Buckets: A Visual System for Balanced Health
There is a lot to keep track of when it comes to our health. There are many components that we need to ensure are part of our lifestyle to maintain good health over the course of our lives. In an ideal world, these components are all in a good balanced standing and the behaviours that make up these components are practiced weekly. Besides time spent dedicated to work, we need to find time for these behaviours. Easier said than done right?
Our health is multifaceted. It encompasses broader categories like:
Physical well-being
Mental well-being
Emotional well-being
Spiritual well-being
Financial well-being
Relationship well-being
And those categories can further be broken into subcategories:
Physical well-being consists of access to a safe and clean home to live; safety amid a changing climate landscape; air quality; access to nature; quality and quantity of sleep; sunlight exposure; active recovery body maintenance practices like yoga, stretching and foam rolling; strength-building exercise; cardiovascular exercise; mobility practice; playing sports or doing physical activities; going for walks; non-exercise activity like gardening and dancing; positive sexual activity; nutrition and hydration…
Mental well-being is comprised of intentional rest; access to education; time spent in nature; creating any kind of art; resilience and mindset training; journaling; positive reinforcement; learning new skills or things of interest outside of work; being playful and experiencing play; a sense of progress; stimulating conversations; decluttered, inspiring spaces to spend time or work; a sense of purposeful responsibility…
Emotional well-being involves time spent laughing, connecting and creating memories with family or friends; therapy; journaling; allowing yourself to feel all feelings, even conflicting one’s simultaneously; being validated and feeling heard…
Spiritual well-being is made up of developing beliefs that are larger than oneself; a connection with meaningful ideas; a devotional practice; a sense of purpose in the world…
Financial well-being includes a structured long-term plan around money allocation, spending and saving; investing; living within one’s means; affording food and shelter; the ability to experience what’s important to you; paying taxes on time…
Relationship well-being encompasses safe and supportive partners; deep and meaningful connection to friends; a sense of community and purpose; a supportive work environment…
This may seem like a lot of things to incorporate into your life and it can feel overwhelming and sometimes paralyzing. Where do I start?
This is where the bucket system can be very helpful. Each bucket represents a different aspect that contributes to our overall health. This system will allow us to check in to see which buckets are being filled up easily and which ones are dangerously low or empty that need our attention.
We are visual creatures, so this method allows you to track where you’re putting your energy, see what’s going on at a glance and adjust your priorities accordingly.
Another simple bucket system you can use would include the use of just one single bucket that represents overall energy. One that demonstrates a list of all of the things that give you energy (fills your bucket), and all of the things that drain you of energy (empties your bucket). Some things might be doing both like social events, or sports. And these things will be different for each person. A day spent with friends may be very energy-filling for one person, but for another it has the opposite affect. Listing these things out can help you get to know yourself better as well.
Planning and practicing these lifestyle behaviours can feel monotonous at times, and that’s ok. It’s not always going to feel novel and fun. But that may be an indication that you need to focus on your filling your energy bucket a little more.
You can use actual buckets at home, or another vessel like cups, and every time you do something for one of the above categories, place a token (could be a marble or paper clip…get creative) in the vessel. At the end of the week or month, analyze which categories need more love.
When things feel out of balance in your life, look to these buckets to help you direct your efforts to the area(s) that will make the biggest difference in restoring that balance.
