Fill your bucket this lockdown – a simple approach to resetting your wellbeing plan

We love diving deep into complex topics at mwah., but this week we wanted to create something radically practical for this moment in time.

This next wave of lockdown has brought with it a mixed bag of emotions. To do something simple and actionable the mwah. and Mental Spinach Teams got together to create this powerful 15-20 minute wellbeing reset exercise.

It’s easy to do, can be completed by individuals, couples or families and is a great way to check in around what you can do to navigate this uncertain time. Even if you are not in lockdown this exercise is a great way to stop, reflect and check in.

For this activity we’re going to be designing your ideal week or day and the steps you need to make it happen. This activity involves 4 sections, each taking around 4-5 minutes. To help you along the way we’ve also created a worksheet you can fill out. I keep mine on my dining table, so I remember to work towards it every day. So, let’s get started!

Different activities enrich your life (fill your bucket) and others drain your energy and attention (empty your bucket). Your time, attention and energy are finite resources and while creating this list seems simple, its often interesting how little attention we give to being conscious about doing more of what fills our bucket, and less of what empties it.

To start, create two lists of things that enrich your life (fill your bucket) and things that drain your energy and attention (empty your bucket).

We are social creatures and our wellbeing is intrinsically tied to those around us. It’s easy to make a wellbeing plan in isolation, but to really set yourself up for success you need the support, love and assistance of those around you.

Related to this and as a key part of our research, we’ve seen just how essential accountability and generosity to others is in creating belonging in families, communities, and businesses. We’re stronger, when we are generous and accountable to others – this is often when we are at our best, both at work and in life.

In this next list note down who’s in your support crew in life and at work, and who would you like to check in with this week.

Key to great relationships is being clear on what has a positive net impact on you and what drives you up the wall. This next list and extension on the above activity is a great way to get clear on how to set your key relationships up for success. Take a moment to create two brief lists on what others do to impact on your wellbeing – both the positive and the negative. Having and sharing this list with your key support people is an easy way to help them to do more of the good stuff. It can be really refreshing to be given guidance on how to help people and to take the ‘mind reading’ element out of the equation.

Now you’ll have in front of you the keys to your ideal week. You have the activities that bring you energy (and those that sap you of energy), the people that really matter to you and the things that they do that have a positive impact on you (and a negative things).

The next and main step of this whole exercise is to create your own ideal week or day. Think of it like a recipe with key ingredients. What ingredients do you need to support your wellbeing. I like to focus on small daily things, while others have a more natural weekly cadence – the choice is up to you.

To give it some context when I did this activity, key ingredients that made it onto my daily list are: time in nature, do something creative, listen to something really funny, deliberately say no to screen time at some point and reach out or try to help a friend. I came away with a list of 7 things I try to do every day.

The aim is that this can be a plan for you to experiment with going forward – something to hold you accountable to doing more of the stuff that makes you feel great!

All of this work is only practical or helpful if it turns into something you can integrate into your life. So, to finish we recommend you take a moment to plan:

– What key actions would take you closer to your ideal week/day?
– Whose help do you need to make these happen?

We’re not writing this article with the expectation that it will solve everything or to tell you ‘how to be well’. It is just one little contribution or process you can go through to check in and find the ideal wellness plan that suits you, as wellbeing is personal and always evolving. Our aim is to be practical and helpful. So, right now if there is anything we can do to help you or be there for you or your business, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the team!

The love of community runs deep in the beating heart of mwah. and we are there for you every step of the way!