Simple habits that can make a big difference in us can be as basic as getting up early to something complex and challenging like following a strict diet and going on a fitness regime. But whatever change we want to bring, it should be consistent. They say it takes 21 days to form a certain habit. 21 days is quite enough. Isn’t? Getting up early for a week and later delaying the waking up time by 5 minutes is not going to help if we really want to see a significant difference. There are a few very basic habits that we all can incorporate in our daily routine and keep a watch on our health. Let’s start from very basics.

 

• Waking up early: Usually, an early meeting or we have a flight to catch or something else. In all these scenarios having something important is what motivates us to get up early. If it is a holiday or you work from home then do you get up early? Waking up early help in many ways. To me, it helps a lot because my day starts early so I am able to wrap up things quickly. This gives me time to do some extra work.

 

 

• Exercising everyday: By exercise, I am not saying getting on trade mill running for 60 minutes or doing a rigorous workout. Exercise can also be Yoga or some deep stretches. It not only increases your flexibility but also builds your stamina. You can go bike riding if you like. If you like to walk (like me) then nothing can be a better exercise than to go for walk. If morning is not possible then go evening walks.

 

• Eating mostly home-cooked food: In our busy lifestyle, we feel that we don’t have time to cook proper meals. We get tempted towards package food. We read the ingredients and see the chart. If it fits in our parameters, we get it. But cooking meals at home is not that time-taking if we have done some prep work. We can control so many things by eating home-cooked food. Oil, Sugar, Salt, fresh ingredients – all these can be used wisely and in a much healthier way when cooking is done at home. I would rather cook extra and freeze it and eat that in case I am running out time than to open a ready-made packet and microwaving it and eating that as my lunch or dinner.

 

• Limit caffeine and soda intake: This is an extension to the previous point. Long working hours meaning coffee, tea. The same thing goes for Soda. We should try to limit both. Instead, how about having coconut water, or lemon water? I know they don’t have any comparison but when it comes to our health, we can make such compromises. It just a matter of habit.

 

• Limiting screen time: We make this rule for our kids of no-screen time before bed. But when it comes to us then? We watch late night movies saying that with kids, it’s not possible. I agree as I am also a mom and I say the same thing to my kids. By limiting screen-time, I am saying not making it a habit of staying up late and watching TV or working on the computer. Here, waking up early will help you. During my kid’s summer break, I do not turn off my alarm. I wake up at the same time as any other school day. I use the morning hours to do my writing. It feels so good when you start your day with an accomplishment.

 

• Be consistent with the changes: It is very important to be consistent with your efforts. Then only we can see the change happening.

These were few very basic still effective habits that can help you to live a healthy life. If you need some more motivation then participate in #BlogchatterHealthWatch campaign.