If you follow any lifestyle youtubers, you are probably familiar with the videos of people’s morning routines. You know, the ones where they wake up at 5.30am, have water with lemon, do their yoga, write their morning pages, eat a nutritious vegan breakfast and then sit down to plan the day with a turmeric matcha latte with oat milk (almonds take a lot of water to grow, so no almond milk – do keep up!). Needless to say, I am not one of those people.

Despite my sarcasm, I do understand the allure of these perfect mornings (and evenings and days), doing all the right things to feel healthy and productive, instead of scrambling out of bed way too late and sprinting to work without a bite to eat. I also understand that for a certain brand of influencers, having this morning routine – and lifestyle in general – is pretty much (part of) the job. There has been much complaining recently how bad the perfect instagram life is for the followers, but I think we need to take some responsibility as the consumers of this content as well. If these videos motivate you and help you to do better, great. If they don’t, stop watching or following. As long as I look at these things through a critical filter, I find many bloggers/youtubers inspiring and helpful – of course, you also need to find personalities you like and who fit your approach to life.

All this is to say that I don’t have much to teach anyone when it comes to living the good life. I’m also inherently skeptical about trying to be perfect. That does not mean, however, that I think we shouldn’t try to do and be better. Some of you have been asking for more life(style) posts, about exercise, food and general wellbeing – or lack thereof. As I have in fact been making some changes in the recent months, this seems like a good time to respond to these requests. I will, therefore, list a number of things I have either been doing for a while and plan to continue or things I plan to commit to.

1. Exercising at least once a week with a personal trainer. I have been doing this for a couple of months now and am enjoying it very much (it’s not my first time working with a PT, but I haven’t done it regularly since I left Estonia). I am not badly out of shape, but I want to increase my muscle mass, especially in my upper body, and just be generally fitter, more toned and energised. I know not anyone can afford a personal trainer; in fact I would ideally train with my PT twice a week, but that’s a very serious financial commitment. In general, this way of training is worth it for me, because it makes the habit stick and motivates me to be healthier all around.

2. Taking at least 10 000 steps most days. This is also something I’ve already been doing for some time and enjoying very much, as I’ve told you. I don’t stress too much if I miss an occasional day (last Sunday was so cold and rainy that I didn’t go outside and apparently took 408 steps during the entire day…), but I really try not to. It is not unusual that I go for a walk after 11pm, as time is scarce before that. Even if you don’t have a specific goal, I highly recommend checking your step count regularly (there is an app on most phones) – if you tend to walk too little, just seeing that number will automatically make you find ways to walk at least a little bit more. My main worry is that the cold, wet and dark evenings will reduce my enthusiasm for walking, but I’m doing good so far.

3. Morning exercise. Training once a week isn’t really enough for building muscle the way I’d like to. Combined with walking, once a week is fine for making me feel better and staying on track, but ideally, I’d do more. I have realised that the best time for me to train is in the mornings, although everybody who knows me also knows that I am not a morning person. However, experience shows that if I want to get it done, mornings really are best. When I work out with my PT, I do so in the morning, so I know I’m capable of it. I also trained on my own pretty much every second day this August, when my family was away and I had more time. I just need to find the right rhythm for the times I am busier, but I think it can be done. I don’t need more than 30 minutes, 2-3 times a week.

4. Sleeping more/waking up earlier. This is probably the tallest order on this list: I can either do one or the other, but both at the same time are difficult. I know, however, that I should sleep more (5-6 hours on a regular basis is not enough) and I also need more time in the mornings. In an ideal world, I would wake up 6.30am every (work)day, exercise, write, eat breakfast, be in the office early, go to bed 11pm or even before. This is not going to happen. So what I’m aspiring to, a bit more realistically, is getting up at 7am and being in bed by Midnight. This is not going to happen overnight, but my gym mornings have proved that I CAN get up much earlier than I’m used to and it gives me a huge energy and confidence boost. When I’m done with my session by 8.30, I feel pretty much invincible.

5. Eating breakfast. This is something I’ve struggled with for years and suddenly, it’s not such a huge issue any more – not because I have more willpower or anything, it’s just pure luck. A take-away opened on my way to work where they make decent coffee and you can compile your own breakfast (you can mix porridge, chia pudding or yogurt with fruits, berries, nuts and seeds). So every morning, I buy a latte forte and put together a small breakfast bowl that I take to work. Sure, sometimes I forget to eat it or buy a bacon stick instead, but mostly I eat a healthy-ish breakfast every day. I completely understand that for some this is stupid – why waste money on something that you could easily prepare yourself? The facts are clear, though: it hasn’t worked for 38 years and now it does.

6. Eating less (red) meat. This is something I’ve already discussed on the blog. My success with this particular goal varies. Thanks to my morning routine, my breakfasts are vegetarian these days and on most days actually vegan (as I prefer the chia pudding that they prepare with plant-based milk). When I cook myself, I rarely make beef or pork (chicken and fish are still common), and even when having lunch, I often go for a meat-free option. This tends to change when we order food, someone else is cooking or we eat out – these choices are made mostly based on what my daughter would be willing to eat. Generally, I’m relatively happy with the current situation and will aim to continue with baby steps rather than huge leaps.

7. Limiting the use of technology. I’m not doing well with this. I’m no luddite and with my job, I’ll never be able to just put my phone away as I get home, but even considering this, I am too attached to my phone and iPad. The blog of course makes it worse, as there is no way to keep it going without regular use of my devices. I need to give some thought to what would be realistic to achieve in my circumstances. It’s not going to be anything drastic (and I enjoy social media), but some boundaries would be good. How to Break Up with Your Phone is a useful book to read to get going.

How are you doing on the wellness front? Any recommendations or tips? Anything you’d like to hear more about?

The Wonder Woman water bottle is a gift from J, I’m absolutely thrilled with it.