Behave and Bloom

Living a healthy lifestyle is not always about hitting the gym for hours a day, spending hundreds of dollars on supplements every month, or creating the “perfect” daily routine. Spoiler: perfect doesn’t exist because -cough- life happens. When responsibilities take up most of our time every day, it can feel impossible to take care of ourselves. Fortunately, wellness is about focusing on the whole self – not just one or two aspects of our lives.

Being in a busy stage of life (kids, school, a demanding job, etc.) can make taking care of our whole selves feel daunting, exhausting, and utterly unrealistic. Good news: making a few small, minor changes every day can make a HUGE impact on your overall well-being.

When you don’t have the time or mental energy to devote to overhauling your current lifestyle, these 5 simple tips can make all the difference in your wellness journey!

Keep Water on the Nightstand

Wellness is not about reinventing the wheel. Staying hydrated is crucial for keeping your body healthy and your energy levels up. Struggling to drink enough throughout the day? Fill up a highly preferred water bottle (I also like using a quart mason jar with a lid!) and put it on your nightstand when you go to bed. Chugging it before bed may not be the best idea, but doing so right when you wake is. Right when you sit up in bed, before you do anything else, drink some water. Carry the water bottle with you during your morning routine and continue to sip. This simple strategy helps you up your water intake before you’re ready to start your day.

Note: This is something your body may need to get used to. If you aren’t accustomed to drinking water first thing in the morning, you may experience some stomach upset. Good news is that your body gets used to the hydration and the discomfort subsides!

Establish a 10-Minute Self-Care Routine

As a busy mom, full-time employee, or someone who just struggles to make time for themselves, having a quick, simple, no-frills self-care routine is invaluable. For many of us, a 7-step skincare routine filled with expensive products and ingredients you can’t pronounce is not in the cards – especially, not on a daily basis.

Instead, opt for a quick self-care routine that includes a few things that help you feel calm, mentally collected, and put together. This will look different for everyone, but can include a face washing session that isn’t rushed, some hot tea and a warming pad, or application of smoothing hair mask. Personally, my 10-minute self-care routine roughly consists of drinking some water, washing my face without a child tugging on my shirt, and an exfoliating face mask. Then, if there’s time, I’ll really splurge and apply some simple skincare before heading about my day.

This routine sounds simple and almost mundane, but to me, it is everything. I don’t get a chance to do these things without my kids around or while I’m not absolutely exhausted very often, so it feels amazing when I do.

Plan for Snacking

Are you a grazer? Do you get pulled into the habit of stopping by a fast-food place every day on the commute home from work, just to get a little “snackie-snack” that then ruins your appetite for dinner? Do you have a child under 5 who asks for a snack the second you get into the car?

If you fit into any of these categories, I recommend always keeping healthy snack items on your person – for yourself and for anyone else who may feel a pang of hunger while on the go. These include vegetables in a baggie, hand-held fruit, and anything else that can be munched on quickly while in the car or during transitions from place to place. This will decrease the chances of stopping by the fast-food joint and keep money in your wallet. Before leaving the house in the morning, throw a few snacks in your lunch bag just in case – you’ll be happy you did!

Set Alarms

Quick reminder: We are human. We schedule things, forget them, and end up scrambling to get everything done. When it comes to important things, such as paying a bill, calling to schedule an appointment, or filling out a registration form for your kids’ soccer team, setting an alarm can help you remember, get it done, and feel more accomplished.

For things that don’t have such a rigid timeline but are still important to you, setting an alarm is a great reminder to keep up with your healthy habits! For example, if you’re trying to get in bed earlier, set an alarm to start the kid’s bedtime routine, an alarm to start your bedtime routine, and an alarm with the time you actually want to be in bed. It sounds excessive but these reminders help you stay on track when life gets hectic and time gets away from you. Using alarms as reminders = habits you’ll actually stick to.

Psst: It’s fine to set multiple alarms. Life gets busy! Reminders are more than okay.

Quick Dance Party

Physical activity and regular movement are incredibly important to overall health. But sometimes, there is just not enough time in the day to get changed, make it to the gym, get in a solid workout, and get home before the workday begins. Sometimes, you’re just not mentally in the right place to want to take care of your physical well-being.

Cue the fun, energetic dance workouts that YouTube has to offer! There are SO many to choose from. Some are longer and more geared towards breaking a sweat, while others are meant to be fun, silly, and welcoming for all ages. When you’re feeling down or just not in the mood to take care of yourself, turn on a 10-minute Disney dance video, recruit your kids, and have a blast. The music and the movement will improve your mood instantly – and it counts as a workout, too!

Living a healthy lifestyle and focusing on your wellness doesn’t have to be hard, time-consuming, or exhausting. These tips are simple to implement, quick to do, can be done anywhere, anytime. Make these 5 habits part of your everyday wellness routine and you’ll be feeling fabulous in no time!

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