Good physical and mental health go together, helping us to relax more, achieve more and enjoy our lives more. With this in mind, we’ve collated expert advice and practical tips from mindfulness practitioner Marina Thomas, to help you look after your wellbeing during these challenging times.

Approximately one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. According to mental health charity Mind, one in six people in England report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.

During these challenging times keeping motivated to work on both physical and mental health can feel like a challenge. Focus and routine are vital to staying productive and key to motivation. Routine enables our chosen and developed habits to look after us.

To kick-start a habit, start small and easy and make sure you reward yourself once it is completed. Look at our six steps to self-care and keeping motivated to help you along your journey.

1. Begin with your breathing

There is nothing more important than oxygen. It gives us life, brings calm, increases and improves memory. Watch the guided breathing space exercises below to get started.

Precor - A 3 Minute Breathing Space

 

Precor Mindfulness - 10 second Breathing Space

 

2. Upright positive posture

Stand up and take a positive empowering posture for two minutes (see example below). In that short time you will have raised your testosterone and lowered your cortisol levels. You’ll feel more able, confident and powerful and less scared and anxious.

You can put this into practice even when you’re on the phone or over video chats, where you will feel your increased confidence making a real difference.

Credit: Image by Nebraska Department of Education from Pixabay 

 

3. Have a plan and stick to it

Make your plan of what you are going to do each day – keep it under seven items to make the tasks feel achievable. More than seven items can be overwhelming and lead to procrastination.

4. Start small to overcome procrastination

If you have a report, presentation or a proposal to write, just begin with the title and the opening paragraph. Once you have completed the title and the first element of the task, however small, your motivation will increase.

If you have the urge to put it off until after your morning tea or coffee, flip it so that the drink comes after the small task. Often, you’ll find that you will get into a flow and do much more than you first intended.

Action creates motivation rather than motivation creating action. This is likened to how your body feels before you warm up for exercise, your muscles are cold and stiff and once you gradually warm up and flex your muscles the endorphins begin to kick in and you begin to feel more able.

5. Overcome distractions    

Every time you are distracted it takes time to get back into the rhythm of working. So, break the day up per hour to give yourself regular rest-time.

Consider either three blocks of 15 minutes plus a five-minute break or two blocks of 25 minutes with a five-minute break.

Commit to 15-25 minutes at a time and turn your notifications off for that time period. You can check your notifications in rest time.

6. You can handle it

Believe in yourself and your ability to help others. What you believe will affect the way that you feel and how you act. Consider:

• A year from now, what will you wish you had done today?
• At the end of today, what will you wish you had begun this morning?

You have all the skills you need to begin, what are you waiting for?

Precor is always here to support you. If you need any tips or advice, get in touch or follow us on social for the latest updates.

Author Information

Marina Thomas specialises in sales training for the Health and Fitness Industry. Providing leadership, management, negotiation and sales training at all levels of an organisation, from senior management to front line staff.

Marina has been instrumental in helping partners in the leisure industry internationally achieve and surpass their sales targets for over 25 years.

Alongside this Marina is a certified yoga instructor and hosts mindfulness sessions for peers within the industry to promote techniques for good physical and mental health.