The one thing preventing most entrepreneurs from living a healthy lifestyle is the lack of time.
There are a hundred things in the day that demand your attention. Things that are important now. Things that will move the needle.
Due to this constant attack on your most valuable resource, time, you are often left neglecting the truly important things such as your health.
Design your environment to shape your life
The choices we make in our life are largely influenced by our environments. If you are given a large plate at a buffet, you are likely to eat more than if you had a small plate. If a packet of sweets is within your reach while you work, you are likely to snack on them until they are done.
Supermarkets have long known the impact that the environment can have on you. It is no accident that your last couple of metres to the till are crammed with sweet things and low cost treats.
They know that you are more likely to buy something sweet and low cost when you are standing in the queue waiting to have your goods rung up.
So, if we know that design can have such a massive impact in our lives. Let’s use it to our advantage.
Health by design
1. Clean out your house
The first step is to clean out your house. Remove all the processed and junk foods. Ideally, you want to make sure that whenever you crave anything sweet that there is no way for you to get your fix without a lot of effort.
If your pantry is stocked with only healthy foods, you can satisfy your hunger without having to put much effort into the effect of the food.
2. Set alarms
One of the best hacks is to use your phone to set certain alarms for you during the day. Set your alarm to remind you to do simple things such as have a snack every three hours. Check that you are taking in enough water. Go outside for a stretch.
3. Prepare
Take a couple of minutes on a Sunday night and prepare a couple of quick meals for the next three days. Keep it simple. The meals can then be frozen for later use. If you have already prepped your meals, then you are less likely to stray from proper eating.
4. Use apps
You need to take frequent breaks from sitting at your desk all day long. Doing this reduces the horrific impact that sitting has on your body, and it can save you many aches and pains down the road.
Of course, once you get busy you completely forget to get up and stretch a bit. The fix is work with a Pomodoro timer. This is a nice little app that reminds you every 20 – 30 minutes to take a break.
5. Optimise your workspace
This is probably the easiest hack of all. You know you are going to be spending a lot of time sitting at your desk. So, make sure that it is optimally set up to support your body.
Make sure your back is well supported, your hips and elbows are at 90 degrees flexion, and your screen is at a height that prevents you from tilting your head to see the screen.
To design for an optimal life, think prevention. Anticipate how you will think, feel, and act in the future. Only when you have given some thought to the temptations and pitfalls in your life, can you plan for avoiding them.
