I don’t know about you, but to me this list of habits and routines for a healthier and more effective life in the long run came to seem like a dump of proposals where every specialist, coach, mentor, psychologist, Doctor etc do their bit and at the end we have a big truck loaded with sand.
So much sand that finish spilling in shape of anxiety in our diaries and creating the heavy feeling that neither devoting all the available time exclusively to us same would have sufficient time to do them all.
A very short decalogue to see an little example of these routines that they advise us for a happy and healthy life:
- Routine to write a diary
- Spaces of silence
- Yoga at the morning
- Meditation, some 15-20 minutes
- 3 pieces of fruit/day
- Develop a routine of the rest
- Spaces of time without telephone neither computer
- Lists of songs at Spotify of 120 minutes
- You have to listen a podcast when you are going to the office
- Color a book or mandala
- 30 minutes of daily exercise
- Healthy and leisurely food
And the last trend is the exercise: you have to do routines of very intense and concentrated exercise in 2 minutes, which they say is just as effective as doing it more slowly for 60 minutes.
Chaining all these routines would add up to approximately 8 hours a day that are neither work nor sleep.
The 8 hours we supposedly have for personal, social, logistical, food, leisure and transport. Now, with telework, for some or enough transport is less time, but we must not forget those who continue to make "lightning" trips to and from the same day and who end up reducing their working hours to +travel time + sleep.
Without forgetting that there are also a majority of cases in which in "personal matters" time dedicated to family members must be included and that it must not only be of quality, but also in a minimum quantity.
Cases such as:
- We have already very old parents who require care or help in their daily life.
- Those of us who have children to accompany to out-of-school and dedicate personal time.
Like most, I ended up forgetting all this and selecting one or two routines or habits. Just try to keep them through a sustained practice and it is already an incredible success if there is one of them that we continue to practice in the long run.
It was a long time ago that talking with company managers came the idea that the optimal 100% is when we can integrate some of these practices or some similar ones in our work, while we do the work.
For example, practice conscious movement, conscious breathing, conscious communication, mindfulness, but without having to isolate ourselves to a separate room, devoting time apart, but practicing it in meetings, in calls, when contacting customers and suppliers etc
Can you imagine? We’re not talking about playing foosball, or gyms, or hiring personal yoga and pilates trainers or whatever... which can also be very good as long as people get the time.
We talk about creating a genuinely healthy culture, integrating awareness, mindfulness and active listening, among others, when serving customers, working with the team in a project, at meetings, when communicating with other departments etc... Practice posture and breathing when working, meeting. Spaces without phone, mindfulness practiced in movement (walking, eating) etc
In this way when finishing the work the sensations can be of relief and lightness that provide the fact of having completed some of those routines in real and very practical situations. In addition, add the fact that doing them in an integrated way in everyday life cost less to practice and are providing better results.
Certainly the companies contribute in an important way to the healthy life of their employees, taking care of the nutritional issue in the case of dining/canteen, enabling spaces for exercise sessions or even a gym and personal trainers, talks etc., But all this requires resources and time and do not forget that personal well-being is not entirely focused on food and exercise. Often it is completely insufficient because the human being feeds and lives from other things.
As Hiromi Shinya, a leading surgeon of colonoscopy worldwide, says, thanks to whom millions of people avoid prostate cancer or are successfully operated on:
"Remember that a happy and meaningful life is the natural path to human health. Enthusiasm full of joy, rather than following a diet, is essential to make the prodigious enzyme work in your favor" Hiromi Shinya (surgeon precursor of colonoscopy)
"Creating a healthy culture also involves integrating dynamics of work and relationships much more conscious, not only respectful but above all inclusive and enriching" Próposito & Compromiso