Hello all! As promised, I'm back today with a second installment of the Daily Dozen series, and this one's personal. It's all about the basic habits that each person should devote a few minutes to each day.
As stated in the previous Daily Dozen entry, the whole purpose of a daily checklist rather than a morning/afternoon/evening routine is that--for the novice routine-haver--you will have the flexibility to allow the routines to develop on their own. For the record, I'm terrible at this. I run around like a chicken with my head cut off most days, but I do nothing to improve my own feelings of self-worth and perception of beauty.
The Daily Dozen List
- Daily facial massage. A little drop of oil or serum to work into the skin, 2 minutes worth of self-love and your face will glow with good health.
- Brush your teeth. Seems like a given, but...moms forget.
- Shower. Same logic as above. I don't know what possesses me to keep delaying my shower in favor of wiping down my son's toys--or some other cleaning chore--but it has to stop.
- 15+ minutes of yoga practice. If you are interested in reading my post about free yoga programs on YouTube, click HERE.
- Take out my contacts at night. This is a major habit that I need to start, for two main reasons. First, it's just a good basic health practice so your eyes get plenty of rest and oxygen. Second, it forces me to shut off at a certain time every night since I can't see without them.
- Apply basic makeup. My version is mascara, powder foundation, and lip gloss.
- Read for 20 minutes. Nothing helps you take a break like a chapter of a good book.
- Meditate 5 minutes. I'm God-awful at this, but meditation is a terrific practice for lowering stress, blood pressure, stress-eating, and the constant chatter in your head.
- Drink 1 gallon of water daily. Hydration is great for skin, your brain, metabolism, and so much more.
- Go to bed by 10 pm. Should be a no-brainer, but a 10 pm bedtime will allow you to get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep and still wake up early enough to accomplish my Most Important Tasks [MITs] before Wee-One pops awake at 7 am.
- Drink no more than 1 cup of coffee. I don't wan't to be artificially energetic, so I cutting down on caffeine to better hear my bodies signals.
- Limit alcoholic beverages to 1 glass of wine or 1 mixed drink max. Same logic as cutting back on caffeine.
The Importance of Taking Care of Yourself
At first glance, so many of the items on my Daily Dozen list are self-explanatory and rather obvious ways to take care of yourself, but some of us just don't. It's not sad, and no one is looking for pity, but when you decide--as a mom, wife, or partner--to devote your life to other people, you forget to take care of yourself. That's why I am applying the same rule to my personal care as I do to my personal finances: Pay Yourself First.
This does not mean that you have to "selfishly" ignore the important people in your life in favor of spending time on yourself. Instead, consider researching ways to improve your sleep so you can comfortably wake up 15 minutes early and add a nice facial massage to your morning routine.
Thank you for your attention and readership. I would love to read about some important components of your Daily Dozen, so please share. I'm always looking for new ideas.
Happy reading,
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