It’s September - the start of many things, fall semester, new routines,
sweater weather, and the end of fun summer adventures. September is the harbinger
of lots of change in just a few weeks. Sometimes as life gets busy, we forget self-care,
especially making sure that we take time to get some exercise. This happens to
the best of us: school, work, family, friends, studying, Netflix, social media,
commuting, sleep, exercise, relaxing, etc … the list keeps going. When I get
too busy, I’m susceptible to hitting the couch with a good book when I get home
because I’m overwhelmed. It’s easy to feel
like you are running out of time in the day to keep up with everything, and that
you have to skip a thing or two on the list because something has to give.
The problem with skipping self-care and exercise is losing the balance
between working our brains and our bodies. Missing a day or two of working out can be
healthy for recovery, but when you miss being active too many times it can
affect you negatively. So how do you avoid this?
SCHEDULING
I avoid it by scheduling in self-care time and trying not miss it.
Scheduling self-care and exercise, just like a dentist appointment or class,
may seem like a lot of work but it doesn’t need to be. I don’t always make it
to the gym for weight training workouts but I don’t miss my Monday night dance
class, I walk for my errands every day, and I lead weekend Active KSA events
because I have them scheduled in.
You may be saying, that’s nice but I don’t have time for that. But, making
time to for self-care and exercise will actually give you more time in the day.
Taking time regularly for self-care and exercise helps your brain take a break
from the busyness of your day and lets your body get the workout it needs. Helping
you to sleep better, focus better, maintain your health, and overall boost your
mood.
APPS
There are tons of apps help you reach your exercise goals. The apps I
use are Google Fit and Carrot Rewards on my smartphone. Google Fit tracks your
movement and counts your steps. It can tell when you are walking, running, or
cycling fairly accurately. You can then add in all the other activities that
you do and then the app shows you your trends in activity reports. Google Fit
also connects to Carrot Rewards, which is a free app the BC Government made
that has little health quizzes and fitness challenges that allow you to earn
points for Scene, Petro-Points, Aeroplan Miles, and more. It became a game with
friends on who could get the highest amount of points by hitting our fitness
challenges. You can check out Carrot Rewards here: www.carrotrewards.ca/home/. There
are so many other apps out there that you can check out that might have the
right setup for you, such as a running app where you’re chased by zombies or
Strava which has tons of technical details about your exercise.
SELF-CARE CAN BE
SIMPLE
On days you can’t get a work out in, or you’re on a recovery day,
self-care can be simply stretching for a few minutes (outside for even more
benefits), going for a walk with a friend or spending time on a hobby you love.
If you miss a workout or self-care one day, don’t stress about it, just make
sure to get it in the next day. Avoid making yourself feel guilty, instead
focus on something else positive you achieved that day and try again
tomorrow.
As grey fall days start become the norm, it gets dark out earlier and
earlier, and the assignments start to pile up, make the time for self-care and
exercise so that you can make this your best fall yet.
If you need help
figuring out what to add as your self-care and exercise, checkout one of the
mental health events coming up this October at www.kusa.ca/calendar.html and you
can join our Active KSA events at www.kusa.ca/activeksa.
Take care of yourself and hope to see you soon!
-Tonya
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