5 Tips That Will Enhance Your Life
Taking time for yourself is vital for your happiness. This is something I struggle with, but am striving to get better at. I tend to prioritize work or family and friends over myself. I do try to regularly take 10 minutes to relax with a face mask (join us for #FaceMaskMonday over on our Instagram Stories every Monday) and I’ve been slowly implementing some additional strategies that have really helped my mind, body, and soul. Here are some tips on how to make time for self care.
Make an appointment with yourself
If you are constantly running from one appointment to the next, and live and die by your planner or calendar on your phone, then carve some me time into your day. It can be as short as 10 minutes if that’s all you have. Spend this time doing something that makes you happy. Pick up the phone and call a friend. Meditate. Flip through that magazine that has been sitting on your coffee table for weeks. Head to a yoga class. Light a candle, make a cup of coffee, and write in a journal. Do something just for you.
Turn off your phone
As a whole, we spend way to much time on our phones. Don’t get me wrong, smartphones have streamlined my life in amazing and helpful ways, but there are also times I sit down to scroll through Instagram and watch Insta Stories and find myself looking up from my phone an hour later! Chances are you’re even reading this post on your phone (thank you for reading by the way!). I try to spend a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday morning off of my phone. I don’t literally turn it off, I should, but I do turn it on silent and ignore any notifications that come in. This past weekend I spent that time reading a book while sipping on a steaming mug of coffee and listening to music. Another thing I want to try is to turn off my phone while eating dinner. For that hour, focus on having conversations with your partner, family, or roommates. Or spend it catching up on the latest episode of This Is Us (our favorite show right now!). The point is, eliminate the distractions on your phone and be present.
Take a long bath/shower
I don’t get to to this as often as I’d like, but I love a good soak in the tub or a long hot shower. My favorite thing to to is to light candles, draw a bath and drop in a bath bomb from Lush, pull up a classical piano playlist on Apple Music, and either read a book or scroll through Pinterest on my iPad if I’m craving a little inspiration.
Make it a habit
They say that if you do something for 30 consecutive days it becomes a habit. Are there some lifestyle changes you are looking to make? Make it a point to implement the change on a daily basis and it will naturally become part of your routine with time.
Outsource your to do list
This might not be a realistic option for everyone, but try to outsource items on your to do list when you can. This can be as simple as ordering your groceries online and having them delivered- or many stores now have the option to order online and pick up in store if they don’t deliver. Now you can spend that time you would have been walking around the store shopping doing something else. Amazon Prime is our BFF. Other options are to have a cleaning service come once a month, saving you that time spent deep cleaning the bathroom, which let’s face it no once enjoys doing. Use a service like Task Rabbit to help you put together that piece of furniture you bought at Ikea or to help you finally hang all those picture frames you’ve been stacking in the corner.