One of the biggest misconceptions about living a healthy lifestyle is that it is complicated and time consuming. The truth is that making healthier choices every day doesn’t require excessive amounts of time and it absolutely shouldn’t add more stress to your life. Too many people see health in black and white, thereby putting a lot of pressure on themselves to be “healthy” (after all, with this mindset, the only possible alternative is “unhealthy”). The thing is, health is not a dichotomy, and making healthier choices for your lifestyle is not only simpler than you may think – it’s way less time-consuming, too. Just a few small changes in your day-to-day can make a massive impact on your overall health and wellness. Today, we’re sharing some of our most useful busy-schedule-tested tips for prioritizing your health. Give them a try and let us know what you think. Let’s dive in.

“Meditation” can be quite an intimidating concept, but it’s actually one of the easiest and most beneficial practices to incorporate into your daily routine. The best part: you can start small. Try taking five minutes out of your day (anytime that works best for you is fine!) to sit alone in silence, without any technology, and focus on your breathing. (You can even use technology to turn on a guided meditation on an app like Calm or Headspace – that’s OK!) Studies have shown that daily meditation, even if it just lasts a few minutes, can do wonders to boost your mood, reduce stress, and even improve memory retention over time. Challenge yourself to do a daily meditation every day for a week; you might be surprised at how much it impacts your day.

For years, there has been debate about whether coffee is good or bad for health. It appears that coffee in moderation has health benefits. There are, however, studies indicating that excessive caffeine intake (that is, more than four 8-oz cups a day) can have adverse effects on your mood and overall health. Regardless, one thing is absolutely true: the liquid that you should be drinking the most of throughout the day is pure (filtered or spring) water. As a rule of thumb, try for eight 8-oz cups of water a day (that’s about half a gallon). It may sound intimidating, but try the old “out of sight, out of mind” rule: by keeping water near you at all times (and sugary or caffeinated drinks out of sight), you’ll make it far more likely that you reach your water consumption goals.

Drinking enough water is crucial for both your mental and physical health: it helps to regulate and maintain your energy levels, helps your digestion, improves organ health (including your skin), and boosts your immune system – among many, many other benefits. Drinking more water has no impact whatsoever on your schedule, but it has a monumental impact on your health.

Busy work days can make it tempting to reach for convenient snacks rather than take time out of your day to have a meal, but it’s so important to maintain a balanced diet every day. Try your hand at meal-prepping on a weekend day when you’re less busy; it’ll give you control over the meals you consume over the week, allowing you to make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need. If your schedule doesn’t allow for meal prepping, consider ordering meals from local restaurants or meal services that use fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Whatever approach works best for you, make sure that your lunch has a good balance of whole, unprocessed foods that contain protein (clean sourced meat and fish, beans, organic tofu/tempeh are great options), healthy fats (avocados, nuts, or olive oil, for example), whole unprocessed grains, and lots of fresh vegetables. Eating well-balanced meals daily is an extremely effective way to improve your energy levels and overall performance.

This doesn’t have to mean taking two hours of your day to go to the gym if that’s not something you want (or have time for). Try going for a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood after work (or even 10 minutes, if that’s all the spare time you have). Try some stretching and light yoga before bed, or go for a bike ride in the park. Of course, higher-intensity workouts like running and weightlifting are excellent options if you have time for them, but any time you make in your day for intentional movement is time well-spent: it helps to improve your cardiovascular health, strengthen your muscles and bones, elevate your mood, lower stress and anxiety, and help you get better sleep (among tons of other benefits). Get rid of the idea that exercise has to be intense or disruptive in order to make a difference in your life.

Maybe that means you read five pages of that novel you’ve been working on, or do some sketching that you haven’t done in a while. It could be as simple as watching a movie with your family – or maybe you really love to exercise and managed to get a bike ride in today. No matter what you love to do, take a few minutes out of your day to do it just for the sake of doing it. Treating yourself with small opportunities to do things you love is just as important for your overall well being as eating well or getting enough sleep. Even just five minutes spent doing something you truly enjoy is time well-spent. It helps to power you through the busiest days, giving you something to look forward to and an opportunity to wind down during even the most hectic work weeks. You deserve to put yourself first.

We know that the idea of “being healthier” can be intimidating (and it’s just vague enough to make it hard to know where to start), but by incorporating these small, doable things into even your busiest days, you’ll be well on your way. To learn more about the steps you can take to achieve holistic wellness,
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