Introduction
Setting myself some health and wellness goals at the beginning of 2024 satisfied both a personal and professional interest in the amazingly ever-changing health and wellness space.
In carefully considering these goals, the aim was that these are realistically achievable whilst also touching my mind, heart, body, and soul in order to cover all aspects of health which results in best chances for optimal health and wellbeing.
In indulging in reading one of my favourite health and wellness publications (Body and Soul) it’s very evident that there’s so much information out there as to the predicted 2024 trends in the health and wellness space. However, my firm belief is that we turn to look at and focus on the individual, on you and me.
Let’s talk about me and then I’d love to hear what you all are focusing on for YOUR health and wellness in 2024 😊….
My 2024 health and wellness plan…at a glance….
My overarching health and wellness goal for 2024 has been centred on cultivating balance across all aspects of life. However, so that I keep up a health and wellness focus momentum throughout the year, I structured my plan with one mini health and wellness goal for each month.
Moreover, I am also a fan of being accountable for goals which have been set and so through this blog, I’m excited to share my 2024 wellness plan journey thus far whilst hoping to inspire and connect with fellow wellness advocates as we navigate the path to a flourishing and balanced 2024 together!
Jan-Dec 2024 – Maintaining balance
With so much going on in our world these days, trying to maintain a sense of balance in life can seem like an insurmountable task. However, in the same way as a tight-rope walker must find their sense of equilibrium, it is important that we, too, strive to give equal attention to each aspect of life.
Perhaps an easier way to approach this is to place equal focus on physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing and social and emotional wellbeing which means overall human wellbeing.
So, I hear you say, that is great… but how can and I and anyone else go about achieving this?
The good news is that, through research, I found the below helpful tips:
• Make self-care the #1 priority. How? By carving out time for exercise, nourishing meals, and rejuvenating sleep.
• Exercise mindfulness to manage stress, reflect and relax.
• Another important one…creating a good work-life balance by setting boundaries and ensuring dedicated time for leisure.
• Build and maintain meaningful connections with others, as social relationships contribute significantly to emotional health.
• Invest in personal growth and learning, embracing opportunities for both professional and personal development.
The above 5 tips can take time to implement and hence why I have promised myself that I will endeavour to achieve these over the course of this year. It is mid February at the time of writing this blog and happy to say that I have been consciously actioning these tips.
Now…on to my mini monthly health and wellness goals and related wellbeing activities:
January – It’s all about H2O
Yes, ensuring I have a healthy hydration habit by drinking enough H20 (aka water) is one of the essentials of wellbeing . I haven’t been great at this up to now. Water is quite a bland taste and as such I find it hard to get through the recommended 2Litres per day. So here is how I achieved this January goal…
• Week 1 – worked up to drinking 500 mls
• Week 2 – worked up to drink 1L
• Week 3 – worked up to drinking 1.5L
• Week 4 – worked up to drinking 2L
Did I achieve this goal? Yes! It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be! The key to success here was in breaking the goal down into bite-size (or should that be droplet-sized?) goals. I also found adding a small amount of Ribena cordial made it a much tastier drink!
February – 3H’s – Heart Healthy Habits
It is February as at the time of writing this blog post and I’m focused on doing the right thing to support my heart being healthy. I am finding this an achievable goal when broken down between diet and physical exercise:
• Diet
Consuming heart friendly foods. I’m find this doesn’t mean that I am facing a diet of boring food, quite the opposite. In addition, it has been helpful that many foods are labelled as heart-healthy which makes grocery shopping super easy!
Some great-tasting and easy-to-prepare meal options so far have been:
o Pesto pasta chicken salad
o Baked salmon with fresh lemon juice accompanied with broccolini and brown rice
o Heart-healthy beef mince and ginger stir fry.
What’s not to love about these tasty (and secretly healthy) meals?!
• Physical exercise
For best results in trying to achieve optimum wellbeing, the magic combination is a good diet PLUS exercise. Exercise consumes energy and this energy needs replenishing through a nutritious diet to fuel the next exercise session and so on.
It is not always easy to get motivated to do exercise. I find that to overcome this, I tell myself that even if it is just a 20 minute walk it is better than nothing. So, on days where my energy levels are a bit low then I will take a walk. Often I will combine this with listening to one of my favourite podcasts to add in a mindfulness element.
My aim has been to do 3 x 30min exercise sessions a week:
o HIIT for cardio
o A strength workout
o Yoga
….and thankfully I’m tracking to plan on this!
March – Mindful Meal-ing
What is this about? Well, all too often I’ll rush my meal in order to get onto the next to-do item on that never-ending list! So, to try to change this habit, I am setting the goal of mindful eating in March.
What does mindful eating actually mean? For me, when I have a meal I am going to:
o pay attention to the food flavours, textures, and sensations.
o incorporate more whole foods
o savour the experience.
Not only will this maximise my eating experience satisfaction but it will (hopefully!) mean that I eat at a slower pace which in turn is beneficial to my digestive system. Eating more slowly might also allow some reflective thinking time.
April: Outdoor Active Appreciation
April finds us in the midst of Autumn (if you live in the Southern Hemisphere) when the temperatures are cooler and the air has an extra fresh feel about it.
I want to get amongst this and so have pegged April as the month I’m going to embrace outdoor activities. I am a lover of walking and so will mix it up with some short brisk walks and get in a couple of longer bush walks in and amongst nature.
May: Quality Sleep Commitment
Sleep…..can be my nemesis. Up until I was in my early 40s, I always got decent sleep, 7-8 hours most nights.
…Then…the menopause hit me and I would wake up consistently every night at 3am and not be able to go back to sleep.
Thanks to hormone replacement therapy, my sleep quality has much improved. I am thankful to the menopause for one thing…for making sleep top of my health and wellness priority list and for being something which I no longer take for granted.
As such I want to dedicate May to practising a healthy sleep regime by:
o Eating my last meal at least 2 hours before bedtime
o Keeping a consistent bedtime time
o No blue screen for at least 2 hours before bedtime and reading a book instead.
Good sleep quality is such an important factor which supports being well.
Check out my blog on how nutrition can help with getting a good night’s sleep.
June: Digital Wellbeing Month
I want to celebrate the yearly half way mark by adopting a strict personal screen time policy of 3 hours per day.
I will keep a note of when I have been in front of a screen and if practical (not always so) will shut down all devices for the remainder of the day.
I believe that adopting this for even a month will result in better sleep, reduced stress, improved focus all in the name of digital wellbeing.
July: Gratitude (or any) Journaling
To help support entering into a state of mindfulness and of disconnecting from technology, I am targeting July as being the month for gratitude journaling or just journaling in general.
…Annnnd by journaling, I mean doing so with a pen and paper….not on a laptop or computer :D
I had never journaled up until last year when I read The Artist’s Way. I committed to the suggested journaling 3 pages each day as soon as I rose out of bed. Complete stream of consciousness to unleash creativity that would set me up the right way for the day ahead. I found that it really helped settle my mind for the day ahead and support my psychological wellbeing.
I have to confess that I haven’t journaled since last year and am really looking forward to picking this back up again!
August: Flexibility Focus
I have decided to nominate August as the month to focus on improving my physical flexibility. I’m naturally like a female version of the Tin Man. (For those who are not familiar, the Tin Man is a character in the movie, The Wizard of Oz who needs oil to loosen up his joints!)
I find that there is a link between how my body feels and the state of my mental health. If I feel good in my body, it somehow translates into feeling better mentally and vice versa.
To increase my flexibility, I am planning to do the Yin form of Yoga at least once a week and stretching in between times. Yin Yoga is a gentler slower form of yoga than other yoga practises such as Ashtanga yoga. Yin yoga aims to reduce stress in the interconnecting tissues between our muscles. Not only will this increase my flexibility but can also enhance mobility and prevent injuries.
September: Nutrition – Focused
In September I plan to take a hard look at how I am fuelling my body. As mentioned earlier, a good diet is needed to support our bodies.Also, it makes having those tasty treats every now and then that bit extra special and satisfying!
In taking a stock check on my nutrition I will check:
o That my portion sizes are as per the recommended amounts. If you visualise a dinner plate then half of the plate should be vegetables/salad, a quarter of the plate of carbohydrate and the remaining quarter plate for protein.
For anyone looking for further information on recommended portion sizes, I would suggest looking at the portion sizes per the CSIRO (link)
o That I’m consuming enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
October: Stress Management Tools
Stress…this is a big one and one that I think many can relate to in today’s super busy world.
I have heard and do believe that a little bit of stress may not be necessarily a bad thing in that it can motivate us to get things done. However, a close eye should be kept on it so that it does not spiral out of control.
I can let life and professional tasks get on top of me which then can lead to a state of panic which is not good in any sense.
Fortunately, over the years, I have been able to learn and incorporate stress management tools and techniques to help manage my stress levels.
I think it is very personal as to what can work for each person but for me, I have found deep breathing to be the easiest and quickest stress busting tool to adopt. In a matter of a couple of minutes I notice a reduction in my stress level.
Also practising yin yoga has been so helpful to me both in lowering stress and also improving the quality of my sleep.
It is not an easy thing to do by any means but controlling stress as much as possible also helps support mental wellbeing.
November: The Human Social Connection
I never worried about my personal relationships until COVID.
I am naturally an ambivert so do have introvert tendencies which were allowed to increase during the COVID period…it was an interesting self-observation! It was all too easy with a 5-day remote working schedule to not make the extra effort to reach out to family and friends.
Fortunately I realised that this is not a healthy way to be and so post pandemic I have made an effort to reach and maintain contact with family and friends. My friends circle is small but they are the perfect friends to have and as such will dedicate November to being the month I solidify these friendships further.
Having solid personal relationships can help with mental health and having (and giving) support when needed.
In the last 6 months or so I have started volunteering at a local charity shop and this very much supports fostering human connection and it really is a lovely environment of which to be a part.
December: Reflection and Renewal
December will be the month that I check in on how I have tracked on my mini health and wellness goals throughout the year. I’d like to think I will have achieved most if not all of the targets I set for myself. I think it will feel good to have given my health and wellbeing a conscious focus and by blogging about my 12 month goals, it will help keep me accountable!
Conclusion:
I feel fortunate that my health and wellbeing is high on my priority list but all the same, it feels good to have earmarked each month with a specific health goal on which to focus and implement.
Even just the fact that I have laid out this plan feels great. Cheers to a year of wellness!
I am curious as to what health and wellbeing goals YOU have set out for yourself this year….