“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
– Mark Twain
Wellness Tip:
Get All 7 Types of Rest
Did you know that we need seven different types of rest to stay healthy? Neither did we!
“Sleep and rest are not the same thing,” writes Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith for TED Ideas. So, getting enough sleep doesn’t mean you’re fully rested.
Try to tick off all of the following:
- Physical rest. This includes both passive (sleep) and active (like yoga or massage).
- Mental rest. Switching off periodically throughout the workday counts.
- Sensory rest. Yep, we need a break from buzzing phones, screens, music, etc.
- Creative rest. This “reawakens the awe and wonder inside each of us”.
- Emotional rest. This includes freely expressing how you feel.
- Social rest. Time alone and surrounding yourself with positive, supportive people.
- Spiritual rest. Defined as “the ability to connect beyond the physical and mental and feel a deep sense of belonging, love, acceptance and purpose.”
Which type of rest are you lacking? And how might you get more of it in your life?
Productivity Tip:
Try the 5-Minute Rule
Question: What’s the number one way to beat procrastination and get stuff done?
Answer: Just. Get. Started. The rest follows from there.
But wait, that’s exactly the issue, right?! You’re finding every reason not to start.
Enter the 5-minute rule. It’s simple: Make a deal with yourself to do that dreaded task for 5 minutes. And yep – you’ll probably find you end up doing it for longer.
The magic of this hack is that 5 minutes is so palatable. It makes getting started easy.
Plus, it’s a no-strings-attached approach: when the time is up, we get to choose whether to keep going or not.
Says Julia Moeller from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, this can “increase the feeling of being in control and making an autonomous decision, rather than feeling forced to do something.”
Why not give it a try? It’s just 5 minutes after all!
Routine Breakdown
Nicole Antionette, Distance Runner & Founder of Life Less Bullshit
The writer and podcast host believes that how you start your day basically determines it. “I’ve become fiercely protective of my morning routine,” she says. She:
- Goes to sleep Between 9:30 and 10:00 pm and gets up around 6:00 am.
- Makes peppermint tea, and does an hour of writing/work.
- Goes out for a run before other tasks. “Getting my writing and running finished before moving into other things helps me feel my best.”
- Sticks to her priorities. “The cornerstone of my morning routine isn’t actually what I do, it’s what I don’t do – and that’s check email in bed.”
Why it works:
- Minimum 8 hours sleep? Check!
- The tea works as a pre-work ritual – i.e., a cue for the brain to enter work mode.
- We’ll say it again: morning exercise is great.
- Setting limits on email ensures she has focused time for her most important tasks.
Nicole says buying an alarm clock and keeping her phone in another room helped her break her morning scrolling habit.
Have you tried ditching the devices first thing? How is it working for you?
