Honing healthy habits

With busy and overburdened people experiencing stress in the pandemic small micromoments throughout the day have become essential for productivity and emotional wellbeing Many have begun to realise that a shift to working from home has made it possible to squeeze bitesized activities into the day And so as an act of selfcare snackable wellness has become popular around the globeAccording to clinical psychologist and author Nupur Paiva ldquothis concept encourages wellness activities like meditation or yoga because it is more realistic to takeout 1015 minutes instead of 3060 minutesrdquo Adopting such a routine helps reduce anxiety tension and stress she saysDhruv Kathuria believes that itrsquos about doing something rather than doing everything perfectly right Derek Mathias started reading and meditating as a coping mechanism during the lockdown Skipping was a way to keep his body moving But once things get back to normal he is unsure if he can follow the routineFor 22yearold Derek Mathias these activities do not only offer muchneeded respite from work but also help him manage his time better ldquoIt is important that we donrsquot work for hours at a stretch One must take breaks to do something elserdquo says Mathias an aspiring musician who tries to balance his music career along with a fulltime IT jobDuring the day he takes breaks for a 30minute yoga session 20 minutes of skipping 1520 minutes of meditating an hour of playing the piano and 15 minutes of reading Now a habit he feels anxious if he doesnrsquot complete any of the tasksNupur Paiva and Kaushik BhideJust like Mathais 27yearold Kaushik Bhide a digital experience designer mentions how these activities stopped him from overthinking and kept him calm as well as made him more aware of his surrounding He has divided his day in a way that he enjoys three different 15minute workout sessions instead of doing 4560 minutes at a stretch He says ldquoI needed to dedicate some part of my day to personal development and so this is how I have categorised my activitiesrdquo He also makes sure that he spends some time doing pranayama Weekends are cheat days and he chooses to not follow this scheduleFulltime musician Dhruv Kathuria 25 believes that itrsquos about doing something rather than doing everything perfectly ldquoSometimes doing just one or two activities even if for a brief time boosts serotonin a hormone which stabilises the mood with feelings of wellbeing and happiness and endorphins a hormone which increasesthe feeling of pleasure and wellbeing That is what matters the mostrdquoMathias feels that snackable wellness is a solution to make the Gen Z more productive ldquoFor instance reading for 10 minutes daily is a healthy practice Snackable wellness is helpful to get into habit creation Once you are used to going something you will automatically motivate yourself to continue doing itrdquo he addsGetting into the rhythm is important ldquoYou start slowly and gradually get into the grooverdquo adds Kathuria who has been dedicating two hours a day to yoga meditation reading writing and exercise all scattered across a period of time before he starts working on his music Experts say the reason this has seen an uptick in WFH is because workplaces are not conducive to eking out me time ldquoOffices are not designed for the greater wellbeing of employees It is often impossible for employees to take regular breaks since the corporate goal is always to complete maximum tasks by the end of the dayrdquo Paiva feelsBhide however says he manages to do something at his work place ldquoIt might be in the parking lot a garden or anywhere I am comfortable I make sure no one is getting disturbed In fact sometimes they also join me in a group activityrdquo