Lately, I've been making more of an effort to prioritize taking care of myself. I'm the type of person who will go, go, go until I can't go anymore and my body forces me to stop (usually in the form of getting sick.) After getting sick at the tail end of our most recent vacation I knew I needed to make a change in what I'm doing in order to sustain the life I want to live in the long run.
Insert a new daily routine and prioritizing self care.
Don't get me wrong, I've only been doing this for a week now, but in that week I can already tell I'm happier and accomplishing more in the day. Here's a glimpse into my new morning routine and some of my favorite ways to take care of myself!
My New Morning Routine
I am someone who absolutely thrives off of routine and unfortunately haven't really stuck with one for the past year with everything going on in the world. My routine has largely consisted of waking up 15 minutes before work, haphazardly putting in my contacts, throwing on the comfiest clothes I can find, and barely clocking in to my day job on time. Sounds real productive, right?
I of course knew this wasn't doing me any favors, but I didn't really care to make any changes until I got tired of my mental health running my day. I now prioritize my mental health in the morning by actually getting up with my alarm (instead of hitting snooze) and taking things slow to wake up in a pleasant way. I've found the biggest things that help my mental health are meditating, journaling using The I Am Journal, using affirmations, and doing some light yoga (Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube is my favorite!) I feel like it sounds cliché at this point, but doing these things at the beginning of my day helps me feel like I'm starting the day on the right foot and have better control of my anxiety throughout the day.
My Top 5 Forms of Self Care
1) Hiking and just being outside in general. Living in Utah I love being able to take advantage of the thousands of miles of hiking trails we have at our fingertips. Now that the weather is warming up especially I can't wait to get outside and hike more this summer!
2) Reading has been a hobby of mine since I was a little girl. I was that kid who would stay inside during recess to read and would spend all summer in and out of the library. I still adore curling up with a good book and spending all day reading!
3) Cliché, I know, but I love having a homemade spa night. There's just something about doing a good hair and face mask, painting your nails, and sipping a glass of wine in the tub with a good book.
4) A rediscovered hobby thanks to the pandemic, working on a puzzle has become one of my favorite ways to decompress after a long day. In particular, I love Dowdle Folk Art puzzles! They are phenomenal quality puzzles created from paintings by Eric Dowdle, the founder and owner. Almost all of the puzzles are from paintings from his travels around the United States and World. Here's a link to their website to check out their puzzles and more info!
5) Last, but not least, taking photos for fun. Being that this has always been a passion of mine I still try to make time to get out and take pictures "just because." I want to make sure I never lose my passion for photography and want to consistently remind myself why I started JH Photography to begin with.
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