Summer’s in full swing with its long, stuffy days and it comes hand in hand with social invites, evenings out with friends, dinners, drinks, holidays and travelling. It can be intense when you’re burning the candles at both ends to make the most of the weather. It’s only normally to have a holiday approach to things when the weather is warm – enjoying a few too many dinners out, saying yes to that cocktail after work,  not exercising enough.

There’s no point in beating yourself up about it as long as you realise when it’s time to get back on track with your health goals. I don’t know about you but if you’re anything like me you’ll feel happier and be more relaxed and productive when you have some sort of routine I your life. I try to incorporate daily habits that are going to keep me focused, like getting up an extra 10 minutes earlier so I can have some time to relax before work, making sure I’m in bed with a book by 10pm on a week night, or finding at least 30 minutes a day where I can get some exercise in. Routine makes me feel like I’ve got my life together even when it’s completely hectic.

The first thing I do when I’m trying to get organised in any way, whether that be at home, work or just in general, is write a list. I love having a visual to break things down and make them easy to track. So I’ve put together a little list of small changes I’m going to incorporate into my daily life to kickstart my health reboot.

Healthy habits:

• Drinking at least 2-3 litres of water per day
• Including an exercise I actually enjoy each day
• Getting enough sleep
• Eating healthy, nutritional food
• Taking 10 minute health breaks throughout the day
• Making sure I get some me-time each day

When you actually break it down and look at the list I’ve written above, it makes it seem so much more achievable. Like, it’s not this huge mountain you’ve got to climb – it’s more a serious of small mole-hills you need to step over each day. Let me break it down for you even further.

Drinking at least 2-3 litres of water per day

Everyone know that you should be drinking water to keep your body from getting hydrating: your constantly losing water through simple bodily functions so you need to keep topping it up through drinking. Most health authorities will recommend you drink 2 litres of water daily. It’s sounds like a lot right? Well, when you break it down it’s actually only 8 glasses of water. So if you have one first thing when you wake up in the morning and one with breakfast, you’re quarter of the way there. I try to drink 50-60% of my water intake before 2pm because when you’re drinking a lot, you take a lot of bathroom breaks! The last thing you want is to be getting out of bed six times during the night!

Choosing an exercise I enjoy each day

For optimum health, especially those of you who have sedentary lifestyles, you want to be trying to exercise for around 30 minutes a day or more. It’s actually recommended that we move 10,000 steps a day but most of us are only achieving between six and seven thousand. It’s easy enough popping in to a cardio class every now and then but if it’s not something you actually enjoy doing then it’s not going to be sustainable. So you need to find a sport that you love – it could be playing tennis with a friend, going for a walk with the dog or hitting your favourite spin class.

Dabble with a few different things over the next week or so and see what you enjoy the most.

Getting enough sleep

This one’s a biggie! Sleep plays a huge part in both or mental and physical health. Whilst sleep requirements will vary from person to person, it’s recommended that we get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. And if you’re thinking that sounds like too much, then you definitely aren’t getting enough! By addressing your sleep patterns, your productivity, energy, efficiency and overall health will go up! The best way to do this is figure out what time you wake up and work backwards. I get up around 6.30am so if I go back 8 hours from then, I should be going to sleep no later than 10.30pm.

Eating healthy, nutritious foods

Eating a well balanced diet provides s with all of the energy need to keep active throughout the day, along with the essential nutrients we need for growth and repair. I always feel dreadful when I’ve spent a few days eating junk and carbs so getting back into a routine of eating real whole foods is definitely something my body needs. I’m not saying you shouldn’t indulge in that chocolate cake or slice of pizza, but if you’re making health choices throughout the rest of the day then at least you won’t feel bloated and sluggish (or even guilty!).

Taking 10 minute health breaks throughout the day

This is a very personal point for me and one that will help those of you who are always on the go and super-busy! I work in a busy office where we don’t really get breaks (other than a 30 minute lunch break) and my colleagues never seem to take theirs.so I often feel obliged to do the same. Working through your lunch break every day is certainly not healthy, neither is sitting indoors for 8 whole hours. So during my lunch breaks I’ll be making sure to get outside and go get some fresh air and also whenever I have 10 spar minutes, instead of playing on my phone I’ll be going for a walking, listening to some music or reading a quick chapter of my book. You have to keep your brain active on the creative side too.

Making sure I get some me time each day

Every day you should set aside some time to relax and recharge however you feel necessary. It doesn’t have to be a whole afternoon set aside at the spa (because who has the time to do that?!). It could be something as simple as switching off your phone for an hour and relaxing in a bubble bath with some candles and music; take yourself for a walk in your favourite spot; go to that little coffeeshop in the corner you love and people watch for an hour. You know what makes you happy – so go do it!

See – rebooting your health doesn’t need to be difficult, it’s actually really simple! Follow these steps for the next few weeks and let me know how you’re feeling both physically and spiritually. If you find these steps a little difficult to follow then you could always follow our 9-step guide. This one would be perfect for those of you who love numbers and symmetry:

1. ONE hour of exercise
2. TWO hours of no social media before bed
3. THREE healthy meals per day
4. FOUR mini mental breaks
5. FIVE servings of fruit and veggies
6. SIX minutes of reading/listening to music
7. SEVEN glasses of water
8. EIGHT hours of sleep
9. NINE thousand steps