As many of you already know, I have been making very real efforts this year to take better care of myself.

I started with a simple decision to hydrate more often. I set timers to remind myself to drink water throughout the day.

I then decided to make some adjustments to my daily routine. I tried to program myself to end my work day a bit earlier so that I could:

(1) get errands done during the day instead of running out to stores at night trying to squeeze in five minutes before they close.

(2) Get onto the treadmill at least twice per week before the kids get home from school.

So here’s where I am at with everything:

Hydration: I now usually remember on my own – no reminders required 🙂  Confession: some days I still forget, but I am doing SO much better than I was before I started this!

Adjusting my Routine to leave the office earlier: I’ve been doing quite well.  I can’t do it every day, but I aim too. (And guess what?  I try to always remember to bring a bottle of water with me to stay hydrated! ) I’ll admit that leaving early hasn’t worked out exactly as I planned, but it has an added side-benefit that I wasn’t expecting.  Let’s just say that with 4 kids, it seems that someone has always got an early dismissal or an appointment of some sort.  In the past, when I would have to leave the office to pick up ‘early’ or for an appointment, I would always be stressed about not finishing my work.  Somehow, since I am trying to get into the mindset of leaving the office ‘early’ everyday, it doesn’t feel like I am leaving early, so I am less stressed.  It’s kind of silly, but the simplest mental shift has changed the lens with which I view my time and I am less stressed because of it.  In general, I also find that giving myself time to make the mental shift from work mode to family mode has also reduced my stress level.

Getting onto the treadmill: This has not been going as well as I thought.  Two weeks ago, I had planned to leave the office at the earlier time for the purpose of going home to get on the treadmill. On the way home I stopped at the store to buy some fish for dinner….Let’s just say that of course, that turned into my weekly grocery order and no more time left to workout.  I was really in a pinch because I had to leave to go back out.  I decided that 20 minutes would be better than no minutes, so I grabbed a towel and a bottle of water and I jumped onto the treadmill for 20 minutes.  It was perfect since it had been awhile – no need to overdo it on day 1 🙂

Last Sunday, I was hoping to get in a 40-50 minute walk on the treadmill, but my first chance to get on was after 9:30 PM.  Guess what?  I still did it!  No more excuses 🙂

I will get another 2 workouts in this week. Hopefully the afternoon idea will work…but if it doesn’t, it will be at night.  the point is that I will still get it done!

So, I’m drinking better throughout the day, adjusting my routine to balance out work and family better, I’m even eating better ( which wasn’t part of my original plan LOL!) and now I’m working in at least a little bit of time to workout. I’d say I’m doing OK with my #RealisticResolution to #DrinkBetterLiveBetter 🙂

Do you have your own wellness story? You can share with the hashtags #DrinkBetterLiveBetter and head over to www.madewithnestle.ca/pure-life to discover more great tips!

Today’s Parent has also shared some great tips for establishing healthy habits together with the whole family- on their own site as well as in an interview on Cityline.  Check them out!
Today’s Parent Tips for Better Sleep

Cityline – 5 Helpful Tips for Establishing a Daily Routine With Your Kids

Always remember that baby steps are still steps and whatever steps you take, may they be in the right direction 🙂

Tanya

Disclosure: As with all sponsored posts, I will only ever share with you products and/or services I believe in. All opinions contained within are my own and cannot be bought