Cornerstone Habits: Do You Tick The Boxes?

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What makes a life healthy, balanced and productive? It’s a question that we ask ourselves time and again as we try to optimise our lifestyles and keep our health in check. Often when we think about making changes, we envision large, sweeping revolutions in our lifestyles, but it turns out that the real secret is actually rather small. Scientists have identified a group of behaviours referred to as ‘cornerstone habits’ that define a person’s success. They are the small daily rituals we all have, and their effectiveness lies in their consistency. If you make them a part of your life, they become second nature, and then they can make a real change within your life. 

So what are these habits and how can you adjust to meet them?

Make Your Bed Each Day
It’s such a small detail that many of us neglect to do it - but making your bed each day can have a significant impact. It’s associated with higher productivity levels during the day, better mental wellbeing and even good financial control - not bad for fluffing some pillows! Making the bed when you first get out of it also encourages you to get up and get moving - especially important if you’re working from home at the moment. Psychology Today also cites a correlation between making the bed and home ownership, regular exercise and feeling well rested, so it’s definitely a very simple change to make that can have a huge effect.

Sort Out Your Sleep Hygiene
Good sleeping habits are transformational, and can change every aspect of your life, from giving you more energy and a better mental focus, through to improving your interpersonal relationships due to being more empathetic when we’re well rested. And yet there is an epidemic of sleeplessness among us. You can take steps to get a better night’s sleep though, by investing in blackout blinds or lined curtains to keep it dark, ensuring a consistent, slightly cool temperature and banning blue-light emitting electronics from the room you sleep in, as these disturb the body’s natural production of melatonin. You could also try using an aromatherapy diffuser to help you drop off at night. Better sleep means better overall health.

Connect With Others Meaningfully
Humans are sociable animals by nature, and we need meaningful connection with other people in order to feel truly fulfilled. Prioritizing things like family dinners, movie nights with the kids and coffee catch-ups with friends are the key to maintaining a support network that is much needed for mental wellbeing. When it comes to your mind, you need to think holistically in your approach to wellness. Getting tips and resources from sites such as www.kristenblakewellness.com can really help you to put the mental resources in place to have a flourishing inner life and relationships.

Take Regular Exercise
Another hugely important factor is making exercise a regular part of your life. Doing things like an at-home yoga routine, a YouTube HIIT workout or just fitting in a run each day will make you feel so much better. Exercise is well known for getting endorphins flowing, reducing stress and providing mental clarity -  to say nothing of the benefits to your physical health. The trick is to find something that you genuinely enjoy doing and build it into your routine.

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by Iconic Chica Mag Contributors