How much time do you invest in your health? Last week I decided to actually find out. On a normal work day, I added up every minute I spent looking after myself, not to prove anything, just to see the number.
It came to 2 hours and 20 minutes. That included meditation, strength training, a sauna, a cold shower, and preparing and eating nourishing food.
My first reaction was that it sounded like a lot. But then I put it in context. There are 24 hours in a day. That 2 hours and 20 minutes is less than 10 percent of it, given to the foundation that everything else is built on.
I like to look at it another way too. If you break a day into 20 minute blocks, you have 72 of them. That morning I had spent 7 of my 72 blocks on my health. Just seven. When you see it like that, it stops feeling indulgent and starts to look like the bare minimum the rest of your life deserves.
Because that is what our health really is. It is not a separate box we tick when we have spare time left over. It is the thing that quietly holds up all the rest. My energy for the day. My patience. How clearly I think. How present I am for my son, and how grounded I am for the people I work with. All of it draws from how I look after my body and mind.
This is my foundation for everything else. It makes me feel good, and I know that in those minutes I am investing in the most important thing any of us has. Our health. That is what it truly means to invest in your health.
Why We Struggle to Invest in Your Health
When I look at that number, it is not really about the minutes. It is about the decision underneath them. We make time for what we decide matters. If our health keeps sliding to the bottom of the list, it is worth asking honestly why, and what it might cost us over time.
I also want to be clear that this is not about doing more. It is not another thing to feel behind on. Some days my number will be higher, some days much lower, and that is completely fine. The point is simply awareness. When you can see where your time actually goes, you get to choose differently.
A Simple Way to Invest in Your Health Inside OASIS
If you want support to begin, this is exactly what I created OASIS for. It is my online community for women who are ready to put themselves back on the list. OASIS offers you a gentle pathway for your health, whether that is a movement video, a mindset video, a nutrition tip or recipe, or breathwork and meditations. Altogether it takes just 30 minutes to an hour a week, a small and doable way to invest in your health that starts to change how you feel.
So here is my invitation to you. Sometime this week, add up your own day. Count the movement, the meals you truly nourished yourself with, the moments you let yourself rest. Whatever your number is, meet it without judgement. It is just information, and information is where change begins.
To invest in your health does not have to be dramatic. It can start with a single block of 20 minutes.
How many of your 72 blocks would you give to yourself?
With care, Anna x
Find some inspiration here.
