a routine for me, I can stop tracking it separately since it’s part of my lifestyle. At the end of every night, I write down memorable moments or things that I achieved, and that’s where I often reflect on my new habit.
One last note on habits: You have to believe that you can change. Yes, you can! Remember that amongst the chaos of COVID-related school closures, raging tantrums that make you want to unfollow all the “gentle parenting” Instagram accounts you follow, and days that feel like complete and utter disasters – you can still do it! Adopting simple health tips for everyday living doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming.
SIMPLE TIPS EVERYDAY LIVING: MIND
Your mind can quickly get overrun by unconscious negativity and ‘brain fog.’ The simple tips for everyday living below will help clear your mind and encourage positive mental health.
- Be conscious of what you consume on social media: It’s easy to let the algorithms start to dictate what you see. You click one thing and before you know it, that’s all you’ll see in your social media accounts. Follow accounts that entertain, help, or bring you joy in some way. Unfollow accounts that don’t do that. Prune regularly.
- Turn off your email and app notifications: Adjust the settings on your phone to turn off notifications that you really don’t need. Constant notifications can overwhelming and noisy. If you don’t do anything else, at least do this. I’d say it’s the #1 healthy habit to follow everyday.
- Learn one new thing everyday: This isn’t as daunting as it seems. It can be as easy as getting a “word a day” or trivia calendar.
- Find healthy ways to cope with frustration, stress, etc: Learning to breathe and calm down, meditate, drawing… whatever it is for you. Find it and do it. This is also one of the best ways to model behavior if you have a little one who has big feelings.
- Make a list of 3 affirmations: Say them in the mornings to yourself, in the afternoon then before bed. Another option is getting a deck of affirmation cards. There are so many options, find a deck that resonates with you. Gentle and motivational, or hilarious and totally inappropriate.
- Write down your intention for the day, everyday: This can shift your mindset and drive your decisions for the day. Words are so powerful and this can be a very impactful mental health habit to follow everyday.
- Design a morning wind-up routine that works for you: Having control of your mornings really can help with feeling overwhelmed and out of control. Find yourself a healthy and productive morning routine, whatever that means for you and within the time frame you have.
- Design an evening wind-down routine that works for you: If morning routines are not for you, you can try an evening routine before bed. This could include turning off electronics 1-2 hours before bed, tea, reading, etc.
- Keep track of your work achievements: No matter what stage of your career you are in, it’s never too late to start a notebook of your proudest work achievements, quotes from positive performance reviews, or emails from colleagues that made you feel good.
- Don’t sleep with your phone in your bedroom: Putting your phone in a different room before you go to bed can prevent losing hours of sleep to scrolling on social media. It also prevents waking up and mindlessly scrolling when you could be doing your healthy and productive morning wind-up routine 🙂
- Try something new: Whether a solo activity or an activity including kids, write it down and commit to trying something new 1x a month.
- Remember that social media is a highlight reel: Don’t compare yourself to celebrities, other parents, or influencers online. Social media is highly curated.
- Find the right style of meditation for you: Maybe you sit down in a sunroom and meditate kind of person or perhaps you are a walking meditation kind of person. Find whatever kind of meditation works for you and do that. If you are just starting out, don’t push yourself to do 45 minute meditations. Start with 5 minutes at a time.
- Celebrate your small victories: Keep track of your own victories no matter how small. Mine occasionally look like: Made dinner today. Scrubbed the bathroom. Being able to look back at these if you get into a slump can really help.
- Be realistic: Finding the right balance of simple health tips for everyday living doesn’t mean doing it all. It means being realistic with what you can do. If you are a Type A ambitious person like myself, your to do lists might have 50 things on them. Be realistic and gentle with yourself.
- Set your perfectionism aside: If it’s one thing I’ve learned from working in the tech world, it’s progress over perfection. If you are an ambitious perfectionist, you might have a lot of different projects you’ve started but never finished. If there is something you want to work on outside of your professional work, and being a parent, carve out time to do it and ship it out into the world.
- Do a mental detox list once a week: Take a sheet of paper and write down everything that’s on your mind. Everything. From there, prioritize them to get done or simply let them go.
- Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth: It’s a tiny micro action but can significantly increase your mindfulness and awareness in the moment.
SIMPLE HEALTH TIPS FOR EVERYDAY LIVING: BODY
The tips below are focused on mindful movement and taking care of your body.
19. Wear SPF: Even if it’s cloudy and especially if you work from home next to a window. My current favorite is EltaMD UV Clear Broad Spectrum
20. Get outside for at least 10-15 minutes a day, everyday: You can do anything for 10 minutes a day. Fresh air can alleviate brain fog and Vitamin D is essential to our bodies.
21. Prioritize 10,000 steps: This is a popular yet simple health tip for everyday living. And rightfully so, because walking is an easy way to get some air and refresh yourself. Walking is also a low impact exercise that can have big benefits.
22. Opt for the stairs whenever you can: It’s easy to take an escalator but opt to always take the stairs if you’re not pushing a stroller.
23. Stretch when you wake up and regularly throughout the day: Especially if you work in front of a computer. Here are some easy stretches that you can even do at your desk.
24. Wear a hat and sunglasses whenever you go out: Put them by your door, in your diaper bag, wherever you’ll remember them.
25. Floss every night: So obvious but yet… how many of us actually are flossing every night? 🤔 Not flossing can lead to gingivitis, bad breath, and other periodontal diseases so get flossin’.
27. Prioritize your sleep: This is tough when you are a brand new parent. In fact, it’s nearly impossible. Sleep can be developmental for babies so as they grow up, they will (hopefully) sleep longer and through the night. When this happens (and it is glorious when it does), stop your doom scrolling at night and go to bed.
28. Don’t smoke or vape: Nicotine can affect memory, concentration, learning, self-control, attention, and mood. According to experts, vaping is less harmful than smoking but still not safe or recommended.
29. Listen to your body: This is much easier said than done. In our everyday hustle, we often ignore our body cues and stress triggers. Slow down, your body is trying to tell you what it needs.
30. Slow down when you eat: It can take the body a few minutes to feel full. To prevent overeating, Drink a cup of water and pause before getting a second serving. If you’re still hungry then eat.
31. Find the exercise routine that works for you: It can be hard to exercise when you feel like you are exhausted. Try NYT’s 7-minute workout to get yourself active. It’s lightweight, takes 7 minutes and could help you kickstart an exercise routine. If regular exercise isn’t already incorporated into your daily routine, it can be a tough healthy habit to follow everyday — especially if you are a busy and exhausted parent. But you can do it! If 7 minutes of activity is too much, start at 3 or 5!
32. Evening walk after dinner: Take a quick 10 minute walk outside after dinner to help the food digest. Prioritizing a light walk after dinner or any meal actually, is an easy simple health tip for everyday living.
33. Regular tension checks: Squeeze different parts of your body then let go to help ease any tension. You can clench your fists, butt, toes, etc.
34. Find healthy coping mechanisms that don’t involve food with emotions: Understand your own emotional triggers and instead of grabbing sweets or foods to distract yourself, find a physical or creative outlet.
35. Beat the mid-afternoon slump with some exercise: If you start to feel the 1 or 2pm slump after lunch, go outside and get some air to refresh yourself.
36. Don’t fight the nap: Sometimes your body truly needs a nap, especially if you’ve been running on fumes for a while. So schedule a nap. I used to roll my eyes when people said, “nap when the baby naps”… but sometimes a nap is all you need.
37. Target pressure points: Acupressure is a way to relieve pain and improve mindfulness/health. Try this easy hand pressure points guide.
38. Protect your skin while driving: I used to question why women wore driving gloves and big hats while driving. Now that I have sun spots on my face, I get it. If you live in an area where you are sitting in a lot of traffic, put on your SPF and protect the areas of your skin that are exposed to the sun.
SIMPLE TIPS TO RE-FUEL YOUR SOUL
Incorporating simple tips for everyday living includes defining boundaries and finding creative outlets that will re-fuel your soul
39. Use your PTO: Take a PTO or mental health day when your child or children are at school. We all know that PTO with kids is not actually PTO.
40. Find what makes your soul sing: Maybe it’s sitting outside and journaling, maybe it’s a physical activity, or a hobby. Whatever it is, it’s so important to take time to do these things. It’s not easy to, but will parents need to fill their cup.
41. Learn what your boundaries are and stick to them: Boundaries can be tough to hold. I highly recommend Nedra Glover Tawwab’s book Find Boundaries, Set Peace.
42. See the world through your child’s eyes: Children are intrigued by everything around them. They notice so many details that adults tend to gloss over. We could learn a thing or two from them. Enjoy the moment with them.
43. Evaluate your current friendships, cut out the negativity: This is something that surprisingly has become easier in the last few years with the COVID pandemic. Life is just too short.
44. End of day recap: At the end of the day, write down 1-3 things that made you happy or smile: This can be on the same sheet of paper, planner, or notebook where you wrote your intentions down. Keeping a collection of these things can boost your mood when you are feeling low.
45. Make time to MAKE. Having some kind of creative outlet can help you channel anxiety and stress. It can be extremely rewarding.
46. Consciously unplug: Maybe it’s during your morning routine, evening routine, or when you are with your children. Unplug yourself from the screens and be in the moment.
47. Go to therapy: There are so many virtual therapy apps and to in-person therapy now. You might be surprised at what you learn about yourself when you start therapy.
48. Accept your emotions: If you are practicing positive parenting or gentle parenting, you’ll know that it’s important to help toddlers and kids accept their emotions. The same principles apply with adults.
49. Make some playlists to lift mood, remind you of good times, etc: Music is powerful. Research shows that self-selected music can trigger positive memories that may have otherwise been forgotten. Having your own “happy” playlist inspired by positive moments in your life can put you into a better mood.
50. Get to know thy neighbors: Depending on where you live, you may already know your neighbors well. This isn’t always so common in big cities. Make an effort to get to know who your neighbors are. You never know when you can lend or when you might need a helping hand.
51. Reach out to someone you haven’t talked to and reconnect: You never know what friendships could be rekindled. I recently reconnected with two of my bff’s from high school and feel so grateful to have these relationships back in my life.
52. Ruthlessly prioritize your work schedule: Parents have very limited time. Prioritize your work schedule and what’s important so that you can focus and be productive while at work and focus on being present when you’re at home.
53. Prioritize work life balance: Incorporating simple health tips for everyday living also includes managing work. This can be dependent on your role but having work life balance is achievable. Achieving work life balance requires proactively managing yourself and setting realistic expectations.
54. Aromatherapy: Essential oils can make a positive impact on your health and well-being. Aromatherapy has lots of therapeutic benefits.
55. Don’t let yourself get too run down: Burnout is real and can happen before you know it. Regularly maintain your mental and physical health instead of waiting until you are completely CRISPY or burnt out.
56. Tell someone you appreciate them: A routine of simple tips for everyday living includes reaching out to people within your circle. Small gestures like telling someone you appreciate certain qualities they have, or something they’ve done for you can brighten up your day and theirs.
57. Accept yourself for who you are: Accepting yourself is easier said than done. We all have trauma and some of us are ‘reparenting’ ourselves while we are learning the ropes of parenting. Be gentle to yourself and stop judging yourself so harshly.
This post was all about simple health tips for everyday living.
Health spans across our food intake, stress management, mental health, and more. It’s not realistic to overhaul your entire routine and day life but I hope you’ll be able to take away some of these tips and make them work for you.
Wishing you health and wellness.