How do you use your 24 hours?
That’s a question someone asked me at “meetup” a couple months back. It was a valid question so I started thinking to myself… “How do I use my 24 hours and is it effective at helping me live a balanced, healthy and successful life?”
Making healthy lifestyle choices is important to me, like eating a sensible diet, exercising regularly and meditating — however, with the hectic nature of modern society, it can be difficult to make time for daily self care. At least, that’s what I used to think.
Start Prioritizing Yourself
We live such busy lives; however, I thought this was an important topic to touch on because a lot of women feel they have less time for self-care. Even though it may seem that way, the truth is we do have time for self-care; we just don’t prioritize ourselves before other things. Ever caught yourself scrolling through the newsfeed just to check on something, only to look up and realize 2 hours have past? Yup, I’ve done that!
Think about all the daily self care you missed out on during that period. You could have exercised, cooked up a sumptuous meal, read some chapters of a book or had a nice long bubble bath. You could have called a friend, spent time with a loved one, or done something else to enrich your life.
So what should you do everyday if you want to live and be your best self? While you can’t do all the things you want, there is time to do SOME of the things you want each day. Just take out the low-value habits and replace them with self-care rituals. Below, I share my morning, mid-day and evening routines to inspire you.
My Morning Routine
I stretch, brush my teeth, do my morning skincare regimen, make myself a cup of coffee (or tea) and a healthy breakfast, visualize my day, and write. My morning routine is the most essential part of the day because it gives me clarity on all things I need to accomplish. I also feel good, more energetic and happy once I wake up.
READ: 7 Small Choices to Make to Stay a Happier Person
My Mid-Day Routine
I’ll take a break from work and head to the gym, listen to music while getting my workout on, take a shower, and have a healthy meal. My mid-day routine helps me reset and get back on track so I can finish all my work by the end of the day.
My Nighttime Routine
I’ll listen to one of my favorite podcasts, have dinner around 7:30pm, relax by watching a TV show, turn off my computer around 9pm, read for about 30 minutes, brush my teeth, do my nighttime skincare routine, and go to bed around 11 pm.
Daily Self Care: List of Rituals
Struggling with putting together your own routines? Here’s a list of rituals to help you come up with morning, mid-day and evening routines that you can stick with!
- Exercise (i.e. walking, yoga, HIIT, running, biking, swimming, etc.)
- 6-8 hours of sleep
- Affirmations
- Calling a friend
- Prayer
- Healthy Eating
- Drawing
- Journaling
- Watch the sun rise
- Listening to inspiring podcasts
- Meditate
- Self-massage
- Beauty routine (jade rolling, luxury bath, at home facials, soaking your feet etc.)
- Reading
- Listening to your favorite music
All of us, including highly successful people, have twenty-four hours each day to get things done. The trick is to use this time in a productive way, rather than wasting it on useless activities. Remember that there are enough hours in the day for self care; you just have to start prioritizing yourself over your other insignificant habits.
Did I miss any daily self-care rituals I should add on this list? Share your thoughts by commenting below!
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I simply loved this article. I’m so happy that i cam across is. Sometimes in my day i feel like “darn another day blowin but useless actives”. Lately, i been more focused but haven’t grip enough things to make the that transfer for my 2 hr slip up on IG. Yeah, I know it’s seems like common sense to do a productive thing. But I guess I or maybe people don’t always make the exchange. Great list of productive uses to exchange I will be implementing. Thanks again.
Somewhere between health care and beauty routine, I’d include a weekly Epson salt bath. You can combine that detox activity with listening to a podcast. Or meditation if you don’t, like me, tend to doze off!!