How to design a relaxation plan you can stick to

Making relaxation a part of your lifestyle

You know you need some respite from the stress of this crazy world. The full on demands of your job. The mountain of emails you plough through every evening to try and head off the next day’s avalanche. The chaos going on in your mind.

Maybe you’ve signed up for the gym or meditation classes but you haven’t managed to make it there with everything else you have going on. You know you need to relax but somehow it always ends up at the bottom of your to-do list.

Doing an hour of yoga or meditation every day sounds nice but it’s never going to happen. You get up early enough as it is and there’s no time when you get home. So what can you do to relieve stress and rebalance?

How to incorporate relaxation into an already full day

What do you do everyday which is none negotiable? You might get showered, eat breakfast, travel to work, go to meetings, sit at your desk, eat lunch, do more work, make a coffee, do more work, travel home, make dinner, eat dinner, do the washing, tidy up, watch TV.

Link relaxing to the things you know you’re going to do anyway

In the shower

I’m guessing you get showered most days right? How about incorporating a bit of mindfulness while you’re there? Paying attention to how the water feels against your skin, the texture of the shower gel and the noise of the water. You could even imagine the water nourishing you and energising you.

On your commute

You have to go to work right? How about incorporating relaxing into your commute? Get off the tube a stop earlier and walk the last part or listen to a podcast while you’re on the train.

On the loo

At some point in the day you’re definitely going to have to go to the loo. Could you do a five minute breathing exercise like 7-11 while you’re sitting there?

Having lunch

How about making sure you make yourself a tasty lunch for work and mindfully eating it and enjoying all the flavours.

Coffee time

You could turn 3 o’clock coffee into a mindful moment, feeling the weight, warmth and texture of the cup, smelling the coffee, noticing how it feels in your mouth. The bonus is you will enjoy it more as well as feeling more relaxed.

You don’t have to dedicate vast amounts of time or completely change your lifestyle to relax more. Little and often goes a long way to make a more relaxed and happier you.