Creating a wellness checklist can help you bridge the gap between the life you have and the life you want.
I’m going to talk about how to create a wellness checklist, as well as help you fit it into your busy life and make it sustainable.
Why bother with this?
The short answer is this; without intention, it will not happen.
There are a lot of things you’d like to do and have as part of your life, but your life gets in the way of doing and having them. The only way that’s going to change is if you get intentional about what you want your life to look like. Once you’ve figured that out, then it’s figuring out how to make it a reality.
Whenever something is important and happens regularly, a checklist helps ensure its completion. Your wellness is important and should be attended to daily. Therefore, a checklist is needed.
I’m going to take you through six steps to create your wellness checklist
- Figure out what you want your wellness to regimen to be
- Decide on which activities will be a part of your regimen
- Evaluate your current situation
- Figure out what changes are needed to make your regimen a reality
- Begin implementing and systematizing your regimen
- Get the resources you need
Figure out what you want your wellness to regimen to be
Setting an intention is the first step in getting what you want. Getting out of debt, having a better relationship with your significant other, and losing 20 pounds are all great desires which require intention to accomplish.
Perhaps you’d like to get past a chronic condition, improve your current situation, or simply maintain where you’re at. Think about and decide what you want.
Regarding wellness, you need to determine what you want in three areas; mind, body and spirit.
As you’re thinking about what you want, be sure it’s attainable. For example, if you’re not currently reading at all, reading a book a week is probably not realistic.
Keep this in mind; you’re working to establish your initial wellness checklist. Once you’ve made it a part of your life, you can continue adding and improving it.
Think about your wellness in these three areas:
Mind. Think about and write down what you’d like to accomplish for your mental health and wellbeing.
Body. Think about and write down what you’d like to accomplish for your physical health and wellbeing.
Spirit. Think about and write down what you’d like to accomplish for your spiritual health and wellbeing.
Decide on which activities will be a part of your regimen
Now that you’ve thought about what you want to accomplish in those three areas, think about the activities you’ll engage in to make it happen. I’ve listed some common considerations to prompt your thinking.
Mind
What are you interested in learning for the sake of learning? Perhaps there’s a new hobby you’ve been thinking about, a new language you’d like to learn, or you simply like to read more consistently.
How can you be more aware of your emotional state and or triggers? Being aware of your negative thoughts, when they come up and working to recognize their cause can be helpful in getting to the root cause.
Who can you talk with to better manage your anxiety and stress? Having open conversations with a good friend, professional counselor or therapist can be helpful in managing stress and anxiety.
Body
How much sleep would you like to be getting? This depends on your age and other variables, but at least 7 hours a night is recommended.
Are you drinking enough water? It’s recommended that men drink at least 16 cups a day and women drink at least 12 cups a day.
What kind of exercise would you like to do and how often? This is highly subjective, but doing a physical activity is a good daily habit.
Spirit
Would you like to journal or practice gratitude? Journaling is the simple practice of thinking about what you’re thinking about and writing it down. Gratitude can be as simple as thinking about three things you’re thankful for.
Would you like to meditate or practice mindfulness? There are many ways to meditate and be mindful. Some people prefer to sit quietly, while others enjoy more active, meditative activities like gardening,
Would you like to practice a religion or focus on spirituality? Many people derive peace of mind from prayer or other religious and spiritual practices.
Catch all
What would you like to do to relax throughout the day? Taking a walk in the morning or evening, or having a cup of tea at the end of the day can soothe our bodies, minds and spirits.
Would you like to spend more time outside? The simple act of being outdoors can promote wellbeing in all three areas.
What activities could serve every aspect of your wellbeing? Think about things you’ve always enjoyed doing like a game or hobby.
Your current situation
You’ve thought about the life you want as well as the various activities you’d like to engage in. Now it’s time to examine your current situation.
Mind. What are you currently giving your attention to and filling your head with? Screen time, social media, gaming and fantasy football dominate much of our downtime.
Body. What’s your current physical state and diet and exercise regime?
Spirit. How are you currently caring for your peace of mind and how would you rate your current state?
Figure out what changes are needed to make your regimen a reality
Whenever we’re trying to make a transformational change, it’s important to take an integrated approach to solving the problem(s).
As we go through a process like this, we often encounter a scarcity of time, attention and money. When this happens, I find it helpful to ask “Is it possible to create more of what is needed, or to live on less?” For example, if you’re not financially successful, is it possible to make more money, or will you need to figure out how to live on less?
In terms of time, is it possible to find more time, or will you need to figure out how to do more within the time you have? You can “find” more time by waking up earlier or staying up later. You can do more with the time you have by reducing or eliminating current activities.
You have 24 hours to spend everyday. How are you currently spending yours? The only way to figure this out is to audit your time.
By “audit your time” I mean looking back over your day and writing how you actually spend your time. This practice will help you to know if you’ll need to find more time or do more in the time that you have.
Whenever I encourage people to audit their time, they’re commonly surprised by how much time they waste.
How to audit your time
Print out or find a blank calendar, or simply get a blank piece of paper and write the time you wake up and the time you go to sleep. Go back through your activities at midday and at the end of day, writing everything you did (or didn’t do) during that time. Do this for a week and be brutally honest with yourself.
When you have a sense of what you’re spending your time on, what will you do? Do you have enough time to add your desired new activities?
If not, will you wake up earlier, go to bed later? Will you cut out certain activities? Perhaps a combination of both?
Not sure if you should cut something out? try to cut the activity out for a month. If you find you miss it, you can always add it back in.
Again, this is all about intention. You decided what you truly wanted, now it’s a matter of figuring out how you’re going to fit it in.
Begin implementing and systematizing your regimen
You’ve thought about and figured out what you want and what changes you’ll need to make. Now it’s time to solidify what you want your days, weeks and months to look like.
Some of your activities will be done daily, some weekly and some monthly. I want you to think about building yourself a perfect day, week, and month.
Find a new blank calendar and complete the next three steps.
Your daily checklist. We have the most control over the times we go to bed and the times we wake up. Along with your bed and wake times, you can create additional habits around those times. Which of your desired activities can you schedule during these times? Write them on your calendar.
Next, write your other essential obligations (work and family).
From there, determine when you can begin incorporating more of your desired wellness activities into your daily calendar and block out time for their completion.
Your weekly checklist. For those activities that won’t occur daily, make sure you find time for them during the week. For example, perhaps you’ll go to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Your monthly checklist. Certain activities will only happen monthly, make sure you make time for them.
You’ll have written what you’d like your days, weeks and months to look like. You’ll know what time you’ll wake and go to sleep, and what changes you’ll need to make to create room for your desired activities.
Finally, once you’ve created your written calendar, transfer into the calendar you use to manage your life. If it’s digital, put it there. If it’s a written calendar, put it there.
When we have activities booked on our calendars, we are less likely to bump them when life’s emergencies come up.
Once you’ve completed this, your calendar will become your wellness checklist.
Get the resources you need
New learning. You may need to learn how to meditate or lift weights. Whatever your desired activities, figure out what new knowledge you’ll need and figure out how to get it.
Patience. This is not a game of perfect and you’ll need to give yourself grace and room to mess up. When you do, remind yourself it’s perfectly human to do so and get back on track as soon as possible.
Support. We have a lot of wonderful resources in our community. Check out our courses to level up, or have a no-cost chat with one of our coaches to help you create your wellness checklist.
You’re worth the effort it will take to make this happen. You can do it!
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