“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.”

– Oprah Winfrey

Wellness Tip:

Make Healthy Ingredient Swaps

When it comes to your diet, little tweaks can make big differences. So, if totally giving up the pizza and tacos is too much (we hear you), try some healthy swaps instead. Like:

• Swap rice for quinoa. It’s a complete protein (it contains all 9 essential amino acids).
• Swap cheese for nutritional yeast. 
• Swap in some cauliflower. Make cauliflower rice, pizza crust, or mash. It’s lower carb and a great way to sneak in extra veg.
• Use Greek yoghurt instead of mayo or sour cream.
• Try lettuce wraps in place of tortillas. 
• Snack on air-popped popcorn instead of potato chips.

What are your favorite healthy food swaps? 🥗

Productivity Tip:

Pump Some White Noise

Ugh, distracting background sounds! You can’t cut them out, but maybe you can drown them out with a sound that actually helps you focus.

Many people find white noise (a constant, static-like sound) or brown noise (its lower-pitched sibling) calms them mentally and helps them concentrate on tasks. 

One study found that 45 decibels of white noise improved sustained attention and creativity (but a louder 65dB of white noise wasn’t so helpful). Another found it enhanced learning.

Want to give it a try? Use a white noise app, or simply search on YouTube for a track.

Routine Breakdown

John Moore, Co-Founder of Outerknown

The co-founder of sustainable clothing brand Outerknown says he’s a bonafide morning person. He:

• Clears his inbox the night before. “I don’t like beginning my day by catching up on yesterday.”
• Rises with the sun. “Typically 5am in the summer and then 6-ish in the winter.”
• Meditates using the Chopra app. “I don’t look at emails, text or social media until after I meditate. That’s kind of a rule I’ve set myself.”
• Surfs. “If I don’t have time or the ocean isn’t cooperating, I’ll stretch and do push-ups and sit-ups instead.”

Why it works:

• Clearing emails at night means he can start the day fresh and not have incomplete tasks weighing on his brain.
• Getting a balance of physical and mental is always a good idea. John gets both the benefits of meditation and the benefits of physical exercise each morning.

Have you set rules or limits around when you can check emails and social media? A simple rule like John’s of meditating first can help keep tech use in check. Why not try it?