SMILES Spotlight: The ‘L’ That Could Change Your Week

Dr Janine Bycroft popped into the studio this week to dive deeper into the SMILES wellbeing framework, and we landed on the L – life choices. It sounds simple, but this is the piece that quietly shapes how you feel, function, and bounce back.

Life choices aren’t the dramatic New Year resolutions or the 12-week overhaul that leaves you exhausted by week three. Janine says they’re the small, steady decisions that stack up. When you choose sleep over one more episode, a walk over doom-scrolling, water over that third coffee – that’s where the change lives.

The L in SMILES covers the bits we know matter, but often treat as optional:
• Real rest, not just collapsing on the couch
• Sleep that you protect, not squeeze around work
• Food that fuels, not just fills
• Alcohol habits that help rather than numb
• Screen time that doesn’t swallow the whole evening

Janine also pointed out that noticing what drains you is just as important as choosing what lifts you. That might be late nights, constant notifications, saying yes when you’re already at capacity, or letting weekends disappear into errands instead of recovery.

The payoff? When your life patterns support you, everything else steadies. Mood, motivation, gut health, patience, and even how you handle the curveballs.

If you want to explore the full SMILES model or pick up practical tools to start shifting your week, you’ll find plenty waiting for you on the website.

Tiny choices, big difference.