How do you personally do your One Good Thing?

I’ve personally used this exercise to build up the right morning and lunchtime routines for me. I experimented with trying different things, working out what was working for me and what wasn’t, and then optimising from there – pushing myself only when I felt ready.

This doesn’t mean it’s all about being ‘healthy’. Time spent socialising with my partner and with friends is important to me. So my weekly plan includes at least two evenings out socialising, which are allowed to include alcohol. For me, the social benefits of having fun on an evening out with people I love outweigh the disadvantages of consuming food and drink that may be less than ideal.

Where I can, I make efficiencies. So, for example, investing in learning is important to me, so I allocate time for listening to audiobooks while I’m putting my make-up on in the morning, and on the days I travel into the office, I can do this while I commute also.

I always allow myself grace to not do it perfectly. I don’t beat myself up if I don’t do 100% of my ideal routine every day or week. Kindness to myself is part of my self-care routine. If today doesn’t go exactly as planned, then tomorrow’s a new day.

How has doing this changed your life?

I realised how to adjust my routine to optimise both my energy and my stress levels. If I want to build in activities that require energy and focus, then I need to do them in the first half of my day. I’m really up for pushing myself both mentally and physically in the morning, but in the evening I’m tired, and not great at pushing myself. So my focus then needs to be very much on unwinding.

The more I’ve worked on this, the more self-aware I’ve become. So if life starts to feel not quite right then I’m also now more quickly able to identify where I need to put effort in or make changes.

Most importantly, over time and with repetition of this approach, I feel in control of my life because it’s become well-aligned with my values and the things that are important to me. This has helped improve my self-esteem and reminds me that I am able to give myself new goals and achieve them.

One Good Thing: feel more in control by tailoring your weekly plan to your big goals