If you’re just joining the Bare Minimum Mondays posts, here’s the premise…
Action always gets more results than ideas. (Related to this: the thing you do is better than the thing you don’t do, progress is better than perfection, consistency, even with something small, is more effective than occasional bursts of excellence).
Every Monday, we send out things to try in four areas: movement (exercise), nutrition, sleep, and stress management. These are, without question, the four most powerful tools available for tackling a massive number of maladies. The goal isn’t for you to do all of them forever. It’s not even for you to do all of them this week. The goal is to give you enough things to try that you can find a couple that stick, and then for you to have some intentionality in each of those areas that you can stick with for the rest of your life.
Take what you need, discard the rest.
Let’s get into it.
Move
Do 15 jumping jacks before starting work (or 25 or 50). In addition to habit stacking and getting in more movement in a day, a study in Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport suggests that short bursts of activity improve focus and alertness. Read more HERE.
Eat
Try eating one meal without distractions (no phone, no TV, no books). Eating with some mindfulness seems to increase meal satisfaction and helps prevent overeating. Read more HERE.
Sleep
Avoid alcohol close to bedtime. Even though it often makes people drowsy, alcohol reduces critical REM sleep and worsens sleep quality. Read more HERE.
Manage
Declutter one small space—like a drawer or desktop. Cluttered environments are regularly associated with higher stress levels. Read more HERE.