Over the past few months, I have been working on being consistent with a few habits to take care of myself. Take care of my mental and physical well-being. These are habits that helped me avoid "doomscrolling" if you do not know what doomscrolling is it's basically the act of endlessly scrolling down one's news apps, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media apps and reading bad news.My struggle with habits is staying consistent and not getting bored by these habits. I often talk myself out of being consistent simply because I think, "aren't habits supposed to be enjoyable?" before I have even started. In reality, habits do not have to be fun. That is not to say they should make you miserable, but the habits you use won't always feel exciting. That is why you need to stick to habits that you can do without feeling overwhelmed and in a rush to finish.
Successful people feel the same lack of motivation as everyone else. The difference is that they still find a way to show up despite the feelings of boredom.
This quote made me decern that boredom is perfectly okay. Once you push past the thoughts that tell you it's going to be hard, it is often not as bad as you imagined. I am a strong believer that self-care shouldn't feel like an escape from your life. True self-care should be part of your lifestyle, and the easiest way to make that happen is with your particular habits and routines. Even my own self-care habits I have not completely mastered, but here are some of the habits I am working on:
1. Go outside for sunlight and fresh air first thing in the morning
Going outside and getting sunshine in the morning will help you balance your body's internal clock and make it easier to fall asleep at night according to Sleep Foundation. I also like to go for a walk in the afternoon almost every day, but I recently started to walk in the morning as well. This allowed me to be more "awake" during the rest of the day. And I am able to focus more on finishing my school works and get any other tasks done that were on my schedule for the day.
As summer approaches, it's getting warmer and it is usually sunny early in the morning so that is the perfect time to start with this routine too.
2. Follow a work-start routine
The easiest way to get into a habit is to make the first two minutes easy, is to try to start your workday by writing, but that sometimes feels intimidating as the first steps in my routine. What's easy as making a cup of coffee or tea and listening to a calm playlist.
The first two minutes of my routine is to first get myself a cup of coffee take out my notebook and write my daily gratitude list and to-do list for the day. This allows me to have more of a routine during the day, compared to having the "I will see where the day takes me" kind of attitude.
3. Avoid caffeine after 10 am to 11 am
Interesting did you know it takes at least 5-6 hours for half of the caffeine you consume to leave your system? So that means if you drink a cup of coffee at 1pm, it's probably still going to be in your system if you try to sleep at 10pm. These days, I have been drinking green tea with breakfast and then having a cup of coffee at 9am. After that, I just have rooibos maybe 2 cups for the rest of the day. Until I got to bed.
4. Keep your work and self-care spaces separate
It has been really tempting to work from the couch since I'm always home and because I have been working from home, but it wrecks catastrophe on my back. Because of that, I've made sure that I start my workday from a little desk in the corner of my room. I like to keep my desk only for the purpose of doing my work, whether it is writing a blog or editing a new YouTube video. And where I take care of myself is separated from my desk. This also allows me to be less confused about what's work and what is for personal care.
5. Wind-down without screens an hour before bed
A habit I have also implemented is creating a wind-down routine at 10:00 pm. I try to spend the last hour before bed without any screens, but it usually turns into the last 30 minutes before bed. Which means I need to work on that.
I suggest spending the first 20 minutes of your wind-down routine getting your things in order for the next day, the next 20 minutes for hygiene habits like brushing your teeth, doing your night face care routine, reading, or even meditating. This is something I often forget to do, but I like the idea of breaking down the wind-down hour to fit in everything you want to do before you go to bed. So I thought it would be helpful to share.
What are your daily self-care habits?
I hope this post has given you some ideas for adding some calm and easy self-care habits into your routine. I pressure you to find comfort in your habits and try to stay steady even when it feels like you are not up for it today.
Leave a comment below! What do your daily habits look like right now?
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