OSC:Wellness brings you “quick tip” changes for healthier living. A more balanced sense of wellness can come One Small Change at a time.
This week’s tip is from Pat Giurgevich, a family nurse practitioner, who shares an everyday quick tip with multiple benefits.
Walk around 1 block at lunch.
It helps relieve eye strain from the computer screen at work; it gets the blood flowing, improves perspective, and only takes 10 minutes.
–Pat Giurgevich, ARNP
Nurse Practitioner
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© 2012 Washington State University
Wellness usually means a wholistic approach to health and prevention of disease. The wellness wheel captures the idea that wellness isn’t only physical health, but includes many aspects of how you live your life and interact with people and situations. It is also called the wellbeing wheel, dimensions of health, etc.
There are multiple versions with varying number of sections, but since I first saw this wheel as an undergraduate student at Washington State University, I will describe the version they use.
Each section of the wheel represents a different part of wellness. The sections overlap and are all related, with one affecting the others, but to keep it simple, they are listed as separate sections:
(links in previous list go to the post about that aspect of wellness)
I mostly talk about physical wellness on this blog, but I am going to start expanding that focus to incorporate more information and resources from all parts of this wheel diagram. Over the next few months, I will write several posts that explain each of these sections of the wellness wheel and provide examples and resources for you to use.
I hope you will join me in learning more about health and wellness. Click here if you want to get each of the posts in your inbox for free and haven’t already signed up.
In case you missed it, the second guest post I wrote for CoreChair is now available. This post covers the topic of workplace stress. I share some what stress can do to us, some common causes, and one psychologist’s tips on how to deal with it.
Click here to read the post on the CoreChair blog.
Click here to see my writing and speaking experience, and click here to contact me about writing for you.
What kind of New Year’s Resolutions did you make? Was it something vague, like “Eat better,” or does it pass the SMART test?
When setting goals (resolutions included), many people use a technique I learned in school: make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely).
Specific
Put details in your goal so that you have a clearer idea of what you are planning on doing.
Measurable
Phrase the goal in a way that you can easily tell if you’ve accomplished it or not.
Attainable
Make a goal that you have the ability and resources to meet (or, make sure you have a plan to get the skills and resources you will need).
Realistic
Write your goal so that you do not have to be a miracle-worker to achieve it.
Timely
Include a deadline or time frame in your goal so that you know when to evaluate your progress.
Here are some generic examples with a few of the many possible changes to making SMART goals.
| Generic or otherwise non-SMART | SMART examples |
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What are your resolutions? Do they pass the SMART test?
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Shelly Najjar, MPH, RDN 