Want To Know My Healthiest Habits? Here You Go.

August 9, 2016 / in General Information / by Mic Johnson

Post written by Mic Johnson, Blog Coach | LinkedIn Trainer | WordPress Website Guy | Rational Optimist | Jayhawk | Sushi Lover | @MJMeetings Husband

I woke up this morning thinking about healthy habits and the important role they play every day in my personal and professional life. I put a lot of time, effort, and thought into living a life that is full of happiness, helping others and minimizing unnecessary/unproductive stress as much as possible.

So I got to thinking that there might be some value in sharing some of my best personal and professional habits with you…and I’m hoping you’ll share yours too…think of it as a crowd-sourcing effort to share some of the best habits all of us have with one another. You never know, we all might just learn a thing or two that will change our lives for the better.

So without further adieu and in no particular order, here are some of my healthiest personal and professional habits:

PERSONAL

DRINK WATER – I wake up every day and the first thing I do is chug a 30 oz. glass of water. This is the best way I know how to start my day making sure I’m hydrated. As the day goes on, I drink water before, during and after every meal. In fact, I just bought Missy (check out her new gorgeous profile picture on LinkedIn, btw) and I these awesome RTIC Tumblers from Amazon to encourage us to drink even more throughout the day.

SLEEP WELL – I don’t always have the most amazing nights of sleep, but I do everything I can to set myself up for success because a good night’s rest is critical to my overall health and happiness. When I sleep well it sets me up to handle the ups and downs of daily life. I typically go to bed around 10 p.m. (and I don’t spend much time on my iPhone when I go to bed) and usually wake up around 6 a.m. or so. Additionally, we have skylights in our bedroom and I tend to sleep lightly…so yep, I sleep with earplugs and a mask over my eyes. It’s made a huge difference in my overall quality of sleep. Oh, and if I ever struggle falling asleep…I do the 4-8-9 method. Breathe in for 4 deep breaths, hold my breath for 8 seconds, and exhale for 9 seconds. I do that repeatedly until I fall asleep and it works almost every single time.

MEDITIATION AND MINDFULNESS – I’ll spare you all of the details, but my friend Jon McGraw and his company Vision Pursue got me hooked on mindfulness and meditation (which I had never done before). I don’t do it every single day, but I’ve done it for 103 days and it absolutely makes a difference and is a great way to start the day. They are working on a consumer release in the near future too.

TAKE CARE OF MY TEETH – I don’t care what the latest article says about flossing not working, I still do it pretty much every day. In addition, I use a Sonicare and WaterPik daily. And I get my teeth cleaned twice a year at one of the best dentists in the Kansas City area…Dr. Brian Sutton and his team are awesome. I firmly believe that the health of your mouth impacts your overall health.

EXERCISE – I’ve been doing some form of exercise multiple times a week since December 2007. Missy and I are very fortunate to have become friends with Tim Crough, Aaron Hannon and Dustin Yantzi at Tim Crough Fitness. We do their awesome Quad Pods twice a week and absolutely love it. What they do and how they do it is so much more fun and beneficial than the “weights and cardio” approach I did for years. In addition, Missy and I take walks each week and yes (unlike some of my friends) I still do all of my own yard work.

ANNUAL PHYSICAL – I’ve gotten an annual physical every year (except one) since 1995. In fact, one of my clients recently interviewed me as to why I do it and why I think it’s so important. (You can check it out here: Be Like Mic: Just Do It – Get A Physical Every Year) I just completed my annual physical last week and I’m happy to report that my blood pressure was 118/70 and all blood work was within normal levels (except I have a little work to do on my cholesterol). Getting an annual physical is my way of taking a proactive approach to my overall health…and knowing that some of the hard work I put in with Tim Crough Fitness, etc. is paying off makes it all the more satisfying. I do it for me…but more importantly I do it for my loved ones.

PROFESSIONAL

INTRODUCING AWESOME – This is my peer advisory group. I started it over 3 years ago and it’s made up of several of the most awesome people I know. We get together once a month over cocktails and catch up on everything going on personally and professionally. The #1 characteristic of Awesome People is that they love helping other people. I’m so fortunate to get to spend time with this group every month and I always walk away thankful and inspired.

GOOGLE CALENDAR – I use my calendar religiously. Bottom line: If it’s on the calendar, it gets done. Period. End of story.

EMAIL MANAGEMENT – I routinely respond to emails in a timely manner. You will rarely, if ever, send me an email and not get a response the same day. That way it doesn’t build up in my inbox and the recipient doesn’t get held up because of me. I’m reducing unnecessary stress for both me and people I interact with.

BEING RELIABLE (lifted straight from my LinkedIn Summary) – I do what I say I’m going to do every time. I don’t drop balls.

SHOW UP ON TIME – I show up to meetings on time or early. Again, this is a courtesy to whomever I’m meeting with. I’m not going to take their time for granted.

HELP OTHERS – Whether it’s referrals or introductions, I do this all of the time…and I take the time to do well thought out introductions via email, setting up the recipients for success. In addition, I help people promote things they’re doing (Speaking of that, check out my friend Shawn Kinkade (business coach) and his even this September for business owners who are looking for freedom… The Freedom Workshop. I’ve already had two clients sign up for this great opportunity.)

BUSINESS BOOK REVIEWS – Another one from Shawn Kinkade. He does these monthly Business Book Reviews in Kansas City and also can do them for companies looking for education opportunities for employees. I’ve been attending since the beginning and I’ve referred countless people who have attended. This is one of my must-attend education and networking events each month. The next one is Tuesday, August 30th… The Ideal Team Player. Check it out.

NOISLI – Want to listen to the sound of rain or a thunderstorm while you work or just want something to settle you mind? Check out https://www.noisli.com/. I often use this when I’m editing blog posts for clients.

ROBOFORM EVERYWHERE – Jason introduced this to me when we first started working together years ago. Roboform Everywhere is a password manager for all of your usernames and passwords for the countless websites you use. It literally has changed my life and has saved me incredible amounts of time and helped me avoid the unnecessary stress that comes from losing or forgetting usernames and passwords.

BLOGGING – You’re reading this right now and this is what Blue Gurus does to help our clients, prospects and friends. Sometimes we will share helpful technology tips. Sometimes we’ll share LinkedIn tips. Sometimes we’ll write things that inspire you. Sometimes we’ll write things that make you think. This is our gift to the people who care about us and we’re so thankful to all of you who continue to read, support and share our posts. We also help clients do this exact same thing for their businesses and it’s immensely rewarding to empower them to share their stories.

What about you? What are your healthiest habits, both personally and professionally? Share them with me here or email me at mic@bluegurus.com. I’d love to hear what you’re doing to be healthy, happy and reduce the unnecessary stress in your life!