With the new year coming up, motivation is a lot higher, and a great time to start practicing new wellness habits! I believe taking care of yourself is one of the best forms of self love, so these are the top wellness habits you need to add in 2024.
1. Journaling
Gone are the days where we bottle up our emotions and feelings.
I know talking to someone can be scary, so that’s where journaling comes in.
Getting everything out on paper feels like a huge weight off your chest. It also means that you are spending 20+ minutes, sitting down, thinking / working through your problems.
So it’s basically like going to therapy with yourself. You’re taking the time to work through your feelings, and as you are writing everything down, you are getting to see it from an outside perspective.
It’s a lot easier to work through everything when you are looking from an outside perspective.
Maybe you even want to write it as though it is someone else speaking… for example:
’hello, bigsisterera, I have this problem…’
So when you read it back, it feels as though someone else is speaking to you, and you can view it more fairly.
Journaling is one of the best wellness habits I have tried, and will continue to incorporate into my life throughout 2024!.
Techniques that I love:
Free writing
This is where you start writing, and just keep going for as long as you want with no prompts. Just getting everything down on paper.
When do I like to use this?
I like this when I feel overwhelmed and I just need to brain dump.
Bullet points
This is where there may be a question or topic and you can quickly see the overview of the main points.
When do I like to use this?
It’s great to use this when I am trying to come to a decision quickly, maybe it’s making a pros and cons list. Maybe it’s listing everything I’m worried about, and everything I can do to help.
Shadow work
Shadow work is answering a series of questions in detail, that can help you get to the root cause of a problem or certain feeling.
When do I like to use this?
For when I am feeling like there is no answer to my problems, I like to do this to get to the cause of why I am feeling the way I am feeling. Maybe I am anxious over something small, etc.
Manifestation / scripting
This is where you write as though you have everything you want. For example, ‘I am so happy and grateful that I get to work from home, that I have a Porsche’. And you really let yourself feel the excitement that you would be feeling.
When do I like to use this?
I like to use this every night, but more specifically if I am ever feeling like I am losing hope, or losing sight of what I want.
2. Movement
I know with the new year comes goals of losing / gaining weight, changing your body, working out 6 days a week, but I want you to look at it differently.
Movement is so good for us. You’ll know after you’ve sat down all day you feel stiff and aching.
Any movement throughout the day, especially multiple times a day, whether that is stretching for 5 minutes a few times a day, going for a walk outside to break up your work day, or having a set workout routine, is going to make you feel 10x better.
If you are struggling to think of workouts, read this post where I give you amazing workouts for each phase of your cycle!
Listen to your body
In 2024, we are not forcing ourselves to do workouts we hate, to give 100% when we are mentally and physically drained, and we are definitely not putting pressure on ourselves. The best wellness habits are sustainable and enjoyable!
The key to sustainability when it comes to working out is being kind to yourself and listening to your body.
Now I know you may be thinking, I could always just stay in bed and not workout, so there has to be at least some discipline there.
The more you pay attention, the more you start to realise that some days you need gentle movement, and some days you can really push yourself!
Change the goal from aesthetics, to internally healthy. If you feel good, you will radiate confidence, if you feel run down and exhausted, you will look it too!
3. Night routine
This is a wellness habit that I am definitely trying to incorporate into 2024.
P.s. if we start bettering our night routine now, we will be used to it by 2024, and won’t have to spend weeks adjusting.
Why is bettering our night routine one of the wellness habits I’m not missing out on, and why do we need to start doing it in 2024?
I have only recently realised the power of a good night routine when I have been struggling to sleep at night.
I try to go to sleep, and I am lying awake for 1-2hrs maybe even more. So when I wake up I am sleeping in because I am exhausted and I end up not having a productive day.
So your night routine is important because it effects your entire day after.
How to have a good night routine
- Plan your day for tomorrow. There’s nothing worse than thinking of a million things you need to do tomorrow right before bed. So if you have it all planned out, and have everything under control, your mind will be more at ease.
- Tidy your space. I’ve seen a lot of people call this a closing shift on TikTok (those who work in retail will know lol). But there is nothing worse than waking up to a messy house. Waking up to a clean house just means you have a clean slate and can be productive without having to worry about tidying anything up.
- You want to pick a consistent time in which you start winding down.
- The winding down process:
- Get into your pj’s
- Stop doing work / anything strenuous for your brain
- 1-2hrs before bed do things you enjoy to relax, like a bath, reading, watching your favourite show, journaling, a cup of tea etc.
- Try not to go on TikTok right before you go to bed, try to calm your mind down.
- Wear blue light glasses if you’re looking at a screen (I read on my iPad sometimes so this is a must)
- If you can, get some red lights in your room. Red lights stimulates the release of melatonin, which is a hormone that makes you sleepy!
- Leave a notebook next to your bed. Do you ever get ideas right before you’re going to sleep, or remember something you NEED to do tomorrow? Well, instead of typing it on your phone and being jolted awake by the bright light, write it down in a notebook.
I have a whole post on a night routine that helps you stay successful for the morning if you would like to read that! (https://bigsisterera.com/the-night-routine-for-a-successful-morning/)
Thank you for reading <3
I hope this post gave you some ideas on some wellness habits that you can start incorporating into your life now and into 2024.
Let me know if you are trying any of these, and if you want me to share any more!
Let’s complete these together in 2024 and share our journey!
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