Tracking and improving your Real Wellbeing

It sounds obvious but keeping track of your life satisfaction in a number of different areas is a vital part of improving your overall wellbeing.

Wellbeing isn’t just about green smoothies and a daily dose of yoga. Your wellbeing relies on a range of factors that work together to support more than just your physical health.

This is where the My Real Wellbeing App aims to help Australian Unity Members excel in all aspects of their life.

Featuring interactive levels, personalised activities and targets, as well as expert guidance, the My Real Wellbeing App assists you across a number of different areas to help boost and maintain your overall wellbeing. 

These categories include financial wellbeing, mental health, physical health, relationships, and even how to focus on finding some “me time”.

Here’s how the My Real Wellbeing App will help you measure and boost your wellbeing.

Financial wellbeing—what is it?

Financial wellbeing is when a person feels in control of their finances and financially secure, both now and into the future. 

One of the first things to do to help your financial wellbeing is create a budget. This shouldn’t be scary or overly time consuming, it’s simply a way of understanding what money you have coming in each month and what expenses you have. 

In the My Real Wellbeing App, there’s a section titled ‘Take control of finances’. When you click on ‘learn more’, there’s a link to a budget planner to help you get started.

“Once you have your budget in place, you will be in a better position to make good decisions about how you are going to use any savings or deal with any shortfall,” Matthew Litchfield, Associate Financial Adviser at Australian Unity, says. 

“If you’re looking for motivation to improve your financial wellbeing, it genuinely helps to have something you are working towards.

“Whether you’re saving towards a home deposit, trying to pay off your credit cards, reorganising your finances due to a change in circumstances or looking towards retirement, try to have an end goal in mind.”

Mental health—Gratitude is key

You may find that focusing on the positive things, no matter how small, can have a significant impact on your mental health.

You can start doing this by making a list of the things you feel grateful for.

“Mental health is such a key part of your overall wellbeing, keeping a gratitude list can have many positive benefits to your mental health,” Nicci Tepper, Coaching Services Manager from Remedy Healthcare’s MindStep® Mental Health Program says.

The notification option in the My Real Wellbeing App is a great way to set a reminder so you don’t forget. You can also use the calendar function to look back at the things you were grateful for over the past days, weeks or months, to re-live that positive feeling.

“Taking a moment to acknowledge the good things going on in your life can also have a surprisingly significant impact on your mood,” Nicci says. 

“It gives you the chance to reflect on what’s going well and helps to break the very common habit of focusing on the negatives. It is so lovely going back and reading over all of the things you have listed – give it a try!”

Finding some “Me” time

There’s always so much going on in life, it can feel like you’re always on the go. 

And when you’re constantly rushing from one thing to the next, it’s easy to forget about yourself and the things you enjoy.

The benefits of me time are undeniable. Think about how much easier it is to tackle a problem once you’ve had a 10-minute stroll to clear your head, or how much better you feel after taking a proper lunch break rather than eating a sandwich at your desk.

“Taking time for yourself has many upsides for your mental and physical heath,” Jeannie Yoo, Clinical Director at Remedy Healthcare, says. 

“A lot of people say they don’t always have the time but honestly, just a few minutes doing something you love and find relaxing can have a big impact on your wellbeing.”

Relationships—take the time to connect with loved ones

From infancy through childhood and into adulthood, the quality of your relationships with your partner, family, friends and other social connections can significantly affect your personal wellbeing. 

In fact, a lack of connection to others, through social isolation or loneliness, is linked to poorer physical and mental health.

The important part of this activity is to make some sort of connection. That can be by phone, message, video call, email, letter or in person. 

“Relationships come in many forms, but whether we’re talking about your long-term partner, an old friend, a neighbour or a member of your local sports team, all relationships require attention or they will start to fade away,” Aman Kaur, MindStep® Mental Health Coach for Remedy Healthcare, says. 

“But it’s worth the effort, because with a warm and trusted relationship comes increased trust, mutual support and respect, shared experiences, a sense of belonging and countless other physical and mental health benefits.”

Physical health—Get inspired!

Research has shown that our physical health and overall wellbeing are interconnected, with improvements in one area often leading to improvements in the other.

When it comes to deciding what physical activity you’re going to do, it doesn’t have to be boring and you don’t have to do the same thing every day.

Olivia Carinci, Health Coach for Remedy Healthcare, says choosing the right type of physical activity for you is vital to success.

“Get creative! You can go for a brisk walk by the beach, take an exercise class, do a little gardening or enjoy a round of golf,” Olivia says. 

“There are also many ways you can increase your physical activity through small changes to your daily routine, such as walking or cycling to work instead of using the car, or taking the stairs instead of the lift.

“If you want to succeed with your physical activity goals and experience the benefits, the trick is to develop healthy habits that you can continue in the long-term.”

 

If addressing these five areas seems overwhelming, you can find plenty of support, advice and tools in the My Real Wellbeing App. With a combination of daily, weekly and extra activities to complete, the app will help you initiate change in your life, and most importantly keep you motivated and on track to succeed.

To download the My Real Wellbeing app, visit the App Store or Google Play.