In this fast-changing world, health has become one of our most valuable assets. However, managing health doesn’t require huge, instant changes; it can be optimized through repeated iterations and small adjustments. This approach is similar to the iterative upgrades in agile development, where you constantly adjust and refine based on your needs and environment. Health is not a fixed goal, but a continuously evolving process. So, how can we improve our health through this “iterative upgrade”?
1. Daily Stand-Up Meeting: Setting Health Goals
Start with a daily “stand-up meeting,” just like the daily scrum in agile development. This habit will help you focus on your health goals every day. Every morning, take a few minutes to ask yourself three questions:
- What did I do yesterday to improve my health?
- What am I planning to do today to further improve my health?
- Are there any obstacles that might prevent me from maintaining my health?
This simple self-reflection process will help you clarify your daily health goals and motivate you to keep making progress.
2. Change Habits: Small Steps, Big Leaps
To improve your health, the key step is to change unhealthy habits. The core of habit change is replacing old behaviors with new ones. A recommended approach is to focus on changing one small habit and aim for 100 days of consistent action. During these 100 days, you can gradually develop new healthy habits, such as eating a healthy breakfast every morning or reducing screen time at night, slowly breaking the dependency on bad habits.
Start by choosing an achievable small goal and gradually accumulate success, until it becomes a natural behavior. Don’t rush; with persistence, health changes will happen naturally.
3. Regular Exercise: It’s Not Just About Quantity, But Quality
Statistics show that IT professionals take an average of only 4,300 steps per day, far below the global average. This indicates that many people neglect the importance of daily exercise. Scientific research has proven that at least 20 minutes of exercise every day can not only improve physical health but also significantly reduce the risk of premature death.
Therefore, daily exercise time should be considered a fixed health goal. Whether it’s brisk walking, running, yoga, or swimming, choose a type of exercise you enjoy and stick with it. The most important thing is to make exercise a regular part of your daily life, rather than an occasional activity.
4. Avoid Sitting for Long Periods: Small Movements, Big Effects
Prolonged sitting increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. Research shows that watching TV for an hour increases the risk of death by 11%. Fortunately, standing up and moving for 5 minutes every hour can effectively offset the negative effects of sitting. Therefore, remind yourself to get up and move for a few minutes every hour, even if it’s just to go to the bathroom. This can have a huge benefit for your health.
Additionally, try to stand while working in the office to avoid staying in one posture for too long. Consider using anti-fatigue mats to help alleviate pressure when standing and improve comfort while moving.
5. Flexible Diet: Diverse Plans, Adapt to Yourself
Healthy eating is not one-size-fits-all; it’s about adapting to your body’s needs. You can try different dietary approaches, such as raw food diets, low-carb diets, or the Mediterranean diet. Set a two-week cycle to try different eating plans and assess which one suits you best.
When choosing a diet, it’s important to ensure nutritional balance, rather than chasing short-term trends. A healthy diet should include 30% fruits and vegetables, 30% grains and starchy foods, 16% high-quality protein (such as meat, fish, eggs, beans), 16% dairy products, and 8% fats and sugars.
6. Eye and Head Health: Reduce Fatigue, Protect Vision
With the arrival of the digital age, staring at screens for long periods has become the norm. However, prolonged screen time can lead to eye fatigue, headaches, and even vision problems. To protect your eyes and head health, you can take the following measures:
- Maintain a distance of 51 to 101 cm between your eyes and the screen.
- Use the “20-20-20” rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet (about 6 meters) away for 20 seconds.
- Adjust the brightness of your screen and balance indoor lighting to avoid excessive eye strain.
Additionally, if headaches occur frequently, they might be related to certain foods or drinks, so pay attention to the relationship between your diet and headaches.
7. Break Personal Records: Small Steps Lead to Big Changes
In the process of improving your health, large changes aren’t always necessary. In fact, every small progress, no matter how minor, will accumulate to create a big impact. Set and refresh a small goal every day, whether it’s adding one push-up or reducing one serving of junk food. These small improvements will ultimately lead to significant health changes.
The road to health is a continuous iterative process. Perfection isn’t required, but every step forward is worth celebrating.
8. Continuously Set New Goals: Challenge Yourself, Keep Moving Forward
Health management has no endpoint, only continuous progress. Every time you achieve a small goal, you can set the next challenge. For example:
- Learn a new exercise skill, such as Taekwondo or yoga.
- Set a goal to run 5K, 10K, or even a marathon.
- Have a full health check-up to understand your body’s real condition.
- Try vegetarian or other diet plans to experience different ways of eating.
By continuously setting and challenging new health goals, you’ll keep discovering your body’s potential and truly achieve comprehensive health.
Conclusion: Health is a Continuous Evolution Process
Health management is not an overnight accomplishment, but a continuous process. By having a daily health stand-up meeting, gradually changing unhealthy habits, exercising regularly, avoiding prolonged sitting, adopting a flexible diet, protecting your eyes and head, and constantly breaking personal records, you will gradually build a healthier, stronger body. Remember, health doesn’t require drastic changes. The most effective way is to make small adjustments and continuous improvements in daily life, making health an integral part of your life.