Hello loves!
We’re all returning from the holidays now, and that likely means many New Year’s resolutions going a tad unnoticed.
I don’t personally set myself resolutions in that way, but I do see the beginning of the year as a great opportunity to set up some new and healthy habits. After the excess of Christmas and New Year’s, it’s simply a nice time to take a step back and get ourselves back on track with the things we want to achieve.
So today, I’m sharing with you some great ideas for healthy habits to implement in 2020 to keep you happy and healthy. I’ve also created for myself a wellness diary that I’ve decided to share with you, which is perfect if you’re the type of person that needs a little reminder to keep up habits.
So let’s get going!
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Keep a consistent hygiene routine
For some, this is easy. For others, a healthy reminder may be needed. Sometimes, things like personal hygiene can slip through our radar, and we end up forgetting to brush our teeth one morning or end up leaving nail polish on for a week too long. Not to mention trying to keep up a good skincare routine.
By noting all of the healthy habits down that you feel you need to do every day in order to stay clean and healthy, you can give yourself a gentle reminder to keep on top of things. Even if you would have remembered to do it that one day anyway, everyone likes ticking off to-do lists!
Exercise daily
I know, I know. This one sounds horrific to most people, me included.
Every new year, most people resolve to finally get fit and healthy, to go to the gym every single day without fail. And then they usually fail. Which is okay, because those are unrealistic goals, especially if you’re someone who has never actually been to the gym before.
But exercising daily doesn’t mean going to the gym every day (unless that works for you, then you go girl!). Exercising is an individual thing for everyone, and what some people can do, others can’t. So find out what you can do, and do it every day. There’s no need to be hard on yourself, the goal is to simply make sure you’re up and about every day. This might involve a brisk walk around the block or to the park, a quick bike ride, or even a quick set of ab workouts in the comfort of your own home.
Personally, I’ve taken to going for a simple walk every day. As someone with persistent (but thankfully much better) agoraphobia from when I was younger, I know that going out for a walk alone can be tough for some people. But simply reminding myself that I’d rather take a walk to my favourite coffee shop than go to the gym every day, it still seems worthwhile!
Reinvent your diet
Personally, this is one of the most difficult healthy habits to keep. Many of us have very emotional relationships with food, and so changing up the way we think about food and implementing a new diet can be really difficult.
For me, the biggest difficulty is the feeling of depriving myself of the foods I love the most if I try to change up my diet. But the thing is, I’m not depriving myself as much as I am simply cutting down on things that just aren’t that good for me. Somehow, it’s not an easy viewpoint for me. The same goes for alcohol, and along with changing up your diet in regards to food, a wonderful habit to implement this year is to reduce alcohol intake. Again, this can be really hard.
So in order to change my own viewpoint on these things, I tried to prepare myself in such a way that I had an understanding that I was not going to deprive myself of alcohol or comfort foods. If there was no reason to have these things (i.e. it’s not a special occasion or there’s plenty of healthy food in the fridge), then I could forego them. But the crucial thing is the understanding that I absolutely am allowed to have those things, just in moderation and at times when the addition of those things can enhance an experience.
If you have a similar experience with food, such an understanding with yourself might be beneficial to you. But even if your own relationship to food is different, it’s still important to have a real conversation with yourself about exactly what that relationship is and what kind of understanding it will take for you to see food and alcohol in a different light.
Train your brain daily
It’s always important to keep your brain working and allowing yourself to constantly keep learning, even if you’re not in school anymore.
I know, many of us have worked through years and years of school, so it’s tempting to just let those things go when we finally get to leave. I just finished up my Masters course and finally ended my 17-year long educational endeavour, so I totally get it. But, let me tell you, continuing to learn and expand your mind on your own terms is incredibly satisfying.
For instance, I spent a good 6 years in all being forced to read Shakespeare, from secondary school and into university. I kind of hated Shakespeare during that time. Then I left uni and was finally allowed to read whatever I wanted! And what was the first thing I had a craving to read of my own accord? Shakespeare.
And it’s a totally different experience, because I’m choosing to continue training my brain in such a way that nothing is chosen for me.
Anecdotes aside, it is incredibly important to keep training your brain throughout your life. Not only does this mean your brain is continually changing, learning, and maturing, but continued learning has been shown to reduce age-induced dementia.
So whatever type of learning works for you, be it reading, online courses, or puzzles, give this healthy habit a go!
Organise your home chores
In a recent post, I talked about how batching tasks, such as laundry or watering the plants, and saving them for a certain day of the week can make life much, much simpler.
So I like to water all of my plants every Saturday, and it’s almost turned into a little ritual. I take them all into the bathroom, water them all thoroughly, give their leaves a little clean, and give them a spray of nutrition product. Then Sunday is laundry day. That one is a bit more self-explanatory.
But by assigning these batch tasks to certain days and having an understanding that I don’t have to do them during the week, there’s no stressing out about remembering to do them or not getting them done.
And this can be done for anything that needs doing regularly, even on a smaller scale. So you might decide to assign a certain time of day for doing the dishes or giving yourself one day a week for going through your finances. Anything goes!
BONUS TIP: Keep track with a wellness diary!
I’ve recently created a wellness diary for myself, to help me keep track and, more importantly, remind myself of the things that need doing every day to keep me happy and healthy.
For instance, my goals for healthy habits in 2020 include doing all those things above each and every day (exercising, reading, washing my face, etc). So I list them down for each day of the week (no matter how small the task might seem, such as brushing my teeth!), and simply tick them off when done. So no matter what your wellness goals are for 2020, big or small, they belong in a wellness diary!
Not only is a wellness diary good for making sure you stick to those small daily goals, it’s also a good way to keep track of those small (but very important tasks) that only need doing every so often. For instance, you may only need to do a hair mask once a month, or water that one special plant, every few weeks. You might choose to do all of the vacuuming on one day every couple of weeks, or plan out in advance when you need to get your hair cut. Simply add these irregular tasks to your daily lists as you go, and get them done!
The post Healthy Habits for 2020 (+How to Keep a Wellness Diary) appeared first on Emily Aagaard.