Creating a New Self-Care Routine for the Year

I like to make goals and tweak my routine all throughout the year, but there is something refreshing about the new year. It’s just the ULTIMATE page turn!

Every year that we grow older we learn so much more about ourselves. I definitely learned more this year about what I love and what I don’t love so much; I love me some twinkle lights and a minimalist-styled home, and I don’t love over-extending myself with too many outings or making fun of myself which I’ve done for too long.

Since this past year I really learned the importance of a self-care routine, it got me thinking about creating a new self-care routine for the year; keeping what really worked for me this past year, taking out what didn’t, and adding in some new ideas.

What worked for me

• Morning worksheet – all of my guide + worksheet bundles have a morning worksheet because I think it has been absolutely essential in my own happiness and success. The most powerful part of my morning worksheet is writing down my top 3 intended feelings, thinking of 10 things I’m grateful for, and visualizing the perfect day unfolding.

• Yoga – I’m still a beginner, but yoga has made me begin to fall in love with my body. It’s spirituality for your body and it feels soooo good. Definitely a keeper in my self-care routine.

• Clean house – this past year, I’ve made my bed every day and tidied up all around me. I’ve done several big purges and I still do them about twice a year. I’ve always thought I have to fill up any empty space with some sort of decor, but no….I like empty space. Clear, empty spaces help me to feel like I can breathe and think.

• Cute comfy clothes – I have embraced the fact that I am a homebody. I used to fill up my closet with “outside” clothes and wear clothes around the house that didn’t make me feel good, but this year I bought lots of cute, cozy clothes, even though no one sees them except me pretty much. They are worth the mood boost!

• Two nights a week of alone time – my husband and I take turns taking care of the kids at night four nights out of the week, so those two nights of about 3 hours each are amazing at helping me to reset. Definitely keeping this.

• Journaling – journaling remains my spiritual therapy. The way it works is I write down my thoughts and I receive guidance back through the Universe/my higher self.

• Reading inspirational books – my favorite daily book is Simple Abundance. My favorite inspirational magazine is Bella Grace; it’s pricey for a magazine but there is no magazine like Bella Grace, so it’s worth it. And other than that, reading books that improve my mindset and keep me open to the magic of the Universe are a necessary for me. I try to read a few pages of one every night before I go to sleep.

• Listening to inspirational audio – I love listening to Abraham Hicks recordings on Youtube. I also am in love with the Mind Your Business podcast because James talks a lot about mindset and the law the attraction.

• Screen free time – nothing resets me quite like disconnecting from the world. I removed notifications from my phone a few months ago and that really helped me cut back on checking it. I want to start leaving it in another room rather than feeling the need to always have it with me.

What didn’t work for me

• Forcing anything – sometimes I felt anxious when I was doing self-care time because I didn’t feel like doing anything “productive”. That’s okay!!! When I feel like that, I know it means I need to go get some food, get under the covers and binge watch my favorite show or read a good book. That in itself is revolutionary self-care as well, because we all go through phases throughout the month, and sometimes we just need to veg out.

• Going without self-care for even a few days – if you read this post, you know what happened to me when I went a few months without self-care. It wasn’t pretty and I learned a lot from it. From now on, even during times when things get busy, I will take at least 30 minutes to myself a night and will for sure make time for my morning worksheet every morning.

New things I want to incorporate

• Hygge – I think hygge should be my middle name. Pronounced “hoo-guh,” it’s a Danish term that means “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being,” source. Um, where have you been all my life, hygge? Yes to this. More twinkle lights. More cozy blankets. More candles, more pillows (these are my favorite and then I buy a pretty pillow case on Etsy), more pretty coffee/tea mugs (Target always has the cutest mugs)!

• Be more daring with my daily intended feelings – every day on my morning worksheet I write down 3 ways I want to feel because when I do that, I usually always end up feeling that way during the day whether I realize it at the time or not. Intention is super powerful and writing things down is basically signing your name on the dotted line to the Universe. Last year I wrote down things like “joyful” and “calm” a lot. Those were great, but I want to be more daring this year. I’ve been writing down “successful,” “abundant,” and “inspired.” I cannot even begin to tell you what a shift this one small thing is causing in my life! My sales are up, reader comments and emails are flowing in, and ideas are bursting from the seams of my mind and soul. Please at least do this one thing in your morning routine, you will be amazed at what starts showing up!

• Think of my body as a dear friend – my self-love improves every year that I get older, but it’s definitely an ongoing process. I’ve honestly never liked my body. It’s never been enough in my mind, and now that I’ve had kids and it’s changed, I’ve been even harder on it. It’s not something light, this dislike I have of my body; it goes to the very core of me. I can’t be fully happy when I feel ashamed. And what am I ashamed about? This healthy body that has given me children? That allows me to do so much? That’s my portal to being here in this human experience? That’s soft and mine? Part of my self-care is going to be complimenting the hell out of my body until I start to believe it.

• Practice feeling my dreams NOW – you guys, I want this AMAZING house. I don’t even know what house or where it is, but it’s amazing because it’s perfect for me. It’s got big trees in the yard, and multiple fireplaces. It has a huge, luxurious bath tub and a place for everything. But rather than feel like this is a far away dream, every day when I visualize, I’m FEELING this house. I’m feeling it so much that I’m actually feeling grateful for it, like it’s already mine! This year I will be feeling as if I already have my dreams, because I know that’s the fastest way to bring anything into your reality!

How to Create a New Self-Care Routine

Even if you don’t currently have one, here are some ideas and questions to ask yourself when creating your self-care routine:

1. What drains you? For me, bright lighting, loud sounds, clutter, and outings drain me. Start eliminating or reducing things that drain you from your daily schedule.
2. What re-sets you? Listening to music, going for a walk, reading a good book, cooking; what de-stresses you? See where you can begin incorporating these things into your days and weeks.
3. What negative habits or thoughts are holding you back? Looking at your phone too much, focusing on the negatives, talking bad about yourself, believing self-care is selfish; what do you want to discard and let go?
4. How could you make the most out of your mornings and evenings? When you’re getting ready for the morning or for bed, you could listen to something that boosts your mindset, or you could do a morning worksheet (I’ve got a nighttime one too with this bundle), journal (here are some pretty ones), stretch, read a page from an inspiring book, etc. Most people feel like they don’t have time for self-care, but it’s really these pockets of time throughout the day where we’re able to add in little things that make the biggest difference in our moods.

If you’d like to know my routines, check out my morning self-care routine and my nightly self-care routine. I also made a free 2-page printable for you to help you get your thoughts out onto paper and start creating your own self-care routine for the year. If you’d like the download below, you can sign up for my newsletter and receive several free downloads in the welcome email, including this one.

What new things are you incorporating into your self-care routine this year? I’d love to know!

Jessica Dimas is the author of Sacred Self-Care for Moms Guide + Worksheet Bundle. Connect with her on Facebook and Instagram for more inspiration and updates.

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Jessica Dimas

Jessica is a spiritual blogger who is passionate about utilizing sacred self-care and a manifesting mindset on a daily basis. She is a Huffington Post contributor and has been featured on sites such as Scary Mommy, Redbook, and BlogHer. She has a BA degree in psychology and lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

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