Prioritize What Really Matters

What would happen if you know the exact thing you need to do today to accomplish your goals? What if you know every day, what you must do and when to do it? What will your life look like?

Your life will become more in order, you will be more focused, achieving more important goals, your stress level will go down and you will be much happier. And that's the power of priority. That's what you get by putting first things first.

The word "priority" was meant to be singular. Because when this word comes into existence, it describes the one most important thing.

Well, as time changes, so do the words and their meanings. And same goes for priority. Because now it has turned into “priorities”. As we have a long list of important things now.

For instance, being healthy and fit, weight loss cannot be your first priority. Rather than going

for that crash diet and 7-day workout challenge, it is way more important to find balance, set realistic and achievable goals and take it slow.

So, tell us what your top health priorities are, and we will help you to live with your priorities.

Getting More Exercise

Here are a few of the things which can help you increase your activity;

Take more Steps

• Park your car a bit further away to take a short walk to your work

• Take your pet for a walk, or play with it at home

• Talking with a friend on the phone? Better do that while moving around

• Move outside of the office in breaks to have some fresh air

Quick workouts

• Take a quick walk around the block, or at the workplace

• Use your stairs instead of the elevator

• Some laps in your backyard or around the dining table

Real Workouts

Choose any five exercises from these, do them for 30 seconds each with a rest interval and repeat.

• Planks

• Squats

• Jumping jacks

• Crunches

• Lunges

• High jump

• High Knee

• Mountain Climber

Home workouts

• Use your staircase as a treadmill, run up and down

• Dance around the house while doing your chores

• Use that bag full of groceries for some bicep curls

Active rest days

• Go for a hike with your friends

• Ride your bicycle at a nearby park

• Play your favorite sports

• Go for swimming

Eating More Healthy

Want to eat more healthy food? Here is what you should do;

Look for alternatives

• Have popcorn instead of the bag of chips

• Home-made mango ice cream instead of ice cream pack from grocery

• Frozen grapes instead of candies

• Fresh fruits instead of fruit juices

Add more greens

• Try a new vegetable for a change of taste

• Use a different cooking way every time, steam your broccoli one day and roast it the other.

• Add some spices to your greens to give them more flavor

• Add veggies to your favorite dish, like bell pepper to your pizza, and mushroom and zucchini to your pasta.

Healthy heavy meal once a week

• Arrange a healthy dinner with family and friends

• Find a new healthy recipe and give it a go once a week

• Look out for healthy ingredients like spaghetti squash for linguini, or cauliflower instead of potato

Swap for a healthy snack

• Have some nuts and seeds instead of that bag of chips

• Some rice crackers instead of potato crisp

• Low-fat frozen yogurt instead of creamy ice cream

• Low-fat muesli bar instead of chocolate bar

• Frozen fruits instead of sweet candies

Eat healthy when in a rush

• Grab a fresh fruit to snack on your way

• Have a quick avocado toast with scrambled egg

• Some leftover steak with Greek yogurt

• Have some pre-cut veggies sprinkled with spices

Cut one fun food at a time

• Time to say goodbye to refined grains - use brown rice, whole wheat pasta and quinoa instead.

• Say no to that traditional dessert at the dinner table instead have some fruit salad or homemade fruit ice cream

• Instead of that unhealthy pizza make one by using whole grains and with a topping of some fresh green vegetables

Choose your treats wisely

• Spend some time to think about which fun food can be used today

• Avoid the surprise treats in favor of the ones that are important and you planned for

• Before having that fun food treat, ask yourself if it is worth it

• Eat mindfully so you don't end up regretting your treat

Getting More Sleep

Getting 7 hours of proper sleep seems like a dream? Well, we have tips to convert this dream into reality:

Go to bed early

• Skip the few things that can wait till morning and go to bed at least 20 minutes early.

• Start your night routine earlier to get to bed early

• Have a comfy and relaxing environment

No screens 1 hour before bed

• Instead of scrolling down through your phone late at night try reading a book

• Turn that TV off when you know it's time for you to go to bed

• Wrap up your computer work ahead, of so you don't have to do it in bed

Relax

Practice some yoga poses for better sleep. Here are a few options:

• Backbend

• Halfway lift

• Downward dog

• Upward dog

• Planks

• Mountain pose

• Forward fold

Meditation

• Take a hot shower

• Read a book

• Close your eyes, and take deep breaths

• Listen to soft music

• Spend at least 15-20 minutes relaxing in bed, doing nothing.

Final Words

Everything we do in our lives is based on our priorities. Most of the time when we say " I can not do this thing", it actually means "This thing is not my priority". But when something is our priority we make it non-negotiable.

So, no matter what goals you are trying to achieve, your health and well-being should be your first priority. And make your healthy diet, proper sleep and regular activity your non-negotiables.