Living a balanced life and maintaining a consistent wellness routine are essential for overall health and wellbeing. But what exactly constitutes a “wellness routine”? Generally speaking, a wellness routine refers to the habits, behaviors, and activities that someone engages in regularly to support their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. This can encompass everything from regular exercise, to eating nutritious meals, to making time for hobbies and social connection. The key is that these practices become ingrained into your daily and weekly routines.
When we have an imbalance in our wellness routine – for example, focusing intensely on work while neglecting exercise and social activities – it can negatively impact our health and quality of life. Alternatively, when we are intentional about incorporating wellness activities covering multiple aspects of our lives, we are more likely to feel fulfilled, energized, and able to manage life’s stressors.
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of what constitutes a balanced wellness routine, discuss the different dimensions of wellness, and offer actionable strategies for improving your wellbeing in a holistic manner. When thoughtfully and consistently applied, these best practices will help you on your journey towards greater harmony in both your wellness routine and in life.
Understanding the Wellness Wheel
One useful framework for conceptualizing a balanced wellness routine is the wellness wheel. This model divides overall wellbeing into eight interconnected dimensions:
Emotional wellness
Social wellness
Intellectual wellness
Spiritual wellness
Physical wellness
Occupational wellness
Environmental wellness
Financial wellness
The visual of a wheel demonstrates how each dimension contributes to overall wellness and quality of life. No one dimension is isolated from the others; they dynamically overlap and influence each other. For example, challenges in your financial situation can stir up negative emotions, impact your social life, and create occupational instability. Or, conversely, cultivating your intellectual curiosity and physical vitality may help you emotionally reframe challenges and strengthen your career.
The key takeaway is that you must nurture each dimension of the wellness wheel if you want to achieve balance. Let’s explore some of the core dimensions and how to cultivate them.
Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness refers to your ability to understand, accept, express, and manage your emotions in a constructive way. Signs that your emotional health may need attention include being easily stressed, having low self-esteem, dwelling on the negative, or struggling to identify and communicate what you’re feeling.
Here are some strategies for strengthening your emotional intelligence and resilience:
- Seek counseling or therapy to gain insight into your mental and emotional patterns
- Practice mindfulness techniques like meditation, deep breathing, and yoga
- Develop your emotional vocabulary and regularly check in with how you are feeling
- Maintain a gratitude journal to shift perspective from negative to positive
- Prioritize self-care activities that help you destress and recharge
- Set healthy boundaries and limits to protect your mental energy
Social Wellness
Humans are inherently social creatures, which is why nurturing your social wellness is critical. Social wellness refers to the relationships, social activities, and community engagement that bring you support, friendship, and sense of belonging. If you notice your social life declining, make an effort to:
- Reach out to friends and family you’ve lost touch with
- Join clubs, classes, or volunteer groups to meet people who share your interests
- Schedule one-on-one quality time with important people in your life
- Share your feelings and provide emotional support to nurture deeper bonds
- Limit time spent isolated behind screens to truly connect with others
- If needed, seek counseling to work through relationship challenges or communication issues
Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual wellness refers to the degree you engage your mind through creative, stimulating mental activities. Are you in the habit of learning new skills, reading books that fascinate you, challenging your beliefs, or solving puzzles? Or do you find yourself stuck in a mental rut doing the same routine tasks each day? Boost your intellectual drive by:
- Taking a class that sparks your curiosity – perhaps coding, painting, or a foreign language
- Reading books, articles, or listening to podcasts about new topics
- Having discussions that inspire fresh ways of thinking
- Doing brain teasers and puzzles to strengthen your critical thinking
- Looking for intellectual stimulation in your job by taking on new projects or learning skills
- Questioning assumptions and being open to new philosophies and ideas
Physical Wellness
Physical wellness is exactly what is sounds like – the vitality, health, and capabilities of your body. This dimension is often the easiest to overlook, especially if you have a sedentary job. But routinely engaging in movement and nutrition will amplify all other areas of your wellbeing. Try these tips:
- Exercise 20-30 minutes most days of the week – walk, swim, lift weights, play a sport
- Incorporate more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins into your diet
- Drink more water and less sugary/highly caffeinated beverages
- Stretch daily to improve mobility and prevent injury
- Get 7-8 hours of quality sleep per night
- Take regular breaks when working to avoid bodily strain
- Listen to your body’s needs for rest and activity
Occupational Wellness
Occupational wellness refers to satisfaction and enrichment gained from your job or career. Ideally, your work provides both financial security and personal meaning. Warning signs of poor occupational wellness include feeling unfulfilled, bored, or burned out at work. You can improve your occupational wellbeing through:
- Exploring career paths aligned with your values and interests vs. salary alone
- Setting meaningful goals that motivate you in your current role
- Taking on new challenges and projects to spark passion
- Practicing mindfulness if tasks seem mundane or repetitive
- Requesting a modified work schedule if burnout is mounting
- Trying hobbies outside work that tap into your creative side
Spiritual Wellness
Whether religious or secular, spiritual wellness represents your sense of meaning and purpose in life. Engaging in contemplative practices and feeling connected to things larger than yourself can enrich other areas of life. Some options for cultivating spiritual wellness include:
- Spending time in nature and appreciating your place in the universe
- Looking for meaning in your daily tasks by aligning work with personal values
- Exploring your religious heritage and participating in a faith community
- Trying spiritual practices like prayer, meditation, yoga, or tai chi
- Keeping a sense of wonder about the world through philosophy, art, poetry
- Identifying what makes life meaningful for you personally
Balancing Work, Life, and Self-Care
In today’s hustle culture, balancing your occupational duties with nurturing personal wellness can be challenging. The demands of work, family, and other obligations often lead to burnout. That’s why seamlessly integrating self-care practices into your weekly routine is key for harmony.
Time Management
A time audit can work wonders. Track how you spend each hour of your day for a week. Look for opportunities to consolidate tasks and free up time for wellness activities most important to you. Schedule exercise, meal planning, social events, hobby time, and sleep as you would work meetings – put them on the calendar and treat them as priorities.
Mindfulness at Work
Even simple practices can center you during hectic workdays. Try taking three deep breaths before tackling overwhelming projects. Go for a short walk mid-day to refresh your focus. Or spend a few minutes before work doing light yoga or meditation. Setting short-term “process” goals versus long-term outcomes can also minimize daily anxiety.
Supportive Environment
Advocate for structures at work that reinforce wellbeing. Organize office walking groups, standing/stretch breaks, or yoga classes. Encourage healthy snacks in meetings versus donuts. Appeal to decision makers – more employee vacation time and flexible policies could prevent turnover and loss of talent.
Resilience & Self-Care
Managing stress amid competing demands is an art. Reflect on times you’ve rebounded from setbacks or heavy workloads. What helped at those times? Can those same strategies prepare you now? Everyone has unique methods of self-care to build resilience – make sure yours are woven into each week. And don’t forget to celebrate small wins and milestones along the journey.
Conclusion
Living with balance and intention is an ongoing process. But by understanding the interconnected wellness wheel, you can identify areas of your routine needing attention. Start by selecting 1-2 dimensions to focus on improving for a month through foundational strategies. Small steps towards greater harmony cumulate over time into lasting change. As your physical vitality, mental engagement, social ties, sense of purpose and more are strengthened, you’ll feel empowered to thrive in all facets of work and life. Keep flexing the resilience muscle and progress will come – you’ve got this!
