Ideal for looking after your well-being.
Humans are creatures of routine, and never has the sense of comfort found in schedule and predictability been more keenly felt than during the recent, ongoing pandemic.
As the Conversation writes “For the vast majority of us, routine helps us cope with the continual flow of decisions that face us in everyday life’’, and we couldn’t agree more.
If you’re wondering how to automate your day and maximise its potential, leaving you with a distraction-free headspace to tackle life’s tough decisions with full focus, then you’ve come to the right place; here are 7 IDEAL self care routines to adopt today.
A MORNING & BREAKFAST ROUTINE
An effective morning ritual can consist of pretty much anything, from a small prayer, making the bed or just a few stretching exercises, to something more substantial like a heavy workout. The trick is in observing it devotedly. Here’s a weekday routine we think works well:
- Wake up and hydrate with a glass of water and a herbal tea
- Sit at the breakfast table and have a fresh, organic breakfast – perhaps cereal with strawberries and blueberries, followed by a coffee while reading a newspaper rather than peering into a screen
- Dress for the day, clean teeth and such
- Walk around the block to get some fresh air and realign your focus for the day
- Return and start work with a sense of reinvigoration
How do you start your day?
A SKINCARE ROUTINE
The importance of a good skincare routine shouldn’t be underestimated. In fact, Dr Akvile Ignotaite, via Medium, goes as far as to say that it should be your most important habit.
Since a well-observed skincare routine bookends the day, it represents a small act of selfcare to set you up and to wind you down every single day, and what could be more valuable than that? Here at IDEAL, we’re avid followers of Dr Haushka’s skin care rituals, which are organic, gentle and simple, but still feel like a major spot of pampering.
Read: 7 simple steps IDEAL for a glowing complexion
A SOCIALISING ROUTINE
Humans are social creatures, dependent on the validation, support and even occasional criticism of their peers for survival. Spending time with loved ones is one of the best things you can do for your mental health; the fact that you can’t meet up with people face-to-face so easily right now shouldn’t stand in your way.
Set a date each month to meet up with a group of friends or family members, or make it part of your routine to have a daily check in with loved ones on Zoom or even over WhatsApp. Making contact feel special and meaningful, as well as predictable, is particularly reassuring for the more elderly members of your family or friendship circle, so make an effort to schedule socialising into your calendar rather than leave it to chance.
AN EXERCISE ROUTINE
We’re sure we don’t need to extol the virtues of daily exercise. It’s been reported and repeated time and time again that partaking in 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day (or 150 minutes a week, in total) is arguably the very best thing you can do for your health and wellbeing.
That said, without an exercise routine, it can be all too easy to find excuses and distractions not to work out. But if you do have a strict routine, the whole process feels, conversely, much more manageable. So, get into a routine of working out at the same time every day, meaning working out becomes an automated part of your day, and one which you’re not ‘allowed’ to put off.
To make things easier, create an exercise routine that you actually enjoy.
Read: How to create an exercise at home you’ll actually enjoy
A MEAL PLANNING & COOKING ROUTINE
If you want to start eating more healthily, then home is where the heart is. By cooking more at home, not only can you monitor exactly what goes into your food, but you can also control calories, reduce salt levels and manage the amount of fat you’re consuming, too.
That said, should you struggle to get enough nutrition from your diet, then a daily routine of supplementing could be a wise idea, too. Right now, there’s growing evidence that a daily dose of a probiotic supplement could have a massively positive impact on our digestive health, while many others take a multivitamin to ensure that, alongside their diet, they’re getting all of the vitamins and nutrients they need.
A GUIDED MEDITATION ROUTINE
A daily guided meditation is another great way to tackle the endless, unhelpful rumination on the day’s issues which seems to blight bedtime. A simple, ten minute session before bed can actually trigger the body’s ‘relaxation response’ wherein heart rate and blood pressure fall, allowing you to be body-ready for sleep. Which brings us to our next point…
A BEDTIME ROUTINE
Bedtime routines are for kids, we hear you say. Arms folded, bottom lip curled, stomping your foot a little….
Rather than keep you (we’ve spent the day together, after all, and we’re both tired…), let us direct you to our article on 5 IDEAL steps to the perfect bedtime routine. Good night!