[SELF-CARE] Automate and Habituate Movement into Your Daily Schedule
![[SELF-CARE] Automate and Habituate Movement into Your Daily Schedule](https://bucket.mlcdn.com/a/3258/3258268/images/b646160bd3662997a20cf9ec2add3288051a8f19.jpeg)
I've found that it's imperative to prioritize my health because if I don't, it becomes my priority BY DEFAULT and not in a good way.
I've experienced acute periods of poor health, 2.5 times in my life. Twice, my health was so poor, I was unable to do anything but focus on it. The 0.5 is because I finally recognized what I was doing, caught it, and walked it back.
Although I always tell my students you shouldn't "should" on yourself, your health is the one place I digress from that advice. In this "Season of Self-Care" I've been sharing all the ways I keep my health in top shape, but this column's focus is on movement.
Watch/Listen the podcast here: https://bywdreams.mailerpage.com/154
1) Start Small, Shoot for the Smallest Amount Possible: If you have a movement goal you aren't meeting, you might be shooting for something that is overly ambitious and your brain is dampening your motivation in order to save calories (I explain a lot more about why this is in the podcast which you can watch here: https://bywdreams.mailerpage.com/154)
Also, new studies have shown that even a small amount of movement, performed regularly, is good for you. This type of movement is called "Exercise Snacking" or "Movement Breaks". A 2024 study showed that performing ten squats every 45 minutes is as a good as a 30-minute walk in controlling blood sugar https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sms.14628. Another study from 2022 showed that walking for five minutes every 30 minutes will stabilize blood sugar, lower blood pressure by four to five points, and dramatically reduce post-meal glucose spikes by nearly 60%. https://www.irvinginstitute.columbia.edu/news/built-move-redefining-everyday-health
2) Schedule Your Movement and Write it Into Your Planner: You have to prioritize what's important to you, even (or maybe especially) self-care. If you keep putting something off as "I'll do it when I have time," it's probably not going to get done because "You have time now," doesn't just pop up to remind you to do those things you've been putting off. You need to prioritize your goals by putting the activities associated with them into your calendar.
I have a weekly game of tennis and 1-2x a week sunrise hikes that happen at regularly scheduled times every week. By putting them into my calendar, I dedicate that time to them and by having them be recurring events, it helps to automate my weekly schedule.
I also set an alarm on my phone to go off every 30 minutes so that I can get a "Movement Break" in and I always try to get my kiddo or hubs to join in the fun!
3) Find a Friend to Move With! When you make something fun, your brain prioritizes turning that activity into a habit. Because humans are social animals, adding a friend to the mix is usually a great way to up the fun factor. It also makes you accountable to someone else's schedule which also helps.
Watch/Listen the podcast here: https://bywdreams.mailerpage.c...
NEXT WEEK'S PODCAST TOPIC
05/07/26 Creativity as self-care: finding ways to express what's inside
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Season of Self-Care: https://bywdreams.mailerpage.com/seasonselfcare
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