Establishing the desired ROI for your Wellness Programme

As the New Year approaches you'll be looking to make sure that your wellness programme has paid dividends over the last 12-months and you'll want to be sure that what you have in place for the coming year is going to make a real, positive difference to your organisation.

So this month we've put together an article that will both help you look at the numbers you can work with to establish the desired ROI for your wellness programme and we've also included some results that it's hard to put a price on.

Calculating ROI of a Wellness Programme
At first glance, calculating an acceptable return on investment from a wellness programme would appear to be a fundamental requirement for getting the programme off the ground.  If you intend to invest time and money into designing and delivering a programme, you’ll need to justify this investment by establishing precisely what you’ll get back in return for your efforts.

The only drawback is that quantifying the benefits of wellness programmes can be quite difficult.  It’s a bit like spending money on advertising or marketing – you know that investment in these key areas of business brings in new revenue, but it can be hard to tell which elements of this budget are most successful.  Similarly, when it comes to wellness, it may be clear that initiatives are contributing towards an improvement in your business success, but it may be difficult to isolate which ones are making the biggest contribution.

It can be fairly straightforward to establish the ROI for some initiatives.  For example, if you know that you lose a specific number of staff days, and therefore a related financial amount in lost productivity or reduced profitability due to musculo-skeletal issues, you can introduce workstation assessments or manual handling education to reduce the risk of such injuries.  You could consolidate this with physiotherapy, chiropractic or osteopathy interventions for when these injuries do arise.  You will then be able to very accurately calculate the relationship between how much you spend on these initiatives and the reduction in the amount of money lost due to musculo-skeletal related absence issues.

For other interventions such as health screenings, wellness workshops, individual lifestyle coaching, and team activity sessions it can be more difficult to see a direct return for your money and you may have to look at the wider issues within the business, and take account of general trends over time.

These indicators can include tangible factors such as productivity, profitability, staff absence and staff turnover, but remember, when using these measurements to judge the success of a wellness programme you need to be sure of the statistics before the programme begins and at specific and agreed review points for as long as the initiatives are in place.  You also need to be sure that you can extract the relevant information from the right people or departments when you need it, and always be aware of any other variables occurring in the business during the period of assessment.

Other factors that can be assessed to establish the value to the business of specific wellness interventions are results with staff surveys and customer satisfaction surveys.  One of our clients did exactly this and discovered improvements in selected customer satisfaction ratings increasing from 8.3 to 9.1 in one area and 8.1 to 8.6 in another during a 12 month period during which staff were given access to one to one wellness coaching.

Less quantifiable returns on your wellness investment include increased staff engagement, culture change and renewed levels of motivation throughout the business and for every company that demands clear figures relating to the ROI for their wellness initiatives, there’s another company for whom the most important return they are looking for is the opportunity for staff to feel as though the business is proactive when it comes to looking after their health, wellness and life balance, and the chance to develop the perception that the business is a great place to work.

To assess the full ROI of your wellness initiatives you need to be clear in advance what you want to achieve with your programme:

• Decide which financials you are able to measure and what would be an acceptable improvement in these figures

• Understand every element – quantitative and qualitative – of what you would like your wellness programme to achieve for you, for your staff and for your business so that you can make informed decisions in the future

• Choose your time frames carefully giving each initiative a chance to prove itself on all levels without running the risk of leaving initiatives in place that haven’t proved their worth to the business as a whole

Looking purely at financials can be limiting and sometimes, even if the financial return on investment of an initiative looks marginal, it’s worth maintaining if it helps foster an environment of positive, motivated, energetic people.

Considering financial returns alongside specific benefits to individuals within your company will ensure that you are able to develop the most effective range of wellness initiatives for the long-term.

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9 key questions you need to answer to guarantee a healthy 2013

New Year Wellness Resolutions: Don't reinvent the wheel

Many people we work with claim they'd like more energy and a better balance in their life.  But are their actions and approaches consistent with these desires? Take for example how much time they devote to planning success in different areas of life.  Do they give enough attention to what they say they want to achieve with their wellness?

Let's look first at how people achieve success in their professional roles.  Broadly speaking, this is what individuals consider when faced with a project, task or challenge at work:

1. What do we want to achieve?

2. Why do we want to achieve this?

3. How long will it take?

4. Who needs to be involved?

5. How much will it cost?

6. What's the first action or initial sequence of actions?

7. Are we convinced we have made all necessary preparations prior to getting started?  Have we asked, and answered, all key questions we need to?

8. When do we next review our progress?  If you're working well you'll also consider what the likely outcomes will be at your next progress review and what your options will be at that point.

9. Are we convinced that we will succeed?

Answers to the above are usually arrived at through a combination of solo planning, team meetings and collaboration.  Once you're satisfied with all your answers you will proceed and you will succeed.

Compare this with a typical thought process related to personal wellness and how we feel on a day-to-day basis:

In the middle of a busy day, there's a pause for thought.  'Gosh, suddenly I feel really tired.  I should have gone to bed earlier last night.  I shouldn't have had that extra glass of wine.  I should drink less coffee.  But I'd better have one now to perk me up.  I should try to get to the gym later this week as well.  And I must have an early night tonight.  Right, back to this email…' And immediately, all good intentions are gone, as quickly as they arrived and nothing changes.

It's not surprising that results in some areas of life can be so much more dramatic and long-lasting than in others.  We're busy and we have to make choices about where we allocate our mental resources.

But what if we did one simple thing and applied the systems that bring us success at work, and used them in other areas.  Consider this approach to improved health and wellness.  The starting point is the same,

'Gosh, suddenly I feel really tired.'

1. What do I want to achieve?

Better energy levels and more consistent focus and performance throughout the day.

2. Why do I want to achieve this?

Without it I don't feel I get the best out of myself and things can take longer and feel more challenging than they need to.

3. How long will it take?

Well I know where I could make improvements so I can address this right away.  This should lead to me feeling better later today.

4. Who needs to be involved?

I need to slightly alter my food and evening routine - I'll need to let my partner know about this

5. How much will it cost?

Planning what I need to do might cost me a bit of time initially but I know that with more energy I'll become more efficient.

6. What's the first action or initial sequence of actions?

Sit down now to plan a slot in my diary where I can schedule exercise, think about my food routine, sort out my social calendar and work out a strategy for sticking to my plans.  Get some water now and organise my afternoon break / snack.

7. Am I convinced I have made all necessary preparations prior to getting started?  Have I asked, and answered, all key questions I need to?

Yes, for now.  I've started a page on my notepad where I'm going to note any observations that I can review as we go and take the appropriate action when required.

8. When do I next review my progress?  If you're working well you'll also consider what the likely outcomes will be at your next progress review and what your options will be at that point.

Today is Tuesday so I'll schedule a review point on Friday morning.  If things are going well I can plan how to keep them on track.  If there have been some issues I can schedule a longer spot over the weekend to figure out some new creative solutions.

9. Am I convinced that I will succeed?

I have no doubt

This process may seem a bit drawn out but it's pretty clear that with the deeper questioning there's a much higher chance of success.  Remember too that the formality of a system like this soon becomes second nature and, just as you automatically implement success strategies at work, so you will begin to do so with your wellness success strategies.

So when it comes to feeling at your best, don't make things overly complicated and don't try to reinvent the wheel.  Think about what systems work best for you in life and apply these approaches to exercise, healthy eating, good sleep and great life balance.

You'll be amazed at how quickly you can then begin enjoying the results.

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7 Steps to Successful Long-term Wellness in your Business

Keeping the Momentum Going

Many wellness programmes begin with a fanfare, and rightly so.  If you’ve invested time and resources in developing the best wellness programme possible for your business, you’ll want to shout about it from the rooftops when it’s ready to launch.  You can then stand back and enjoy the flurry of activity and enthusiasm as staff sign up and get involved in the exciting new initiatives.

The long-term success of any wellness programme can be at risk however if the initial enthusiasm dies down.  To prevent this, it’s vital to think beyond how you get started with wellness so for guaranteed ongoing results for your business, here’s what you need to consider.


1. Be strategic
At the earliest possible stage of planning your wellness initiatives, decide what time frame you are working to and communicate this clearly at all stages to everyone involved.  Outline the planned evolution of wellness and explain the schedule of which initiatives you’re considering at each stage.  Above all, be explicit that wellness is here to stay and will become an integral part of your business culture.


2. Shout about wellness whenever you can
Publicise all events in order that staff know what’s coming up and that there are always wellness resources for them to make use of when required.  Don’t by shy about advertising all the positive results you achieve with the programme.   Recognising those who perform well is a great way to let everyone in the business know that the initiatives are working and also gives them a clear idea of what results they can expect if they get involved.


3. Identify key advocates
You need wellness champions placed around the business to help maintain the profile of your initiatives.  These individuals can help promote your initiatives formally with marketing materials and informally by simply speaking to colleagues about what’s happening.  They can also provide feedback from the front line on how your initiatives are being received and how you may wish to modify your approach to meet the requirements of the end users.


4. Be flexible with your approach
Wellbeing initiatives must always be relevant for them to be successful.  People change and the business environment moves on so make sure you regularly review your range of initiatives so you can discontinue anything that isn’t working and experiment with new ideas when appropriate.  Be clear on which initiatives are successful and popular and make sure they are always readily accessible to those who’d like to make use of them.  Don’t immediately discontinue those initiatives that aren’t subscribed to in huge numbers.  If they work for a few people then they’re worth keeping.  If you cut any initiative, communicate why this is the case and provide alternatives so that no one feels short changed.


5. Encourage sneezing
One of the best ways to maintain ongoing enthusiasm for your wellness programme throughout the business is to foster an environment where people want to talk about how great it is, regardless of whether you encourage them to do so or not.  There are certain products that people just love to tell others about how their life just wouldn’t be the same without them, take SKY+, the iPhone or Skype as just a few examples.  This unprompted and enthusiastic marketing – sometimes known as sneezing – is fantastic for reputation building so when your designing and refining your wellness programme it’s a great idea to give some thought to which elements will really get people excited and ‘sneezing’ about what you’re doing to everyone they come into contact with.


6. Develop events for the diary
If your wellness programme includes popular elements that can be repeated on a regular basis, this can help maintain awareness and engagement in the programme as a whole.  If you organise a sporting tournament, make it an annual event, diet clubs should have weekly weigh ins and if you have wellness experts visiting your business make sure they arrive at least once a month so everyone knows when they are there and when they can make use of this resource.  Ongoing competitions with regular publicised updates of the latest results can help maintain momentum with your programme.


7. Accountability leads to results and positive reviews
If you include wellness modules on leadership or training programmes, make sure they are a regular feature so that those who attend know there will be more information available in the future and also an update on how they are progressing since the last module.  This element of accountability with your initiatives will lead to better results for individuals which in turn leads to a more positive buzz about wellness throughout the business.


The bottom line is that it’s easy to generate and maintain enthusiasm for any aspect of business when it’s successful.  As long as your employees are engaging with your wellness programme and experiencing positive results, and your initiatives are well subscribed and performing well according to whichever criteria you and senior management have agreed, your wellness programme is positioned to go from strength to strength marked by increasing enthusiasm with the passing of each month.


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Five Simple Steps for a Stress Free Life

In the UK, November 7th is Stress Awareness Day.  So here are some useful tips to help you and your staff avoid rising stress levels.

1. Acceptance
There's a possibility that life might not always be plain sailing.  There are times when we need to push out of our comfort zone to grow and develop.  This can lead to feelings of anxiety or stress but will also usually result in some positive change or improvement in your life.  Embrace it, don't fight it.


2. Understanding
The stress response is a natural one designed to protect us.  Feeling stressed is a sign that we feel out of control and that we need to act.  Once you are in the habit of responding appropriately to feeling stressed, you will feel calmer, sooner.


3. Honesty
Stress has mental and physical implications.  You must be honest about your responses to stress and whether or not they will really help you feel better.  Faced with a super busy day ahead, loading up with caffeine and a sugary breakfast will only leave you feeling more stressed.

Alternative choices such as porridge or eggs with herbal tea or water will calm your system and help reduce stress levels.  Because stress arises when we feel things are beyond our control, find simple ways to take control wherever you can and return to a state of calm, clear thinking as quickly as possible.


4. True Stress Management
Managing stress does not necessarily mean eliminating stress.  The key to success is to know how far you are willing to move out of your comfort zone and how often you are willing to do this.  You can then manage how quickly you make progress through life without ever feeling overwhelmed.


5. Be a Team Player
Just as others may cause you stress, so you may cause stress for those around you.  Pause for a moment and think about what you do that could cause stress for others.  Then consider alternative approaches.  If everyone in any team or family asks themselves this question, overall levels of stress are greatly reduced.


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Getting Value for Money from Your Wellness Programme

However large or small your wellness budget is, one thing is for sure, you'll be looking for maximum return on your investment for every pound you spend.  The simplest way to achieve this is to target every single one of your initiatives towards a specific audience.

One way that we achieve this with our clients is to begin wellness programmes with initiatives that allow us to research the audience while making a difference from the outset.

You can read one example of how this approach was successful here

A simple, effective, value for money wellness solution:
http://the-tonic.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/simple-effective-value-for-money.html

From what we learned during this initiative we went on to help the client set up:

• Regular wellbeing days around the country
• Resilience and stress management workshops
• A company wide health eating plan
• Weight management clubs
• Sporting tournaments
• Regular office massage
• A comprehensive online wellbeing toolkit
• Establishing local wellbeing champions and providing regular training for them

All of these initiatives have a regular audience which ties in perfectly with the organisation's objective of setting up a wellness programme that includes something for everyone.

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A Guide to Outsourcing Your Wellness Programme

To develop the best wellness programme possible for your organisation, seeking external input can be invaluable.  Here are some key points to consider when looking for wellness providers.

Be clear on what you are looking for
You’ll either be at the stage where you have a clear idea of what you want from your wellness programme and you’re looking for someone to help you deliver on the plan, or you may have simply had initial thoughts on what you’re looking for and you require some creative input into what will work best for your organization.

Some providers are best positioned to bring your existing ideas to life quickly by providing you with resources you don’t have access to and enabling you to tap into their tried and tested systems.   Others adopt a more consultative approach and will help you take a strategic view of how a wellness programme could develop within your organization over time.  It’s important to decide which approach suits you best in the early stages of selecting providers.

What level of input do you require?
You need to decide what kind of wellness initiatives you are looking to set up and how much you want to be involved in the ongoing servicing and development of these initiatives.  Do you want a supplier that, once appointed, will simply report back to you on a regular basis with a review of how the initiatives are progressing, or do you want to actively manage your initiatives more closely in order that you can review and refine your approach quickly and efficiently?

Do you want a provider that will act as a virtual wellness department for your business leaving you free to focus on other priorities, or do you want retain a more hands on approach?

Do your research
When it comes to checking out potential providers you need to be diligent in your research.  Be patient when making your decision as this could save a lot of time further down the line:

• What experience do your potential suppliers have? 
• Are they regularly delivering the kind of services you’re looking for?  
• What do their current clients say about the work they do?  
• Do they have experience in your business sector?  
• Can they demonstrate a track record of delivering the results you’re looking for with your wellness programme?

Interview thoroughly
Personalities are important.  You need to be able to trust your provider to deliver the right services at the right time; you’re looking for someone to make your life easier after all.  Shop around and decide if you’re looking for a one-stop shop single provider for a variety of services or if you need to research the best supplier for each component part of your strategy.

Quiz potential providers thoroughly on how they would apply their knowledge and experience to add value to your wellness programme.  Listen out for key questions they should be asking you during the interview process.  Your provider should be curious about your overall strategy for wellbeing and how they fit into the plans for the short, medium and long-term.

Who will go the extra mile?
You should be convinced that your provider not only has thorough relevant knowledge and experience, but that they understand or have the potential to understand your organization.  The best providers are able to quickly get to grips with the personality of a business as this understanding helps enormously with the delivery of wellness messages.

A provider that can help you deliver the most effective wellness initiatives and ensure these are communicated clearly in a manner that will engage and motivate your staff will guarantee your wellness programme is a success, so don’t settle for anything less in your choice of who to appoint to assist you with this vital area of your business.


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Sharpen up your Decision Making Skills

Last week I presented at one of our client's offices.  The subject was 'Effective Decision Making' and I covered:

• How to create a work-life balance that really does work
• A 7-step plan for determining priorities
• How to say no while keeping everyone happy

Those who attended the presentation said:

• An extremely valuable event
• Would like a longer session
• Very useful, very relevant to my work role
• Really helped me think about my prioritisation skills and new ways of getting things done
• Very useful resource material to refer to in the future

We covered a lot of material but there was one key piece of advice that was applicable to everyone.  I'm happy to share it with you.

The ability to make effective decisions will be dictated by how energetic, focused, engaged and in control you feel.  To ensure you remain in this positive frame of mind at all times, create clearly defined appointments in your schedule to review your effectiveness.  

A simple pattern to follow is:

• 1 hour review time per month.  At the beginning, end or in the middle of the month, you decide.

• 20 minutes review time per week.  Recommended to be in the middle of the week rather than Monday morning or Friday afternoon.

• 6 minutes review time per day.  This can be broken into three mini-reviews of 2 minutes each to keep you track throughout the day.

In total that's just 52 review / planning hours per working year.  Less than 3% of your time if you work a 35 hour week.  52 hours invested in yourself that can make an enormous difference to every single minute you spend at work and which will also have a positive impact on your life outside of work.

With summer coming to a close and many of us heading back into the school run and busy work schedules, this is a crucial time to plan how you make the best decisions for your life.

What are you waiting for?  Get reviewing and get effective.

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Life's too Short to be Busy

Read this great article HERE - a fantastic way to put the busy world around us in perspective.

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Create a Healthy Work/Life Balance (Part 3)

In the final part of our ‘Health Life Balance’ series, we will look at how to create a healthy mental attitude for a busy work life. It’s important to get the job done, but you don’t want to burn the candle at both ends and end up so stressed that you are no longer productive.

Here are a few ways to get more done each day, leave work on time and go home satisfied you've achieved a huge amount without being frazzled at the end:




1. Set realistic, manageable goals.
We all have a ‘bucket list’ of dreams and goals we want to achieve. This is a great strategy for thinking of the big picture, but for day to day life management, it’s easier and more rewarding to set smaller goals. You will feel a sense of accomplishment when you tick the items off your list and track your progression.




2.  Set time limits 
Rather than starting a task and allowing it to take as long as it takes, decide in advance how long you are willing to spend on each activity. If you’re clear with yourself with what time you want a job completed by, you’ll focus and avoid distraction to make sure it’s done in time. Emails could take no more than 5 minutes; calls no longer than 10 minutes and meetings no longer than half an hour. If you don’t set time limits you can find yourself at the end of a day still trying to complete something you started first thing. 




3. Take breaks 
If you arrive at work in the morning and the day stretches out ahead of you as one big block of busy-ness, you can feel overwhelmed. Planning regular breaks means you’ll work effectively in short sharp bursts of productivity punctuated with slots of doing something that takes your mind off work and clears your head ready for the next round of activity. 




4. Move on quickly 
One person we worked with had a 40 minute time limit for everything he did during a day. Whether it be proposals, costings, meetings or lunches; whatever he was doing, he’d move on to the next task after 40 minutes. He claimed that after this time he stopped having useful thoughts on each task so he’d move on to re-energise his brain. He also built in a slot during each day to return to any tasks with thoughts that came into his head while he was thinking about other things. 


The key to success with getting more done is to maintain energy and focus throughout each day. This is best achieved by making progress so always keep in mind how each task you take is moving you forwards. If at any stage you feel you’re not making progress, your energy and motivation will wane and results will slow.


You're at work to get things done and achieve a something, but you don't want to spend all your time there and hours thinking about the office when you get home. 


Do it, Get it Done, Get home.

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Create a Healthy Work/Life Balance (Part 2)

If you started your plan last month, you should start to see some differences in your work/life balance. It can take time to adjust to a new way of thinking, but once you establish a routine and stick to it, the results come quickly.

In part 2 of our ‘Healthy Life Balance’ series, we’re going to look at quick interventions that really make a difference.

  

1) Exercise

In your schedule, identify two or three slots each week for exercise.  These slots can be as little as 30-minutes.  Plan in advance what you will do during these slots and make sure that each workout includes 5-10 minutes of high intensity training - exercise that really makes you breathe and sweat. You will also want to do some weight bearing exercise to strengthen your muscles and bones. You don’t need an expensive gym membership to get and keep fit. Here are some alternatives to consider:

·         Walking outside. This is a free and easy way to exercise. There is virtually no way to injure yourself and most people of any fitness level can do it. If you can walk outside during your lunch hour or after work, you will also get your daily requirements of vitamin D.

·         Swimming. Another great way to exercise and it’s an excellent cardio workout. Try alternating different strokes to keep your heart rate up.

·         Dancing. This can be done in the privacy of your living room, or in Salsa or ballroom class. Dancing is great for your heart and is a social activity that most people enjoy.

·         Games such as squash, tennis and netball. If you prefer to exercise with others, join a local team, or get a partner to play with you in the local leisure centre. You’ll burn calories and having fun with friends or associates.

·         Yoga. There are many benefits of yoga including: lowering your heart rate and blood pressure, releasing endorphins and generally making you feel more relaxed and less stressed.

2) Healthy Eating

Make sure your schedule guides you to eat every 2.5 - 3 hours.  Plan what you will eat at each of these times ensuring the portion size is appropriate for each meal or snack.  Making sure you have what you need to prepare your meals; this will include some shopping for home or for food supplies at the office. Here are some quick tips to help you prepare:

·         Plan a menu for the week and stick to it as much as you can. This will help you choose from a variety of meals so you don’t get bored with the same thing, and it will encourage you to avoid the temptation of fast food

·         Make your lunches the night before work, or first thing in the morning. This just saves time and leaves you more time to have a proper lunch break.

·         Take a variety of fruits and healthy snacks to keep you going throughout the day. You don’t want your blood sugar levels to drop because you’re hungry.

·         Avoid office snacks such as cakes and sweets. If you want to treat yourself once in a while, that’s ok, but don’t over indulge.

·         Beware of hidden sugars and calories in low fat foods. Start reading food labels so you know exactly what you are eating.

  

3) Sleep

Establish a regular bedtime and then work out a routine for the evening that will ensure you are able to go to bed and fall asleep at your designated time. You should know at what time of the evening you turn off the TV, computer, phone etc. in order to wind down in time to sleep well. If you are ‘wired’ right until bedtime, you will find it difficult to unwind and get yourself ready for a restful sleep. Here are some tips to help you get your zzz’s.

·         Keep your tv and computer out of the bedroom, or at least limit their use at bedtime. This is your sanctuary so make it as quiet and peaceful as possible.

·         During the week, try to get to bed at a reasonable hour. Everyone needs different amounts of sleep, but if you aim for an uninterrupted 6  - 8 hours, then you are more likely to wake refreshed and ready to take on the day.

·         Limit alcohol in the evening. Excessive drinking can knock you out, but you will also wake up in the early hours feeling groggy and disoriented.

·         Read or meditate to help you relax before bedtime.

Looking after your physical health is crucial if you want to cope with day to day stress and strain. Once you feel better about yourself, you will have the energy and enthusiasm to manage a busy schedule without getting easily depleted.

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Create a Healthy Work/Life Balance

When I am coaching clients in the corporate world, I often come across a common complaint: “I have lots of good intentions, but I just can’t seem to find the time to create a better work/life balance”.

Unfortunately, this is a result of working in a fast paced career environment. We know we need to eat healthily, exercise and reduce stress levels, but it won’t happen without some planning. 
Here is the first part of a series of tips on how to manage your time effectively, so you can lead a healthier lifestyle and still have energy for fun without burning out.

1) Decide what you want

People often speak of things being out of balance but don't often take the time to understand what balance means for them.  Set aside time to make a plan of what a good week looks like including work hours, time for exercise / activity, healthy eating, family time, sleep and socialising.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when putting your plan together:

•  How do you want your life to look?
• Who is important to you?    
•  Which activities do you enjoy?

If you thrive on adrenaline and need exciting hobbies to energise you, make sure you put that in your plan. If you prefer a more relaxed approach, make it a priority. The more focused you are on achieving high priority items on the list, the happier you will be with your choices. If something is low on your list, you may need to consider eliminating it all together. When you focus on the goals you really want to achieve, you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment and you’ll enjoy life more.

  

2) Take instant action

Highlight one area of your plan and take action today to making your desired balance a reality. This could be taking some exercise today, eating differently, drinking more water or taking a time out.  Just do something positive for yourself today.

You may find it helpful to use an online planner to keep track of your goals, or if you are a visual person, you could invest in a small dry wipe board to hang above your desk or in your kitchen.

It’s far better to take baby steps with new goals, than to be over ambitious and abandon the whole plan because it’s overwhelming.  The goal is not to over schedule  yourself, but to lay a clear path to living the life you really want. Once you start to make small changes, these will build up over time and before you know it, you will have more control over what you do with your time, and it will give you a sense of satisfaction.

3) Set aside time to review your plan regularly

The more often you engage with your plan and take action towards your ideal situation, the quicker you'll find that you experience a sense of balance.

It’s all too easy to ‘fall off the wagon’ or ditch the new healthy eating regime when temptation strikes, but if you consult your plan on a daily or weekly basis, you can keep track of your progress and make changes to suit you.

Don’t feel discouraged if you stumble along the way. Changing a lifetime of bad habits is not easy, and you can always start over again, or tweak your plan to reach more realistic goals.

Stay tuned over coming weeks and we'll help you fine tune each element of your plan.

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image by patriziasoliani at flickr

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