Health: Pencil It In

There are many different activities we promptly and regularly add to our planners, phones, and other schedule makers. We note when it's time to pay the bills, make a doctor's appointment, and go grocery shopping. We know when library books are due and what days to pick the kids up from sports and extracurricular activities. Birthdays are circled with a balloon drawn beside them and holidays are highlighted with an exclamation point.

One item is often left out of the planner, and this item can help support us in all the other activities we usually write down: Health! When responsibilities, dates, and activities are swirling all around us, it can be easy to forget that the necessary energy needed to do all this stuff comes from supporting our health first. It's worth it to press pause, pick up a pencil, and write down a reminder to yourself to fill in the gaps in health care routines that may have developed during a busy schedule.

How do you pencil it in? It's up to you and how you best envision supporting your health for your unique lifestyle. If it helps to write down a reminder tip for every Sunday, maybe you can make that day a tune-up day. You can work on re-balancing your diet if it's been too erratic for your taste. If you're feeling tightness in your muscles from the prior week's stress and tension, you can allot some time for stretching and movement. Maybe you've skipped out on adequate hydration for a few days and you feel like drinking water is especially important to pay attention to before a new work weeks starts.

Aside from healthy habits, it could be that you just haven't had a moment to yourself or a chance to relax and do nothing. Your tip for Sunday, or whatever day you choose in your planner, could involve a mental-emotional massage. What's that? Just choose something calming to do or get in touch with the parts of you that have felt stressed and pay more attention to them. You can pick something that's fun for you and makes you feel excited such as going to the park, reading a good book, drawing, or cooking a delicious meal.

Each week doesn't have to run nonstop into the next in terms of doing, doing, doing. To pencil health into your planner means that you'll use that opportunity to check in with yourself and your health before the start of another potentially hectic week. Doing so will allow you to feel healthier, more energized, and better able to handle any challenges and stressors that come your way.
As you go through this week, remind yourself--

Health: Pencil It In