Hitting the Trifecta, Healthy Mind, Body and Soul: Daily Routine Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks
In the last blog post, we spoke about the main elements of a good routine. Using that information and June’s discussions on habit building and breaking, this blog post aims to help you design routines that could optimise your day and increase the likelihood of attaining your health goals. This will be broken down into a morning routine, tasks that should be done during the day and a night routine. All of which aims to optimise your time and efforts and increase the likelihood of success.
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Recap
In order to hit the trifecta – mind, body and soul – we need to include seven elements in our daily routines. These elements include mindfulness, movement, proper nutrition and rest, environmental self-care, healthy social interactions, proper media management and progress tracking. Check out It’s all about Routines: 7 Key Elements to form Healthy Habits that work for you, Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks to learn more about these seven elements.
It is also important to reiterate that all routines should be tailored to your specific lifestyle. Hence, when formulating a routine for yourself, be comprehensive and make it personal. Factor in your work hours, play-time, events and other commitments, and any financial constraints you may have. This can be done with a thorough self-check-in; try it.
Disclaimer: I am not a certified fitness expert; these are just my views on what works for me.
Let’s begin…
Morning Routine Suggestions
A good morning routine should be designed to get your day started. Thus, you need to add elements that help you have the best mindset and outlook for the day. This basically prepares you for the ebbs and flows of the day. Physically, it should prepare you for any movements you would need to do; this could be as simple as bending over to tie your shoe lacings or as complex as a manual, labour-intensive job. Limbering up in the morning is highly recommended and a great foundation to keep you active, especially as you age.
So how do you get the mind, body and soul ready for the day?
I recommend that you start with the soul and mind before you address the body in the morning.
The spirit
Beginning with the spirit gives clarity, vision and motivation for the day.
Any act after this should be intentional, should add value to your life and should be aligned to the vision you have set for yourself. This also dictates your emotions and feelings and generally helps increase the likelihood that your mood will be more positive throughout the day.
TIP #1
Before you do anything in the morning, try thinking of, saying or writing down an intention for the day, giving gratitude for what you have, and orienting yourself (how does your body feel?). I believe this helps with getting an awareness of how you are now before you can determine what you need to add and be mindful of as your day progresses. Is it that you need to rest today or go hard? Yes, plans are all well and good, but sometimes the body may need a rest day or an extra push.
This brings me to another point.
It is also important to reiterate that all routines should be tailored to your specific lifestyle. Hence, when formulating a routine for yourself, be comprehensive and make it personal. Factor in your work hours, play-time, events and other commitments, and any financial constraints you may have. This can be done with a thorough self-check-in; try it.
TIP #2
Your routine should be semi-fixed. Add room for changes; life is not fixed.
The mind
After spirituality, and depending on your time availability in the morning, I believe the mind should be addressed next. But, …
I understand that mental self-care can be done later (basically merged with your daytime routine) or combined with exercise. For example, listening to an audiobook while working out in the morning. Remember, your life, your time.
Mental self-care can be simply addressed with activities that stimulate your cognitive skills. This includes reading (if you are a busy-body, try audiobooks), listening to educational material, learning a language, etc. You choose.
The body
Now, movement in the morning requires a personalised balance between time and effort/intensity. Are you a person that likes a good HIIT or run to start your day, or do you prefer flexibility and calm or a bit of both? You choose. Whichever the pick, I believe some form of movement in the morning is highly recommended, even if it’s just for five minutes.
TIP #3
Ensure that your physical activity captures these essential fitness elements: aerobic, muscular, flexibility, stability and balance. Check out my blog Budget-Friendly Advice for Getting Fit at Home and in Small Spaces, Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks to get some cool ideas.
I assume taking a shower is a given. Following this, should be nutrition. Make healthy choices as much as possible. Remember, you are getting ready for a full day of activities. Though I mention nutrition here, it should, in fact, be dispersed throughout your morning routine. Personally, I usually have a glass of water first thing in the morning, just after I complete my daily devotions. In fact, a lot of research has shown that this habit has several health benefits. Check it out.
So we just completed the morning routine.
I am not going to go into much detail about daytime routines, but I will suggest one thing:
TRICK #1
Ensure that you have scheduled proper breaks, nutrition and hydration and mindfulness.
It’s now onto the night routine.
Night Routine Suggestions
There are some similarities to the morning routine activities; however, instead of warming up, think of the elements from the perspective of winding down your body.
Like I mentioned before, building routines are all about your personal preference. Personally, I do an evening workout. Hence, I involve some sort of movement before I begin my wind down process.
TRICK #2
Break your end-of-day routine into two segments, pre-bed and bed. Pre-bed is right after work and just before I begin to wind down to sleep.
Evening workouts are also subjective. You can choose to do a high-intensity workout or a low-to-medium intensity workout. This is totally optional (at least one “good” workout is needed daily). Your time, your goals.
I can’t underscore enough the need for a balanced meal to end your day. According to research, meals should be consumed at a reasonable time (some studies suggest an hour, others suggest two hours) before heading to bed. Research also showed that hydrating too close to bedtime is also something to be monitored and may even affect the quality of your sleep if bathroom breaks disturb you.
Pre-bed is also a great time to tidy up in preparation for the next day. Having a daily environment self-care micro-routine is highly recommended. I am not saying to paint over your bedroom; I am just saying select a simple task such as cleaning the kitchen or tidying up your office space. Think about it, what can you add to your week that can minimise the amount of cleaning chores you have to do on the weekend or at the end of the month?
Other preparations to make your day easier tomorrow should also be done in the pre-bed phase of the night. Early morning runs meant that I had to pack my gym bag, prepare my work attire, charge my watch, mp3 and phone, and layout my running outfit and gear before going to bed.
TRICK #3
Draft a list of what prep resources you need for your day to run smoothly. I am known as a “forgetful jones” (yes, from Sesame Street). Thus, I need to write down everything or place it somewhere that I will see it to remember it.
TRICK #4
Regulate the time you spend viewing news and social updates. Absorb enough to be informed. If you are bored, try to occupy this additional time with mental self-care or add it to your sleep-time or prep-time.
I also assume here taking a shower and whatever grooming activities suit you is done at this stage.
Then comes progress tracking. Again when you choose to do this process (that is, time of the day and frequency) is totally up to you. I usually reserve progress tracking for after my runs in the morning and in the evening. My holistic check-ins and reviews are done less frequently (either weekly or monthly).
TIP #4
If you are in the experimental phase of a routine, regular (daily) progress tracking is recommended. It could be a food journal or a new training schedule; the best way to know if something is working is to monitor the changes you are experiencing.
Last but not least is rest. Sleep is crucial to any night (day) routine. I aim for 6-8 hours of sleep to ensure that my body is fully prepared for the day’s events. I recommend checking out research on sleep cycles. Here are two good sites to get the ball rolling: Sleep Foundation.org and Heathline.com. My Fitbit is also a great resource when it comes to tracking the quality of my sleep.
Final Tips and Tricks
TIP #5
Draft a list of the activities that you need to do daily to attain the vision you have for yourself. To help, here are some examples of great morning routines you can adopt today:
TRICK #5
Try to optimise your life with incremental changes. Think about the small things you can change (add or subtract) to reduce the amount of work you have to apply in the future (short-term, medium-term or long-term).
TRICK #6
Create a commitment plan. Whether it’s you, an app, a friend or partner or a paid person, build in reinforcements to keep you in check.
Takeaways
Holistic health requires balance, preparation and commitment.
DO develop a self-care plan.
DON’T adopt someone else’s routine; make your own.
TIP, be open to change.
TRICK, create a commitment plan.
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2 Comments
Denise
Good stuff as always. Seems so reasonable. Just got to get on the good foot right. Especially in these times the structure of an ordered life is critical .
dosdontstipsandtricks
Thanks Denise as always!!!