Remote Wellness and Morning Habits with Myriam Robinson and Ali Krupnik
Remote Wellness and Morning Habits with Myriam Robinson and Ali Krupnik
On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Myriam Robinson, Financial Trainer, and she is joined by her client, Ali Krupnik, founder of My Well Co, and they are going to talk about remote wellness and morning habits.
Podcast Notes
Work-life balance to Ali means taking care of yourself and not constantly feeling like you are burned out. This includes having time to set boundaries each day and do the things that inspire you.
According to Myriam’s therapist, depression is more in your mind, but burnout is more physical.
There is a balance between burnout and Zoom fatigue. Not having enough downtime from screens can also cause fatigue.
You deserve to have time to yourself. If you don’t believe you are worth taking time off, it is going to be hard to set yourself up for success.
The first realization is finding out what is important to you that will help you become a better person at work and in life. The second realization is feeling empowered to design your day around what makes you happy.
Fill yourself up before serving other people. For Ali, this means taking the first hour of the day not checking email, but being in control of how she starts her day. When you sign off for the day, review what went well and what you are going to focus on tomorrow to set yourself up for success.
If you are a manager, take a pause and realign your team to figure out what will set them up for success while working remotely. Most of us fell into this and there was no guidance on what this looked like. Take the time to address the different situations people are in, so they aren’t always on.
Ask yourself if something requires a video call or if it could be an email. Be intentional on the forced screen time you are using with your teams. We don’t need to default to 30 minutes or an hour, you can set up less time to give everyone more time to transition to their next meeting. Stick to the time limit.
Have conversations with your team about what would be helpful to them and how you as a manager can support them or advocate for what you need as an employee. This could include a corporate wellness programs. If you are a healthier person and your mind/body/soul is aligned, it will positively affect your productivity. Wellness and productivity go hand-in-hand.
When you are not as productive as you feel you should have been, it is easier to let your boundaries go out the window. It is a ripple effect, because it can then affect your eating habits and sleep. Set yourself up for success and realize you won’t be productive every single hour of your day. Every day is a new day.
Determine what is in your control and what is out of your control. A focus cocoon is a 90-minute, deep work session you break up into three tasks of 30 minutes. Get up and move and stretch every 25 minutes. This will help you feel more in control and be more effective. Ali uses brain.fm for her focus cocoon time.
Your work-at-home setting is directly correlated with your productivity and your wellness. Shannan Slevin of Wellfest recommends that you make sure your laptop is an arms length away and positioned at eye level. Have your arms and legs at 90 degree angles.
Do micro steps. This may mean waking up a little earlier. You will feel better if you give yourself some time before signing on to work.
Seven principles for establishing a morning routine:
Begin with an evening practice
Skip the snooze button
Keep it simple
Forget perfect
It isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach
Your routine should fit into any environment
Find your why
Ali’s why for her morning routine is that it is helpful for her energy and it reduces tension and stress that causes migraines. Myriam why is to have peace before her workday and time to do whatever she wants.
Ali has caffeine every day, through matcha. Sleeping, coffee, and caffeine dehydrate you. Have water first and then transition into caffeine. Caffeine suppresses your energy and doesn’t allow your body to feel your natural energy and can cause your body to work harder than it should.
Ali drinks water first and then has matcha an hour to 90 minutes after waking up, so her body isn’t as dependent on it.
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Ali
Instagram: @mywellco
Learn more about Ali’s Wake Up Well™ program
Connect with Myriam
Instagram: @myriamandmoney