Katie Lee, change-coach extraordinaire, guest blogs today on how to Get-Back-To-Basics, veterinary professionals! Check out her blog and Facebook page for some great tips on how to stay sane when you have time-poverty.

The-Small-Change-Project-Katie-Lee-VetGirl-Guest-Blog

 

Get Back to Basics

By Katie Lee, Change Coach & Lifestyle Designer

We can all get carried away with progress and productivity. With added celebrations and end-of-the-year projects this time of year gets extra hectic. Before we know it we’re completely overwhelmed and even the most basic of functions have fallen by the wayside. We’re floundering, exhausted and we’re not sure why.

Well I can tell you why. It’s because when you forget about the basics and just keep piling on everything else, life starts to suck.

Don’t make new goals right now only to go through the winter and holiday season even more stressed than before.

Get back to the basics, master those and then add in the extras.

Here’s how.

Focus on the following 5 basic functions to get yourself back in a happy, healthy place.

Sleep

Many of us can admit – on a pretty regular basis – that we’re not getting enough sleep. Or we’re not getting good sleep. Most of us are fairly intelligent people who have read the most common ways to get a good night’s sleep. So enough already! Follow the tips and get some sleep. If you don’t know what they are here are a few to keep in mind.

1. Power down electronics an hour before bed. Yes this means TV AND your phone AND your iPad. They are too stimulating and will keep you up.

2. No more sugar or alcohol at night.

3. Start your process and start calming down way before bedtime then go to bed on time.

Try those three and if they don’t work then Google some more. You’re smart and capable and you deserve a good night’s sleep.

Food

I’m not going to get into how you should change your diet or what to eat or not to eat, because again I think you’re smart enough to know or at least research what is good for you. Most of us tend to eat worse or too much when we’re stressed or out of our routine. So get back to the basics. Eat what you know is good for you, in moderation. Set yourself up to get fueled throughout the day so you don’t crash and burn in the afternoon. If you’re feeling stressed or exhausted take a look at what you’ve been eating.

Water

Drink more of it. Enough said.

Movement

Moving your body has been proven to be a great cure for so many ailments. It can be as easy as going for a gentle walk or as rigorous as an hour-long spin class. Moving your body every day keeps your insides working as they should, improves your mood and basically fixes almost everything. So why not do it? What do you have to lose?

Joy

Being happy has been proven to have long lasting effects on your health. Just like the other 4 basic functions it plays a huge role in your daily well -being. In some cases it has made people with otherwise unhealthy lifestyles lead long and wonderful lives.

Although we can’t be expected to be happy ALL the time, we can seek joy every day. Even if it’s for 10 minutes find something that makes you smile and do it. This is just as important as getting enough sleep and eating well. Seek joy and many other great things will follow.

With these last 6 weeks of 2013 I encourage you to get good at the basics. It’s amazing how much they impact everything else. Most people do NOT have all 5 of these things taken care of and because of that other areas of their life are affected.

Take some time today to plan how you’re going to get back to the basics.

To learn exactly how Katie masters the basics sign up for her newsletter. Her Back to Basics guide will be coming out next week.

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