Spring Cleaning

We are well and truly into Spring, and Summer is only a few weeks away, but have you done your Spring clean yet? Have you made time for it? And I'm not talking about your usual Spring clean. You know the one I mean - clean out the linen closet, your wardrobe, wash everything, do the windows, declutter the house. No not that one. The one I am talking about is YOU.

The one where you check in on yourself. To see how you are operating day to day and whether you are looking after your most important person - YOU. Now a lot of us have other people in our lives that need our love, care and attention. Maybe its a spouse, partner, children, siblings, grandparents, parents, or neighbours. But, if you are not looking after yourself, it can be very hard to be offering assistance to those who are dear to us and need us.

It's not selfish putting yourself first. It's both admirable and responsible.

So how does a Spring clean of ourselves look like?

First, I would suggest having a look at your day to day schedule. How are your days spent? Is it rushing from one thing to another without any pause, anytime to even breathe? Breakfast for the family, school drop off, work, work, work, school pick up, then sports training, music lessons, groceries, other appointments, play dates, dinner, bath/showers, pets, bed, bit of sleep and wake to do it all again.

In your day to day activities, are you making time for yourself - to exercise, relax, eat and sleep? If not, what do you need to do to address this? What changes need to be made?

I would also suggest looking at your eating habits. Do you eat regularly? Are you getting the recommended serves of fruit, vegies each day? What about protein, fibre and healthy fats? For professional advice, I would recommend talking to a qualified Nutritionist or Dietitian.

What about sleep? Do you get enough? Is it quality sleep? Have a look a your bed time routine and decide if that's affecting your sleep quality.

Next, I would suggest looking at screen time.

Do you know how much time you spend scrolling? Watching YouTube or Netflix? Do you allow yourself to digitally switch off at anytime during the day? Or even the week?

Maybe as part of your Spring clean, you could keep a screen journal for one day to see when you are online, and for how long. You might be surprised at how much extra time you could create in your day by reducing screen time.

Who do you hang around? Is it people who are positive, build you up and encourage you to grow and challenge yourself? Or is it negative people, who can be discouraging, draining and even suffocating? The people we spend time with, can have a huge impact on how we live our lives and what we achieve in life. Use this Spring clean to look at your circle of friends, work collegues, (and even family members), and make it a goal to spend more time with those who are in your corner.

Spring is a great time to visit your goals. What is it you want to achieve in life, work, fitness and health? Are you currently working towards a goal? If so, have a look now at how that is progressing. Decide what is working or not working, and make the necessary adjustments. If you don't have any goals, set some. Start small, and build momentum towards a bigger goal. Remember, nothing grows inside our comfort zone. By challenging ourselves, we are encouraging our personal growth, and becoming a better person.

Spring is the time of year where everything starts to look and feel fresher. Colours start appearing in gardens, the days generally offer more blue skies, the days are longer so there is more sunshine, and we start to feel more energized. So it makes perfect sense to build on that, create some momentum and make sure we are ready to take full advantage of the

days, weeks and months ahead. By doing so, we can declutter our lives, create more energy for ourselves and move towards being a happier, more energized and positive person, not only for ourselves, but for everyone around us.

Happy Spring Cleaning!

Be Active,

Andrew