Self-Care
The start of a new year always brings about fresh reminders of my values and offers a time to realign my habits, desires, and priorities. 2017 has been filled with a lot of re-grouping as many new passion projects have been added to my career plate. The initial thought in my mind is, what can I remove from my schedule to free up some time? I immediately think to cut down on yoga, infrared sauna appointments, grocery shopping, and cooking. But, wait. All of the things are so important to me. They exist as priorities to make a house a home + they are self-care necessities!
I have learned this year that you must take care of yourself to have healthy relationships, a healthy body, and a healthy home. You must learn to be self-aware and create space for the things that are necessary for your well being. Side note: accept your needs! Feeling selfish for feeding your emotional, physical, and spiritual health limits you from giving, living, and serving with the fullest heart.
In order to balance work, self-care, errands, and relationships, simplify your life. Here are some shifts I have made to bring more ease into the to-do's, which in turn creates time and space for self care.
- Wake up and read for 10 minutes to relax your mind and bring perspective to your day. This book is my favorite right now.
- Create a productive schedule for your day. My mom recently recommended listening to the podcast in this blog, and the productivity sheet has made my days uber-productive, yet I have more free time than ever. I am a big to-do list person, but this mind set has increased my focus tremendously. Aren't moms the best?
- Shop on Sunday for a week full of groceries. I am on week one of trying this, and it has been a game changer.
- Ask for help. If cooking dinner seems stressful one night, I ask my husband for help! Doing it as a team makes it so enjoyable and stress free.
- Get gel manicures OR leave them bare. This requires much less maintenance!
- Declutter your work space. A mind functions better in an organized atmosphere.
- Give yourself breaks. Go for a 10 minute walk outside in between projects, make a homemade latte, or call a friend!
- Set aside a specific hour or two a week to work on administration, paying bills, and budgets!
- Consistently clean out your closet and cabinets AKA expired goods, clothes you do not wear, beauty products that you won't use, and linens that are stuffed in a cabinet. If you do it consistently, it will never feel like a big, intimidating project.
- Breathe and enjoy life.
This series is in collaboration with some stellar ladies. Be sure and check out their posts on Self Care too: Kat Harris, Tutti del Monte, Danielle Bennett, Kate Labat, Joanne Encarnacion, Nikia Phoenix, and Chelsey Korus.
THE OUTFIT:
jeans | booties | striped top | sunnies (c/o)
images by felicia lasala
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