Cultivating

Well-Being

Interactive workbook

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Ingredients of well-being
Your well-being tank is fueled by three sources: mind, body, and spirit. However, our habits often cause us to
prioritize just one or two of these sources. To ensure your well-being is truly at its best, you should consider all three.

Body Mind Spirit

Sleep Relationships Societal role
Exercise Hobbies Professional calling
Nutrition Meditation Spiritual connection
Focus
Introspection

Principles for putting this into practice

No matter which source of well-being you want to prioritize, or the specific beh viors you want to improve, there are four big ideas that will
help you maximize your e orts.
1. Tiny behaviors lead to sustainable change: be specific and focused in your actions.
2. Small and frequent is best: don’t rely on just one big moment to energize yourself. Instead, do so throughout the day.
3. You have positive habits you can build upon: identify some existing cues that prompt healthy behaviors.
4. People matter: find others who can support you, offer feedback, and share ideas with you.

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Ingredients of well-being

Sleep Nutrition
Individual Individual
• Set a daily cut off time for work or screen time, and • Start with a small goal (e.g., no sugary drinks)
aim to go to sleep at the same time each day. and build your way up.
• Aim for 7-to-8 hours of sleep. • Modulate your daily food intake with your level of
activity.
Body
• Create a ritual to help you power down for the day
(e.g., light reading before sleep). • Stay hydrated.

Team Team
• Commit to no calls, emails, or fire drills in the early • Block time on the team calendar for lunch every
mornings, evenings, or on weekends. day, and do not set up any meetings during this
time. You can also use it as social time.

Exercise
Individual
• Maintain or increase your weekly exercise goals.
• Use spontaneous opportunities to move (e.g., a
last-minute meeting cancellation).
• Take stretching breaks.

Team
• Aim to have a few meetings each week during
which team members do not need to be on their
laptop or video, and can move around instead.
• Hold each other accountable for pursuing personal
fitness goals. Share and discuss these during
weekly check-in meetings.

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Ingredients of well-being

Relationships Meditation
Individual Individual
• Prioritize human connections. • Commit to a habit of daily meditation.
• Spend quality time daily with at least one person Set aside time, however little, and stick with it even
who is important to you. if takes time to see results.

Mind •
•
Pick an activity to do together with a friend.
Consider how you can bring attention, vulnerability,
Team
• Block time daily for a short team meditation,
empathy, and compassion to your relationships. and invite the full team.
Team
• Build time and space into your meetings for
meaningful human connections (e.g., once a
Focus
week start meetings with a fun question, such as Individual
"What is your favorite dinner to eat or make?"). • Focus on one task at a time.
• Take advantage of informal opportunities to • Address the distractions that lead to multitasking
strengthen your relationships (e.g., virtual team (e.g., put your phone away at the start of meetings
event). or family dinners, shut off your email notifications).

Team
Hobbies • Set norms as a team for how you will interact during
meetings (e.g., we all avoid email).
Individual
• Block time for your hobbies ahead of time and on a
recurring basis—solo or in groups.
Introspection
Team Individual
• Hold each other accountable for pursuing hobbies • Consider journaling or other ways to express
and personal goals. and process your inner thoughts.
Share and discuss these during weekly check-in
meetings. Team
• Set up ”team reflection” time once a month, with
the full team, to reflect on meaning (or challenges)
from your ongoing effort.
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Ingredients of well-being

Societal role Spiritual connection

Individual Individual
• Define your personal values. • Begin each day with positive affirmations.
• Align your priorities with your purpose and values. • Express gratitude for life’s little gifts.
• During moments of low energy, reflect on your
Team
Spirit purpose to remind yourself of what truly matters to
you. • Start or end meetings with a sign of gratitude, a
• Get more involved in your local community. positive affirmation, and/or a celebration.

Team
• Have a conversation about your team’s shared
values and purpose.
• If possible, volunteer as a team or support a cause
together.

Professional calling
Individual
• Reflect regularly on your work contributions and
how they connect to your purpose.

Team
• Reflect regularly on the potential or ongoing impact
of your team’s work, and what that work means—to
each of you individually, to the team’s purpose, and
to the organization.

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The importance of recovery
Below is an example of a busy human who is, nonetheless, living a balanced day. You will see that the goal is not intensity, but rather weaving in moments of
recovery throughout your day.

Start of day
Mindful wakeup Morning routine Movement while working
Resist the urge to reach for your phone! Bring some intention setting and movement into every Consider if you really need to be at your
Spend at least 20 minutes on a non- morning. For example, when brushing your teeth take a deep desk for that next meeting, or if you could
work morning routine. breath and smile, then set an intention for the day ahead. do it while walking.

Uninterrupted work blocks Frequent breaks

Schedule a few uninterrupted hours (or at least Move every two hours, whether it is to get a
one!) to focus on work that requires real brain glass of water, or to take a pause and
power and creativity. stretch. In fact, set a reminder.

Daily appreciation
Consider which of your friends, family members, or colleagues
would benefit from a quick text, email, or call. Send them a
quick note, and let them know you are thinking about them.

Non-negotiable connection Ruthless prioritization

Whether it is dinner with a loved one or a fitness Research shows that generally our productivity starts to slow after 6-to-8 hours of
class, block out times on your calendar for the real work. So near the end of the work day ask, “What really has to get done today?
things you need to stay well. What can be delayed? Or maybe deleted from the to-do list?”

Nightly gratitude End of day

In the evening, write or say three things that Time for bed
you are grateful for. Be specific and try to Put your phone in another room (physical alarm clocks still work!).
mention new things each day. Avoid emails, news, or stressful discussions at least one hour before bed.

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The importance of role modeling
“Your first and foremost job as a leader is to take charge of your own energy and then help to orchestrate the energy of those around you.” Peter Drucker

Research shows that, when it comes to well-being in the workplace, our behaviors are contagious. Your choices affect the choices of others around you,
whether they realize it or not. Each of us should think about how we can maintain our energy and well-being and, in so doing, create a mutually
reinforcing support network among our colleagues.

1 Set expectations and boundaries—and communicate them 3 Develop team norms

Get clear on what you need to be your best self, and share that with others. Well-being is easier with the support of a group. Similar to setting
More than getting clear in theory, hold yourself accountable! expectations and boundaries for yourself, go a step further and do the same
as a team.
• Clearly communicate when you might be stepping away for a bit,
signing out for the day, or are unavailable. • Give everyone explicit permission to set and enforce their own
• Take it a step further, and do not respond during those times. boundaries.
• Ask your teammates to challenge you when you are failing to respect • Dedicate time to discussing personal and collective goals
your own boundaries. (e.g., hours of sleep, number of workouts, books read).
• Create a visual tool to track progress.
• Do a daily check-in or check-out, using a messaging tool to share
2 Share what is going on, and ask for support your small wins.
Challenge yourself to be vulnerable and communicate openly, both about
what is working and what is not.
4 Celebrate one another
• Send to your team that great idea or resource that you just read about,
listened to, or watched. Did your teammate just run their first race? Did another make it to a child’s
soccer game every weekend this past month? These seemingly small things
• Take it a step further and have a discussion about it. are big deals, and our colleagues are more likely to continue to prioritize
• Communicate something you are working on, and ask if anyone has their well-being if they are actively encouraged.
advice or a resource to help.
• Dedicate time in a standing meeting to celebrate one or more people, or
to share something you are grateful for.
• Congratulate your teammates when they have accomplished something
important.
• Send a private note of appreciation, just because.

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 Try it Cultivating well-being

Choose a personal source of well-being to focus Develop a culture of well-being with your team.
on: mind, body, or spirit. • Find time in an upcoming meeting to discuss well-
• Pick one or two specific actions you want to experiment being specifically. What are people's individual
with over the next month. Actions to priorities? Is there anything you want to focus on
• Check in with yourself weekly or even daily to as a team?
explore
reflect on how things are going. Consider putting a • Discuss your experiences with the course. For
reminder in your calendar. Consider the example, you might suggest that everyone share
• At the end of the month, stop for a deeper reflection well-being of their reflections on the results of the "How full is
on how these actions have impacted your well-being. you and your your well-being fuel tank?" quiz.
Do you want to continue to focus on cultivating these team • Use other communication platforms to regularly
habits? Do you want to try something new? check in on both personal and team goals.
• Ask others in your life if they are noticing anything • Consider how you can create a similar
different about how you are showing up. commitment to well-being with family or friends.

What will you do? Pick an idea from the list above, or How did it go? Once you’ve taken that action, reflect on the
think of a different action you want to try. experience.

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