We all know life feels easier and less stressful when you’re organised. Being organised can even help you to stay on track with your goals. By taking the time to not only plan your week ahead but also track your results you can influence healthy behaviour changes, as well as increase your satisfaction levels and a sense of achievement. Here are 5 easy tips to help you organise your way to a happier and healthier life.
1. Set and track your goals, and celebrate when you achieve them
Set yourself a series of short and long term goals that you wish to achieve. They can be as simple as going for a short walk every afternoon, or more long term like losing 10kg. It’s important to celebrate your achievements with rewards – things like a new book or a massage are great incentives.
2. Pre-plan your meals and organise your week ahead
Taking the time to pre-prepare some of your meals and snacks before the start of the week will help stave off those temptations and keep you on track when the working week starts. Purchase your weekly fruit and veggies on Sunday afternoon and spend some time cutting up veggies for salad and roasting veggies for dinner ready for the week ahead. You’ll save time on dinner prep and eat a lot healthier this way. At Jenny Craig we do the hard work for you, providing you with nutritionally-balanced, pre-prepared meals that make it so easy to eat healthy. Find out more about our ready-made menu here.
3. Keep track of your water intake
Our body is made up of 70% water so we need to ensure we also stay hydrated. Not only does water carry important nutrients to our cells, it also helps to cushion our joints, aids digestion and regulates our body temperature. Water is also a great energy booster – thirst and dehydration can make you sluggish and irritable. We should aim to drink approximately 2 litres of water daily, but if you exercise a lot, or the weather is warm you may have higher water requirements.
- Keep a bottle or glass of water on your desk at work
- Keep a bottle of water in your bag and in the car for when you’re travelling
- Set an alarm on your phone or computer to remind yourself to drink a glass of water
- Put a jug of water on the dinner table each night
- Flavour your water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime or add ice cubes made from fresh fruit
- Give one of our infused water recipes a try!
- Track your water intake in your diary, and give yourself a tick for hydration after you drink each glass
4. Track your activity
Whether it’s as simple as increasing your daily steps or adding a new exercise class to your schedule, it is important that you track your activity. Not only is it a great way to motivate and challenge yourself it’s also a great way to reflect on how far you have come. Some great ways to stay on top of your activity and plan ahead are:
- At the start of every week look at your schedule and realistically plan your activity. Block out time in your calendar to go for a walk or book into a class, this will help ensure you can fit exercise in even with a busy schedule. For great tips to easily fit exercise into your schedule click here.
- Start using a pedometer or fitness tracker – most smartphones will track your daily steps, but there are also a variety of apps available to download that will assist in tracking activity. This is a really easy way to ensure you are getting in the recommended 10,000 steps a day.
- Sign up for a challenge at your gym or local club. This will be a great motivator and ensure you have others around you that can offer support and motivation.
- Start a steps/activity competition with friends and family. It’s a great way to get everyone up and moving and striving to reach their new fitness goals. Click here for more ideas on starting a family fitness challenge.
- Again, journals are a fantastically creative way to keep track of your intake. You can create a calendar or graph that maps your steps and activity.
5. Write it down
Taking the time to sit and write it down is a great way to get motivated. Whether you track your goals and achievements on a calendar, whiteboard, in a diary or journal, documenting your journey and plan is key to staying on track and offers a great tool for reflection. Write down what you want to achieve and track your success as you go, you will be surprised how fun it is to look back and see how far you have come.
To start your Jenny Craig journey get started here.
