If you’re starting to feel extremely busy this time of year, you’re not alone. With summer over and work, back to school and fall season in full swing, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and for priorities to get out of wack. Often during busy times, some of the first priorities to go out the window are health and wellness practices. However, our health and wellness should be a priority in order for us to feel and function at our best, so we can tackle everything on our plates and fully engage in our daily lives.
A great way to continuously prioritize your health and wellness, despite a busy schedule, is to practice health and wellness habit stacking. As a certified behavior change specialist and health coach, I learned about this technique, which was founded by B.J. Fogg, a Stanford PhD and author of the book, Tiny Habits, during my certification training. The key is to focus on simple behavior changes and stack a health and wellness habit on top of an exisiting daily habit. You can also dedicate specific periods of time to do this, so you’re being efficient with your time and creating consistency in your health and wellness practices.
Below are five examples of how to practice health and wellness habit stacking:
1. Put a hydrating skincare mask on your face and let it sit while you do some chores around the house that you might already be doing, such as laundry or washing dishes.
2. Listen to a guided meditation app during your morning routine when you’re brushing your teeth or washing your face.
3. Do some squats, lunges, calf raises and push-ups against the wall or countertop while you cook a healthy dinner in your kitchen.
4. Listent to a webinar or podcast for work while you take a morning, afternoon or evening walk to get in some steps and light cardiovascular activity.
5. Take your showers at night to better align with your bedtime to create a relaxing environment, which could help improve the quality and quantity of your sleep.
These are a few ideas to try, and ones I do myself on a regualr basis. That said, there are a multitude of ways you can practice health and wellness habit stacking. Think about your daily habits and which ones come most naturally to you, and then add on a wellness practice at the same time. You’re not really adding more to your plate because you would be doing the original activity anway. So you can accomplish two goals at the same time and keep your health and wellness practices intact.
I encourage you to give health and wellness habit stacking a try, and feel free to circle back and let me know how it’s working for you or if you need additional support!
