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Self Care – What it means to us and how it can help you.

Do you take care of yourself? REALLY take care of yourself?

What does self care actually mean for you?

The busyness of everyday life, the juggling of commitments and responsibilities plus the never ending to do list can all take their toll on even the strongest most resilient among us.  The phrase ‘recharge your batteries’ is used a lot – but how do you ensure that your ‘battery’ really is recharged so you can be the best version of yourself?  How can you tell when your battery is running low?

At Go Well, we have adopted the ‘Six Dimensions of Wellness’, developed by Dr Bill Hettler, co-founder of The National Wellness Institute:  https://nationalwellness.org/resources/six-dimensions-of-wellness/

 

This model enables us to focus on parts of our life where the impact of action has a positive effect on our daily life and as a result our mental health.

This open and honest personal reflection might give food for thought as well as throw a spotlight on your own self care plan!

Those six dimensions contribute to a collection of self care options and the potential to focus on some or all of them in order to maintain the version of ourselves which we know allow us to function well in our everyday life.

What could that look like?  These examples might get you thinking;

There may be some of these dimensions which feel easier to address than others, there may be some aspects mentioned which we seldom get an opportunity to consider – but for me, when I reflect on what makes me well and what recharges my batteries, there are a couple of stand out cogs which really help my metaphorical wheels keep turning;

Social – Being Connected. 
Feeling low? Phone a friend!
Got some exciting news? Phone a friend!
Need to rant? Phone a friend!

That’s always been me – sharing news, experiences and stories with those closest to me and harvesting the responses, the commiserations, the support and advice, the sympathy at times as well as the laughs – a range of outcomes needed at different times and all met through connection.

However, being truly connected is much more than that for me. Being able to reach out when things are going wrong and know you have people to lean on is like a security blanket.  Having those friends and family members who see you at your lowest and help you reach back up to where you want to be is priceless and if we are lucky, we can all picture those people in our lives.  Also, the knowledge that somewhere along the line, this is reciprocal – feeling that connection in the other direction when a friend needs to lean on you, being valued as someone who can be turned to – what a privilege.

Friendship is a partnership, play your part and enjoy what then surrounds you

Making an effort to initiate, maintain or react to connection takes effort, but responding to that text, answering the email, picking up your phone brings that Oxytocin brain chemical boost that we all often crave.  Feeling wanted and part of a group is human nature – lockdown won’t lessen that desire, it just demands that we feed our craving for it in a different way.

Seek out those who bring something positive to your life and welcome them
Be the positive influence that someone else might need. 

Lockdown has brought with it a detraction from human contact as we know it, our family and our friends unable to be a presence on our doorstep.  And then came ZOOM! For even the most technically challenged (who, me..?!) the chance to feel we have been in the same room sharing quiz, a chat or just a smile has been a new experience for some and a welcome opportunity to remind ourselves of who is out there holding our hand along the way.  Connection.

Find ways to be together when you can’t BE together. Unleash your creativity!

Sharing a meal time as a family – if we manage just once a day, it works for us!  An opportunity to not only refuel our bodies but our links to each other too.  ‘What made you smile today?’ ‘What was the best part of your day?’ ‘Any plans for the rest of the week?’ ‘How are you REALLY doing?’ Food for the soul.  Perhaps consider how often a family meal would work for your family?

Use every opportunity to connect and reconnect, take the time and make the effort, feel the benefits.

Bonding with our neighbours like never before.  Standing on our step and clapping for our NHS led to chats across the street; finding out our neighbours hobbies, which books they like to read, popping out to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ when no one else could visit to do it, a shared recipe for soup, a plan for a street party post-COVID where we will invite the world!  Never again will these people just be faces in our street, we know them, we have forged connections and we have shared the experiences of some of the trickiest times lately.  That knowledge of being part of a community and a sense of wanting to be there too.  Create a WhatsApp Group for the neighbours? I’ll do that.  No longer will anyone just sit at home and wonder if the couple at number 2 are ok…do they need some milk picking up while I’m out?  We’re on it. Connection.

Be open to making new connections and enjoy the surprises!

Physical – Being  Active

As the reality of lockdown hit us, and the list of things we couldn’t do seemed to grow – the one thing we COULD do was be active.  The Government encouraged us to walk, run or cycle, keeping our bodies as well as our minds fit and healthy. For me, grasping this invitation was vital in order to maintain not only my physical health but my mental capacity to cope, to gain some perspective at such a confusing time, a chance to clear my head and tackle things with fresh eyes, an opportunity to experience a surge of those much needed feel good chemicals in my brain which would help me take care of myself, as well as prepare me to be stronger to take care of those around me. Self preservation.

To run – on the footpath, on the road, through mud, enjoying the sunshine or the dark of night became my solace!  Conversations with myself as well as with my amazing running buddy who shares this mindset, the miles we covered putting not only the world right, but ourselves too. Fast running, slow dawdling, jogging, running familiar routes and the fun of getting lost and discovering new places, out for ages or back home in a flash…it really didn’t matter, but what did matter was that every time I looked for an excuse not to go, I remembered how I felt the last time I ran – and I laced up my trainers.

The elation of our first 10k – a virtual version of the long cancelled event in our town – and the euphoric feeling of my running buddy and I crossing our imaginary finish line is a precious memory and the buzz from it lasted days!  To crave those highs that keep me so well is a habit I will forever be grateful to 2020 for.

Explore until you discover a physical activity you enjoy, remember the feelings you experience as you enjoy and complete – and repeat!

So, what is YOUR self care plan?  How do you maintain the best version of you?  Have you got a plan…or do you need to create one?

This plan will have you at the heart of it, it’s for no one other than you and no one understands what makes you tick better than you.  So be kind to yourself, think your plan through and start it today.  Help yourself to be the best version of you – because that version is brilliant! 

I hope you found this blog helpful, Annalisa (annalisahopkins@go-well.org).

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Go Well Blog

5 ideas for schools to support children to be active at home

We are currently in National Lockdown 2.0; engaging children in regular physical activity is becoming more and more challenging. Some reasons for this may include:

  • Space and time in school is limited with staggered lunchtimes and deteriorating weather

  • Community sport and recreation opportunities are cancelled

  • After school clubs are limited to bubbles

  • The dark nights are setting in

  • We are all spending the majority of our time at home

While schools continue to aim to provide 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity in school time, which in itself is tricky, the additional 30 minutes out of school is providing a significant challenge.

We know that schools want to help their parents and communities to support children to be active outside of school.  We know being physically active is super important for physical health and mental health and we know the pandemic is negatively affecting the health and well-being of our children.  So what can we do?  

Here are a few ideas…

1. Virtual After School Clubs

Why not?  We all have taken big steps into the digital world and live virtual delivery has been successful in many settings.  Joe Wicks got us started in Lockdown 1.0 but we have equally seen local sports club set up ‘zoom’ type sessions to continue engagement in their activities.  Schools are becoming more comfortable with home learning and digital platforms; this could really be an option to expand the current, potentially limited, after school club provision.

It could be school staff delivering or you could engage with an external provider.  The Youth Sport Trust have also just announced that they will be providing a livestream virtual after school club at 5pm each night.

‘After School Sport Club’ will run for five weeks until December 18 and children and young people can take part live by visiting the YST’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/YouthSportTrust.

2. A Challenge or Competition

We have found that themes or challenges/competitions are a great way of engaging people young and old in physical activity.  In our ‘One Million Steps to Wellness challenge’ I walked over twice as many steps as I would in an average week.  A half termly, weekly or daily challenge may just spark that engagement.  Here are some quick ideas:

  • A steps challenge similar to our ‘One Million Steps to Wellness’.  Give a step target to a child as an individual, create small teams, or travel collectively somewhere as a class or bubble!

  • Sport themed half-terms with a different activity each week e.g. Athletics, Football.  Each child could have a go at the activity on a Monday and create a score, with the aim being to beat that score on Friday.  Start it at school, practice it at home!

  • Contribute to a total – did you hear about the girl who accumulated over 1 million “keepy upy’s” over Lockdown 1.0?  You could copy that with your class/school/bubble or come up with your own idea of a skill to use.  Throw and catch off a wall, squats, minutes of dancing…anything you or the children can think of!

3. Promote Resources Available to Parents

Why re-invent the wheel?  There are numerous resources out there now that can support children to be active at home.  A simple newsletter or notification to parents of what is available may go a long way.  Although, perhaps using these as a theme or challenge would enhance engagement further.  Here are some useful links:

Youth Sport Trust Free Downloadable Resources: https://www.youthsporttrust.org/free-resources
Change for Life Activities for Children:  https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/activities
Active 30 Durham Home Resource Catalogue: https://www.countydurhamsport.com/young-people/active-30/home/

4. Promote Active Travel

A 15 minute brisk walk/run/scoot/bike ride to school and 15 minute brisk walk/run/scoot/bike ride home would clock up a child’s 30 minutes of activity needed outside of school time.  Can you incentivise or reward Active Travel to school?

5. Activity Tracking

Setting goals and activity tracking can support children (and adults) to maintain engagement in physical activity.  A useful aim is to reach the CMO guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each day.  Individual goals would be preferred, if time allows, as children will all begin from a different starting point.

3 Top Tips:

Involve the children in the planning/delivery/promotion

We know teachers are really stretched at the moment.  This could be a project for a group of sports leaders.

Keep it varied and vibrant

To maintain the engagement, keep mixing it up!  Use multiple ideas above in a longer plan/programme.

Reward engagement

Celebrate success of children being active outside of school to maintain the motivation of those engaged but also to encourage those less engaged to join in

 

We hope you found this blog helpful, if you have then you may find these previous blogs useful too:

6 ways to integrate Physical Activity

Why moderate to vigorous activity is important for children and how to measure it

Categories
Go Well Blog

10 ways to make your virtual meetings more active!

Are you sitting in lots of virtual meetings throughout the day?  We would like to help you to make virtual meetings more active!

We advocate that everyone should integrate physical activity into their daily schedule to benefit their physical and mental health.  

However, did you know that it also boosts your brain power?  

Physical activity boosts the production of a chemical in your brain called BDNF which creates new brain cells and strengthens neural pathways.  It also boosts the production of Norepinephrine, which improves your concentration and alertness.

Hands up who can find it difficult to maintain full concentration during online learning or meetings?  

If you are leading online meetings, it may be helpful to integrate activity in to your delivery/time to maintain or to boost engagement.

Here are a few ideas for integrating activity into your online meetings:

1. Active Quiz/Poll

Link answers to body shapes or movements.  Stand up for Yes, Squat down for No.  Lean left for agree, lean right for disagree.

2. Active Break – Rock, Paper, Scissors!

An active twist on Rock, Paper, Scissors.  Use movements for Rock, Paper and Scissors.  Play in pairs, keep your score to see who wins.  You can also give other roles out like a referee and a score keeper. This works great in breakout rooms.  You can make it into a competition if you like or just play for fun!

Add some twists!:

1. Points for passion – have a judge who can give extra points for how passionate people are when playing.

2. Make it more active by replacing Rock, Paper and Scissors with other more challenging movements e.g Squat, Lunge, One foot balance.

3. Full screen with everyone creating a shape at the same time.  The shape with the most people performing that shape wins that round.

3. Active Break – I went to….

Split your delegates into breakout rooms of groups of 4-6.  The task is to create the longest sequence of movements in the style of the game ‘I went to the supermarket and I bought….’  e.g. Add a movement on each time you move to the next player.  Change the intro to anything you like ‘I went to PE and we did…..’, ‘I went to the gym and we did…..’.  You can work through the alphabet or just freestlyle!

4. Active Break – Dance

Create a dance – Split your delegates into breakout rooms of groups of 4-6.  Ask each room to create a dance to a certain section of a song (all the same song and section).  Bring the groups back together and perform the dance either one group at a time, or all together.

5. Active Break –  1-2-3 

Split your group into breakout rooms in pairs and complete the exercise in the video below.

6. Active Break – Competition

How many times can you catch and throw an object within a minute?  One hand to the other? One hand only?  Off your wall?  Compete against each other or repeat the task and try and beat your own score.

7. Active Break – Workout

Complete a 2, 5 or 10 minute workout together.  You can use this one if you like:

8. Active thinking time

Walk and reflect – set a thinking task but ask participants to go for a 10 minute walk, ideally outside, as they consider the question or questions.

9. Active task – Scavenger hunt

Collect objects from your house/office space that represent a certain thing or answer a question.

10. Active Break –  Mexican Wave!

Team challenge.  Can you create a Mexican wave on your screen in a certain order?

Add some twists:

1. Pick a person and an order (horizontal wave/vertical wave).  The wave has to go in that order on that persons screen but they cannot talk during the challenge and the others cannot ask them questions.  They can only make waves and attempt to create the wave in the right order.  The person can nod, shake their head or do a wave (they are in the screen after all and will need to take their turn in the Mexican wave).   Once an effort to make the wave fails the team needs to start again!

2.  Do a wave and then point (with one hand or two), whoever you point to has to do a wave and so on.

Some of these tasks can be linked to a topic/be part of the content of the meeting and some can just be to have some fun and move!  A quick 5 minute activity of simply moving, having fun and connecting with other people will help to boost brain chemicals in individuals and lift the atmosphere in virtual meetings.  The next ‘serious’ task is then likely to be more productive with delegates more alert and ready to engage.

These are just a few suggestions and as we have been implementing them in our meetings and workshops we have come up with new ideas, which I’m sure you will too!  We would love you to share any new ideas or twists on the above in the comments!

We hope you have found this blog helpful, for more information contact: sarahprice@go-well.org.

Categories
Wellness

What is Wellness?

Health and wellness are very much interlinked.

The World Health Organisation defines health as  “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Wellness can be defined as “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health” (www.globalwellnessinstitute.org).

There are many models of wellness, all sharing commonalities and individual differences. However, all models highlight the interconnectedness between different aspects of life and how these dimensions interact with one another to positively impact an individual to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

At Go Well we have adopted the Six Dimensions of Wellness, developed by Dr Bill Hettler, co-founder of The National Wellness Institute (https://nationalwellness.org/resources/six-dimensions-of-wellness/).

This model recognises six areas of wellness;
Occupational

This recognises personal satisfaction through work and following a career path that is rewarding and fulfilling. 

Physical
This recognises the benefits of physical exercise, healthy eating habits and acknowledging  when you require specialist medical care. 
Social
This area is about making positive contributions to the environment and community and developing positive relationships with others. 
Intellectual

This refers to the importance of seeking creative mental activities and sharing knowledge with others.

Spiritual
This area recognises the development of individual beliefs, acceptance of others, being true to yourself in a way that is consistent with personal values and beliefs.
Emotional
This refers to the awareness and acceptance of feelings and the ability to manage these.

We explore how we support our colleagues in these areas, as well as how our programmes support the development of these in the children, adults and partners that we work with.  We will be sharing a series of blog posts that will delve deeper into each area of wellness and expand on how we develop these in ourselves and the people that we work with.

We will measure the number of people that we impact via the Six Dimensions Model in the next 5 years in order to meet our ambitious vision:

‘To have a positive impact on the wellness of 1 million people by 2025’

We hope you found this blog helpful, for more information please contact garethhamblin@go-well.org.

Categories
Go Well Blog

6 ways to integrate physical activity into your school day

children running in field
There are many benefits to being physically active, regardless of our age. The positive effects on the body are numerous – strengthening our heart and lungs, lowering blood cholesterol levels and regulating blood pressure, developing stronger bones, muscles and joints….a pretty impressive list.  Additionally, the mental health benefits enjoyed by those who include some form of physical activity as part of their daily routine – relieving stress, improving memory, boosting their overall mood and positively impacting on depression, proves that physical activity is a winner!
Is it possible in a busy school environment to include and provide opportunities for physical activity every day? Yes!
 Creative thinking, coupled with the desire to be a positive role model will enable school staff to provide an exciting physical activity menu for children, where everyone can reap the benefits.
Here are 6 simple ways you could use, to integrate physical activity in to your school day:

1. Planned Daily Activities

The daily mile may work for your school, a daily dance may work just as well or a daily workout.  We advise a vibrant and varied menu – offer something different every day or every half term.  This could also go some way to help all children find an activity they enjoy and hopefully would want to pursue.  Today, it is possible to find lots of interactive online activities to encourage movement and dance, yoga and functional fitness – search, search and search some more.  Involve the children in creating a weekly menu and give them some ownership – excite them in the planning stage and they will be a captive audience when taking part.

2. Active Curriculum

Physical activity isn’t just for PE lessons! Active lessons across the busy Primary Curriculum can help not only with academic learning but can increase motivation and enthusiasm, address different styles of learning that children may have, by focusing on the kinaesthetic, bringing learning to life in a fun and exciting way, using the creativity Primary teachers possess in bucket loads! Can you teach your maths topic through physical activity? Is there the opportunity to deliver your literacy lesson in a practical way that gets children out of their seats and moving around?

3. Active Playtimes

Opportunities to develop leadership coupled with the provision of activities at playtime is a win – win situation. The less sporty can sometimes be the most amazing leaders, showing empathy and understanding to the less active and promoting regular physical activity through fun games on a daily basis. Two baller, skipping with a long rope, hula hooping and What Time is It Mr Wolf – can you remember the joy they all brought?!  Training of lunchtime supervisors or employing a PE Apprentice can really support active playtimes!

4. Travel to and from school

How do the children travel to school? Walking trains, scooting and cycling are all options to consider – as are incentives in school for doing it.  Promoting this even once a week as a focus day and celebrating participation across school is a possible approach to help develop a healthy habit.  An active start to the day will have children entering school ready to learn! 

5. Regular Brain Breaks

During the school-day, regular brain breaks in the classroom are a positive way of ensuring learning is productive. Brain breaks can be energising, fun, stimulating and effective.  If you implement just 6 x 5 minutes opportunities in a day = 30 minutes of physical activity achieved!

6. The PE lessons count

EVERY SINGLE PE LESSON COUNTS.  Maths doesn’t get cancelled to practise the Christmas play – so why should PE?  A subject which brings so much to our pupils socially, benefits their physical health and fitness as well as their mental health and well-being, develops communication, leadership skills and problem solving surely deserves our full attention!  Sticking with the recommended 2 hours of PE per week, in 2x1hr lessons will cover Active 30 for 2 days (Just 3 days left to plan for)!  Although, we would still advise regular brain breaks and active playtimes, even on a PE day!

A commitment to value PE lessons needs to be a staff culture – something worth nurturing for the benefits it will reap physically, socially and cognitively!

 Is it possible in a busy school environment to include and provide opportunities for physical activity every day? Yes!

More practical ideas:

Schools can access some amazing resources on the free to access County Durham Active 30 Hub –  https://activedurham.org.uk/active30durham

Our Fit for Life programme is designed to support schools to implement Active 30 with 10 minute moderate to vigorous workouts and a series of classroom brain breaks – www.fitforlifeschools.org.uk

Our Active Ted resource pack can help you to track and reward participation as well as inspire activity at home – https://cer.hmf.mybluehost.me/gowell/product/active-ted-pack/

 

We hope this blog was helpful.  For any further information please contact Annalisa Hopkins – annalisahopkins@go-well.org.

Categories
Go Well Blog

7 Top Tips on Rebranding your Organisation

Brand words illustration

We recently embarked on a full rebrand of our company – change of name, logo, mission and vision.  It was no mean feat!  

 

We navigated the process independently and we believe, successfully.  Here are a few things that we learned from the process that may be helpful for anyone considering rebranding:

No. 1 – Be sure!

Have a strong rationale and ensure the change links to the strategic aims of your company.  Changing your company identity is a transformational change that will affect everyone linked to your organisation – staff, customers, partners.  Consider the benefits of the change against the risks. You could use tools like a forcefield analysis to help – https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm.

 

Only go ahead when you are sure it is the right decision and the right time.

No. 2 – Have clear decision-making

Be clear from the beginning where decisions will be made.  Will it be the leader of the organisation?  Directors?  Management team?  Collective decision?  As we felt this was potentially a subjective decision, we were clear that the management team would make the final decision.  This was communicated clearly to the rest of the team from the outset.  Our team members knew that their input, their thoughts and their participation in the process were important and meaningful but they would not be responsible for the final decision.

No. 3 – Consult, research and learn.

Talk to people!  Involve as many people as possible actively in the process. Consult at the start, in the middle and just before the end. Hold workshops, launch surveys, have discussions.  Gather lots of data that you can use to inform decision-making by identifying themes.  Through our consultation we gained greater clarity on our USP and purpose.  Through researching other brands and processes we created parameters that we wanted our name to fit. 

This learning and identifying of themes in data were key in informing the final decision that we made – it made a subjective decision quite objective.

It is also worth noting here, that the final company name came from a member of team!

No. 4 – Don’t ask people what they like

It feels like the natural question to ask – do you like this?  What do you think about this?

In many ways it isn’t about what people like.  We all like different things, different shapes, different colours.  Your company brand isn’t looking to win a popularity contest, it is looking to reflect your organisation and what you do.  Your brand needs to connect people to your organisation, to it’s why, it’s purpose and it’s values.

 

Ask people questions like, what does this brand say about us?  See if the responses correlate to your values and purpose from your research/consultation.

No. 5 – Stay in the fog!

There will be times when you feel lost, when you feel it isn’t coming together, you aren’t going to make it, it isn’t going as well as planned, you can’t see the end.  That can be referred to as the fog of uncertainty.  Breathe it in, stay there, it is where the magic eventually happens.

 

In fact, we delayed our timelines at one point to stay in the fog a little longer!

No. 6 – Communicate – a lot!

As mentioned before, rebranding is a transformational change that affects everyone connected to your company.  Keeping people informed of the steps taken, completed, the next steps, the reasons behind certain decisions or elements will keep them on board, interested and even excited – depending on how you present it.  Be passionate when you communicate – it can be infectious.

 

The two videos posted below give an example of how we communicated our rebrand to our external stakeholders.

No. 7 – Have fun!

Any process is much better when you have fun with it, right? Rebranding is a creative process and it gives you a lot of opportunities to have some fun and spark some creative thinking.  You can do this with your team through the activities you plan for workshops you may hold.  You can do this with external partners/customers too. Here are a few fun activities we used:

 

Force fitting – present a random object/picture, write 10 words linked to that object/picture, create brand names linked to those words.

 

Object retrieval – find 3 objects around your house that link to your company’s why. Present them and explain them.

 

What would xxxx name our company? – Insert different well-known people into the question.

 

The purpose of some of these activities is to disrupt your thinking and bring about new perspectives, ideas or possibilities.  You will find more information about these activities and many more practical tools and techniques for creativity and innovation in the Idea Time book by Dr Jo North – https://bigbangpartnership.co.uk/idea-time-book-one/

We hope you find these 7 top tips helpful.   The launch video below illustrates the full journey taken.  If you are planning to undergo a rebrand process, good luck and enjoy the journey!

For more information on this blog contact: sarahprice@go-well.org

 

Chilton Academy, Chilton, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 0PT

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