Overcoming Bad Habits in a Global Pandemic
In March 2020, my family suffered an unexpected tragedy the same week that the United States went into lockdown. And thus began one of the most emotionally taxing years of both my personal life and my work life. While I consider myself extremely lucky to have kept my job, as a health care worker, I have felt like, somehow, I am both a hero and a villain. Because I know you lived through this shit show, too, I won’t bore by droning on and on. But, predictably, my year sucked.
And while I tried really hard to keep up with my mental health maintenance, somewhere around Thanksgiving, things started slipping for me. I was struggling to stay positive. And the mental energy I was expending to get to work with a packed lunch and wearing clean clothes left little room for anything else.
Housework, blogging, and relationships were beyond the reach of my exhausted soul. I really hit a slump in January. Nothing felt worth doing. My old frienamies, anxiety and depression, had come to pay a visit. And when they moved in, self-care, self-love, and peace of mind went out the window.
Resilience is a muscle and this muscle was put to the test this past year. And I got muscle fatigue. Resilience fatigue. I got sick of being strong -strong for my family, strong for my friends, strong for my co-workers . I just wanted to be sad. I wanted to break down. I wanted to be taken care of instead of taking care of others but I felt a huge amount of guilt around this need to stop and slow down. And that’s when I knew I need a break. I needed to step back and take care of myself. The reality is that we are not Energizer Bunnies - we cannot keep going forever without stopping. If you are experiencing resilience faitgue, it’s time to reign it in and prioritize rest (check out the links above to dive deeper into recognizing fatigue and treating yourself).
I wanted to get back on track but I knew that big shifts were likely to fail - I was too far into the rabbit hole of that couch potato life. So, I broke my goals down into baby steps - progressive, small steps towards my ultimate goal.
Bad Habit: Staying Up Way Too Late
Goal: 8 Hours of Sleep
I read this article about revenge sleep procrastination and I related - hard. I was averaging 5 hours of sleep a night because I was staying up super late scrolling the ‘Gram. It was a habit I knew - consciously understood - as I was doing it, that it was having a detrimental effect on my health but I. Could. Not. Stop. Once I came to terms with the habit and was able to put a name to it, I felt ready to over come it. To get from staying up til 3AM to getting a full 8 hours of sleep was going to take work.
Baby steps:
Set a realistic “bedtime” - I don’t get home from work until 11:45PM. So, I set a goal of 1AM.
Stop with the judgement. Just being in bed at 1AM was a huge improvement. I didn’t pass any judgement on myself if I didn’t fall asleep right away but I committed to lights off and phone away. Falling asleep quickly got easier as I continued sticking to my bed time.
Transition the vibes. I was consuming media straight up until the time that I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. So, going to bed in absolute silence wasn’t working and I had to recreate the vibe with low-level noise. Pick something you’re not interested like these ambient sounds. My current goal is to decrease my dependence on these tools and to transition to a completely silent room at bedtime but do what works best for you.
Stick to it. Change won’t happen overnight. Don’t give up. Good sleep is worth the effort. Don’t believe me. Listen to this episode of the Joe Rogen Experience on sleep habits and long term health effects.
Bad Habit: Eating out of alignment with my goals
Goal: Balance and intuitive eating
Meal prep. I never fell out of the habit of meal prepping for work but on my days off, I had no motivation to cook and nothing prepared. It was easiest to grab a box of Mac and cheese or order takeout. Time to make a plan and know my limits. I’m not into cooking 4 course meals right now but if I do a little planning I can make myself some turkey tacos or a hummus wrap.
Plan ahead. Going the grocery store on Sunday afternoon is just not something I can handle right now. Those crowds get me. It’s important for me to plan ahead to ensure I can either do a grocery pick up or go to the store at time that will be less busy so I don’t get overwhelmed.
Hydration. Why is it so hard to drink the right amount of water? I have no idea why it requires so much effort but for me, it does. I have to work to get in my 64 oz per day. Getting in to the habit of ensuring my Brita pitcher and ice cube trays are always full and having a good water bottle hand at all times help take some of the stress out of my hydration routine.
Do the work. I’m still learning how to listen to my body. I have to remember to keep seeking resources, spiritual homework, and guidance. I need to keep up with my self-directed training and seek help when I feel stuck.
Bad Habit: Finding any excuse to skip a workout
Goal: Move 150 minutes per week
No excuses. To get back on track with my movement goals, I had to excuse proof my routine. For me, this means having a subscription to trainer-lead classes (I use the Peloton app), a small home gym set up, a class pass to my favorite studio, and enough leggings to clothe an entire SoulCyle class (because who does laundry on regular basis? Certainly not me!). Between my Peleton app, studio class pass, and the great outdoors, I have access to a huge variety of workouts. Even if I can’t motivate myself to hop on the bike, I can usually convince myself to do a 20 minute yoga flow. I have enough equipment (most of which I picked up at Target!) to complete a variety of strength workouts in my living room. And a never ending supply of leggings so I never wake up with nothing to wear for my workout.
Making compromises with myself. When I’m lying in bed thinking, a 50 minute cycle class sounds like a straight up terror, I tell myself - let’s just get there. If I’m too worn out/tired/stressed/upset/not feeling it, I can just leave. There is no judgement. Guess what, 99.999999% of the time, I stay the whole time. But when I really need to, I leave. Because I listen to my body. And most of the time, my body is capable of more than my mind gives it credit for. Commit to showing up for your work out. And stop if it isn’t working. This builds trust between your body signals and your mind.
Plan ahead. I could spend 30 minutes scrolling the Pelaton app looking for classes I “feel like” doing. Girl, you aren't fooling anyone. You are procrastinating! I take some time at the beginning of the week to bookmark a few cycling, a few strength, and a few yoga classes that look good to me. Limit the choices because decision making can be taxing. The fewer decisions I need to make before I start working out - the better.
These 3 habits are just the tip of iceberg but that’s where I knew I needed to start. And I hope that my method of breaking things down into actionable steps towards my ultimate goals is helpful to you. Are there any goals you’re working on right now? What do you do when you feel stuck in your goals?
Tell me all about it in the comments below. Ask questions. Share your tips! Can’t wait to hear from you!
