The Four Keys to Your Best Decade Ever: Wellness

Editor's Pick

Part One

If I could boil down all the ah-ha moments, epiphanies, and breakthrough ideas for this the 20-teens, the one-word-take-away would be simplicity. The clearest, most productive and joyful moments were always the ones that were uncomplicated, easy, and no-frills. Working through dozens and dozens of the top systems, hacks, and picks of industry gurus to living your best life, I have discovered that my highest achieving and happiest self thrives on a pared-down version of whatever the recommendation is. It takes me less brain space, causes less decision overwhelm, and allows me to move ahead tackling my goals and pursuing my dream life. I wish I realized this a long time ago (it would have saved me so much time and frustration) but! I get to pass this on to you and so you can enjoy all of these golden nuggets of wisdom and slide into the new decade ahead of the curve!

Welcome to our four-part series called The 4 Keys to Making the 2020s Your Best Decade Ever. I have distilled all the best truth-bombs and top advice into four categories dished up in bite-sized blog posts that will be dripped every week this month. We are going to talk Wellness, Mindfulness, Beauty, and Style during this series from the perspective of SIMPLICITY.

Wellness

Rest and White Space

Your health depends on rest and white space. If you’ve ever experienced a burnout that resulted in you ending up in bed for days or even the hospital, you understand this intimately. Maybe you don’t have personal experience with working so hard that your body shuts down, forcing you to rest, but you might have heard of someone else going through this. 

Giving your mind and body time to rest can be extremely difficult, especially for high achieving and goal-oriented women. We are used to doing all the things, going from prepping meals and laundry in the morning, hustling at work, and putting time into book clubs, community service projects, and personal projects at night and on the weekends. If you stop or slow down, you know the whole house of cards will come tumbling down. So you keep the pedal mashed down to the floor and you keep going, sacrificing a good night’s sleep, eating well, or allowing time to exercise.

How long do you think you can keep that up before you feel sick, empty, and tired all the time? Some can go a few weeks, some can go for three months, some can go break-neck for a year, but eventually, your body will reach burn out. It all comes screeching to a halt. Then, that precariously built house of cards starts to fall, and your immediate circle has to come to the rescue for you when they have no experience doing it. 

Instead, plan for your rest. Actually block it off in your calendar. It helps to know what makes to feel inspired, happy, and rested. Then you can plan for a massage, a hike, lunch with the girls, a DIY day, trip to the farmer’s market, or retreat throughout your month.

Studies have shown that long breaks stretching beyond two weeks actually have diminishing returns on your productivity and innovation upon your return to work. 

>>Shorter and more frequent breaks help you reset and heal. Around 4 days to a week. Having only ever taken long two-week vacations only one time a year for the past decade, I am excited to try this new model.

I know that when I return from a long vacation, it is difficult to get back into the swing of things and that holiday vibe quickly fades away. It doesn’t take long for it to feel like I never had a vacation at all and craving a break again. And I intimately know the second wind I experience when I know a break is coming. I feel like I tapped into a secret energy power plant and I can give more knowing that I’ll be able to rest soon.

Benefits of allowing rest:

• Increased productivity
• Increased innovation
• Increased ability to collaborate
• Improved mood and moral

That’s a good looking list. I think with 4 to 6 day breaks that happen every few months, I’ll be able to keep up a steadier stronger pace in work and side projects, I’ll have more innovative ideas, and be happier to help others along the way. I am expecting only positive things from this new scheduling system.