Building healthy routines into my life

 

In this new season of my life I've felt challenged to create some healthy routines in my life. I would say I was already someone who prioritised health, whether that was spiritual, physical or mental, but I'm realising I need weekly routines to keep myself accountable. We should all seek good health and routines which promote good health, this is what today's blog is about. I hope you find the routines I follow helpful, but please remember we're all on our own personal journey.

Routine #1 - Start my day in scripture

I've mentioned before that I spend every morning reading the word of God. The main reasons why I do this is firstly to make sure I'm learning more about who God is on a daily basis, but also to make sure my approach to my day aligns with how Jesus approached his life on earth. I'm the best version of myself when I start my day prioritizing God's word. I'd encourage you to read the Gospels to see how Jesus lived when he was on Earth, it has really challenged me in how I show love, generosity and forgiveness to people. 

Routine #2 - Batch cook healthy meals

I will share in more detail shortly, but I was recently diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), so I have no option but to make the majority of my diet healthy, otherwise I experience very painful symptoms. I don't like cooking every day, so every two or three days I cook enough food to last us a couple days, plus my husband and I do our best to take it in turns depending on our work schedules. I think one of the reasons people go for the unhealthy option is because they don't want to waste time cooking, however if you batch cook it often saves you more time, plus more money. I spent two hours finding numerous recipes that looked tasty and were easy and quick to cook. I now have a collection of recipes I can turn to every week, which makes food planning super quick and simple.

Routine #3 - Workout a few times per week

This is mainly due to the fact that I'm a heart patient, plus my IBS is triggered when I don't exercise. I schedule times every week before or after work to exercise, there are times where I'm being lazy or I'm super tired and I skip a workout, but I do my best to keep this a regular part of my week. I personally find working out with a friend or partner really helpful, as it keeps you accountable. I have a friend who I workout with and I also have times where my husband and I do separate workouts, but at the same time. It's good to move your body, it's something I'd encourage everyone to do, if you're able. 

Routine #4 - Get enough sleep

I've spoken about this before and I'll keep talking about it, as it's so important. You can achieve far more when you are well rested. My husband and I typically tend to wake up fairly early, usually it's 6.30am during the week and around 8am on weekends, so this means lights out by 10.30pm most evenings. Sometimes we'll stay up on a weekend and watch a movie, but when it hits 10pm both of us are usually too tired to focus. In our old house I didn't get enough sleep and it really impacted my health, so please prioritise sleep.

Routine #5 - Social time

I am not an extrovert, but nor am I an introvert, I'm one of those people in the middle. I need a couple days a week to myself, but I also need to see people every couple days otherwise it really hits me and I can see my depression coming back. I find myself seeing people often at work and I'm fortunate to have some good friends at work, so their company is always appreciated. I also see people at church, plus friends and family throughout the week. It's quite rare to have a weekend where it's just Andy and I, and when we do have those weekends they are appreciated. We were made for community and we need to make it a regular part of our life. I'd encourage you to set aside time every week for social time, I've found if I don't plan sometimes I can go a week and not have the social time I need, or it goes in the other direction and I'm seeing people too often and I'm burning myself out.

Routine #6 - Time with my husband

There are weeks where it feels like we're business partners, not a married couple. Often it's the weeks where work is super busy, or we have a lot going on at home and we both notice when we don't have time to connect. I'd like to say we have weekly date nights, but we do struggle in this area and we need to improve on it. However we do naturally without planning have at least a day or two, or a few evenings a week where we are away from other people and just spending time in each others company. This sounds super cheesy, but I'm my best self when I'm in my husband's company, if you're married you need time with your spouse.

Routine #7 - House work

I don't love doing house work, but at times I do find it enjoyable. I enjoy looking after my home, whether that's doing the laundry that's overflowing, or giving the living room a dust, I do quite enjoy taking time to make our home tidy and clean. The reason why I've added this as a routine is that we all need to look after our home and do the chores, but we don't want it to take over our weeks, especially our precious weekends. I am fortunate that I don't work on Wednesday, and I do work from home a couple days a week, so this is when I do those chores. I have a weekly laundry and cleaning schedule, sorry if that sounds sad, but it helps me not feel overwhelmed. Maybe give it a try!

Routine #8 - Prayers before bed

My final routine is praying before bed, we pray most nights, usually not on the nights where we're up past 10.30pm, which is another reason to go to bed earlier! We usually take it in turns and we thank God for our day, we pray for our loved ones, we pray for anything that is heavy on our heart and we often pray for our future family. I love ending my day in prayer as it helps me hand over any burdens from the day to God, and this then helps me to sleep more peacefully. Psalm 4:8 says 'In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety'. I read this scripture every evening when I first got diagnosed with my heart condition as I'd put my head on my pillow and hear my heart beat and feel so anxious. Through praying that scripture God really intervened and helped me to sleep well, I'd encourage you to pray before bed and use this scripture to help you end your day in a place of peace.

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