Drip feed yourself to health and wealth in 10 minutes a day- The mum way

“Health and success is not a competition or a destination it is an internal connection and a continuum”

-Emma Burniston-

2022 was going to be a challenging year time wise for me, so I decided that I would start The 5AM Club, which is Robin Sharma’s early morning protocol to transform your life.  The protocol requires you to get up at 5 am in the morning (actually 4.45 am to give you time to get ready) and undertake an hour-long ritual, the 20/20/20 ritual, which consists of:

• 20 minutes vigorous exercise.

• 20 minutes reflection: meditation, journaling etc.

• 20 minutes learning.

Robin recommends to do this everyday for 66 days, as some researchers have found that it takes that long to establish a habit. So I did this for the first 66 days of 2022 to see what changes it could have in my life.

Would I recommend doing The 5am Club? Yes and no, yes because it sets you up for the day; you are mentally prepared to deal with toddler melt downs in the morning and you are not trying to play catch up during the day or fool yourself into thinking you will do it once children are in bed. I would say no because your body has not warmed up for the day and the risk of injury is higher when you jump out of bed and the first thing you do is vigorous exercise. Also going to bed at 9:30pm is not very social or if your partner works long hours you have less quality time with them. Quality time with friends and family is important to our health, so although the silence of the morning is amazing, so too is connecting with loved ones who don’t get up at 5am.

The ahha moment I got from doing The 5am club was how important these 3 things were to do on a daily bases, especially self learning (which is not just listening to a podcast). Also that it doesn’t need to be 20 minutes of each, as that can sound a bit daunting, it only needs to be a minimum of 10 min and that is enough to create change in your life. THIS IS PERFECT FOR MUMS WHO FEEL THEY DONT HAVE TIME!

You might think really is 10 min enough! Yes if we apply the 1% rule that all you need to do today is a 1% difference from yesterday then that is enough to create change.

“If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.”

James Clear

 We are pushing harder, faster, healthier, wealthier and we have all the information at our finger tips to do so, yet we are more distracted, experience more chronic disease and mental health issues than ever before. The 1 % perspective offers us time to change and will lead to more confidence, less overwhelm and less feelings of failure.

My mothers way to Drip-feed herself to health and wealth.

Drip Feed your 10 minutes of Physical movement habit:

If you have given yourself a good peep talk saying that you are going to get fit in the new year, or you will sign up to the gym on Monday and this hasn’t happened then that is ok. All you need to do is 10 min of getting your body moving every morning. It might be the exercises the physio gave you, or a brisk walk in your PJs with a big coat and hat on in the rain. Yoga or Pilates in your PJs, dance in your PJs (with a bra if needed) whatever it is to get you moving. It is so much easier to get out of bed when you can say it is only 10 mins rather than thinking I have to get out to go to the gym, 30min-1hr run etc. 

The sweet spot is when your day ends up too busy to go to your planned exercise class or your partner doesn’t come home early enough for you to go for a run but you still feel a sense of achievement and empowerment that you did your 10 minutes. Plus it will get you more energised and ready to handle the school run/day ahead.

Drip Feed your Mind habit: 30 Sec to 10min

How many of us say that we ‘should’ mediate? Possibly millions! It is best to do in the morning but also is just as useful during the day or at the end. By all means you can schedule a 10min mediation but you may have been trying to do this for years and beating yourself up for not doing it. Then start with 30 sec, this is enough to create a stronger mindset. For the 30sec version try

-       High 5 habit -by Mel Robbin’s

-       Hug your dog- feel-good hormone oxytocin is released after 20sec

-       Write down 5 things you are grateful for

The sweet spot after doing your mind habit early in the day is when the day runs away with you or the shit hits the fan, you have created a programme in your brain that will offer a different viewpoint instead of talking rubbish to yourself.

Drip Feed your learning habit:

This is my most favourite part of drip-feeding because I don’t think that we value how empowering learning and applying new information is. Most of us go to school and then to college or uni, we pass the exams, get a job and then become too busy to learn new things for our own development and future. WE NO LONGER ALLOW OURSELFS TO BE STUDENTS. If we do learn new things it’s very often not what we are interested in or want to be. Then we say that “we will do…xyz….when we have more time”. The best time to learn new material for yourself and your future is now, not to wait until you have more time, money, or energy.

You will probably find that your 10min will turn into 20 minutes, but by telling your brain you are just going to do something for 10 mins before you clean up the kitchen or look at social media/whatsapp is easier than the thought of doing “your homework”. This is best to do in the morning or before you read the news, go through your inbox, or look at your messages. Because doing these things before will destract you, and it will be harder to find time in the day. When you prioritise your own learning and projects that you need to learn for yourself before breakfast you will feel like you have accomplished something even before you start and if you end up running around the houses for the rest of the day. It doesn’t matter because that day you learnt something and became more for you, which will have a knock on affect to your friends and family.

The take home concept to drip-feeding yourself to health and wealth, is mirco-moments everyday with your mind and body in the right direction is enough. Congratulate yourself, be pleased with the 1% that you found that day and be at ease with yourself, not beating yourself up about how much more you ‘should’ be doing, as it’s your journey to unfold.