My Self-Care Habits
Hiiiiii, it’s me, Remi!
Today I want to talk to you about something I think is really important: self-care. It is soooo important to make sure you’re taking good care of yourself every single day! By creating habits of doing even the littlest things that make you feel good, you can lift up your mood so much and handle any challenge that the universe throws at you!
Self-care is especially important when you’re going through hard times. I was experiencing a lot of anxiety about a year ago — I talked a little more about it in my vlog — and during that time, my self-care practices were more important than ever. I learned a lot about how I need to take care of myself and get more in touch with myself and my intuition. I really wanted to share what I learned with you — maybe it will help you practice self-care in your own life!
As always, I’d love to hear how you practice self-care! If you have any self-care tips of your own, please leave a comment below or share them on Instagram and tag me, @rrayyme. Now let’s dive in and talk about some of my favorite self-care tips! <3
Sleep!!
A good night’s sleep is ESSENTIAL! But it’s not always easy. Have you ever found yourself tossing and turning and struggling to get the rest you need? Me too — especially when I started trying to go to sleep earlier! But I have a few tips that have definitely helped me get all the rest I need to be productive and happy during the day:
Sleep Tip #1: Exercise Everyday (preferably in the morning!)
Exercise is soooo important for a healthy lifestyle! It improves your sleep AND boosts your immune system! I’ll talk more about this later, but I recommend doing a workout first thing in the morning (like we do in HōmeBodies). That way, you get energized first thing in the morning, you’re productive all day, and you’re actually tired when it’s time to go to bed!
Sleep Tip #2: Go to Sleep and Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day
Setting a sleep routine really helps your body get into a rhythm and helps you avoid those sleepless nights! Set a time when you’re going to go to bed each night, and set a wake-up time, too. For example, I go to bed at 9:00 PM and wake up at 6:00 AM every single day — even on the weekends!
Now, my body is used to my routine, and I’m actually tired and ready for sleep at 9:00. But when I first started trying to go to bed earlier, it was pretty difficult! But by following the rest of my sleep tips, my body eventually got used to the earlier bedtime, and now I sleep much better!
Sleep Tip #3: Aim for at Least Seven Hours of Sleep Per Night
Did you know that your sleep correlates directly to your immune system? It’s true! And getting less than seven hours of sleep per night leads to a 32% increase in your chances of getting a cold. Try to get at least seven hours per night to make sure you’re keeping your immune system healthy!
Sleep Tip #4: Create a Pre-Sleep Routine to Help You Wind-Down
It’s so important to give your mind and body enough time to wind-down from your day so that you’re ready to go to sleep at bedtime! I eat dinner at 5:00 PM to give my body plenty of time to digest before I go to bed. Then, I do a relaxing skincare routine to take care of myself and rest. I also make sure that my phone, laptop, and TV are all turned off and, if possible, put away at least an hour before bedtime. Instead of looking at them, I read a book for that last hour of my day, and that helps me to get sleepy and ready for some high-quality rest!
Sleep is a really important part of any self-care routine. High-quality sleep energizes you for each new day and boosts your immune system, too! But it’s not the only important aspect of a self-care routine…
My Morning Routine
There are several things that I like to do first thing in the morning to get my mind and body prepared for the new day.
Morning Routine Tip #1: Breathe!!!
It might sound really obvious, but breathing through it — especially when you’re going through a hard time — is so helpful! When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is take a four-count breath in and a four-count breath out. I’ll even do that several times!
When you breathe from the gut first by filling up your belly and expanding your chest and then exhaling out, you’re tapping into your inner voice and intuition. If you can quiet your mind by breathing, you can listen to your inner voice, which knows exactly what you need to do to take care of yourself!
I've been using this app recently — Relax & Sleep Well — which I absolutely LOVE. It’s a hypnosis type meditation app, and it really helps me regulate my breathing through meditation. I highly recommend it!!!!
Morning Routine Tip #2: Set an Intention
Setting your intentions for the day is a great way to start your morning because it gives you the focus and clarity you need to maximize your productivity and do more of the things you love! One of my favorite ways to set my intentions for the day is to use my Five-Minute Journal. This journal is divided into perfect little sections, and each morning I use it to write down a few things I’m grateful for, some affirmations, and my goals for the day. This helps me start my day off with a goal-oriented mindset. Then, at the end of the day, I write three amazing things that happened and how I could have made today even better. Having the moment to reflect every morning and before I go to bed is really calming to me.
I also like to use this Habit Tracker (or my own Habit Tracker that you can download here!) to write down my goals and mark my progress toward creating the habits I need. Keeping everything written down really helps me focus my mind on the things I truly want for myself, and taking a few minutes to realign with those things first thing in the morning is a great way to start my day!
Morning Routine Tip #3: Work Out!
I try to work out every single morning! When you work out and sweat first thing in the morning, you feel soooo good about yourself. All your stress just melts away, and you can have a clear mind and heart — that’s the best way to start the day!
I know it’s hard, but I recommend doing a little exercise every morning. You don’t even have to go to the gym! As you can see in my video here, I just set out my mat in the living room and do some exercises right there! (Sometimes I even have to move Simba off the mat lol). It’s an easy way to fit in a workout, and it makes me feel really good at the beginning of my day. And, if you want, you can even subscribe to my and Nate’s HōmeBodies workout program to help you get going!
Morning Routine Tip #4: Eat a Healthy Breakfast
The last self-care practice I like to do every morning is to make a delicious and healthy breakfast that will fuel me throughout the day. You know I LOVE my smoothies! And I get a lot of amazing ingredients from Brandless, including this amazing Maca powder, which gives me a ton of energy. (They also have matcha, which you KNOW is my favorite!)
Brandless is a great place to go to get healthy and energy-fueling ingredients for affordable prices because they cut out the middle man! Think of all the delicious, healthy, and energizing smoothies you can make! YUMMM.
But you don’t have to have a smoothie! What healthy breakfast fills you up and fuels your energy? Please feel free to share your favorite recipes in the comments or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme!
Self-Care All Day!!!
Self-care first thing in the morning is essential, but so is self-care throughout the rest of the day! Here are my top tips for taking care of yourself all throughout the workday:
Self-Care Tip #1: Declutter Your Environment
It is so important to have a tidy environment! When my space is messy, my mind is also messy, so I try to spend about 15 minutes each day tidying up my space and making sure everything is where it needs to be.
I don’t want to be stressed about clutter! So if I have papers, chargers, and other things in my workspace, I take just a few minutes to put those where they go. I’ll even take a second to vacuum up any pet hair that’s on the floor or around my space, just to make sure everything is clean and tidy. Having a clear space clears my mind and helps me to maximize my productivity!
15-minute declutters are great for my everyday routine, but sometimes, I really do need to take a little more time to do a whole-house purge! Check out my vlog to see how I do it — getting rid of things I don’t need and creating space for the things that are most important is a huge part of taking care of myself and creating a space where I feel happy and productive!
Self-Care Tip #2: Recharge Outside!
So often during the workday, we sit there grinding away on our computers and never make any time to go outside. So, to make sure I have time to recharge and spend some time outside, I follow something called the Pomodoro Method.
The Pomodoro Method is where you set a timer for 25 minutes, work during that time, and then take a five-minute break. Working in chunks of time like that allows me to focus on one task at a time, and setting a timer makes sure I don’t get so sucked into my work that I don’t take time to recharge!
When that timer goes off, I am out in the sun! I love to go roller-skating with my dogs or check in on my plants! But the important thing is just to get outside, get some sunlight, and be in nature for just a few minutes out of every half-hour. This will refuel and re-energize you so that you’re ready to continue being productive!
Self-Care Tip #3: Do Something Fun!
It’s so important to take time every day to do something that just helps you destress! For example, when I want to do something fun, one of my favorite things to do is go for a ride on Nate’s motorcycle. I love to feel the wind on my face and take a little time just to ride around and enjoy being outside.
I also like to go for a drive and listen to some good music, play with my animals, do a fun craft, or do some more roller-blading with the dogs! This is a great self-care practice that just makes me smile!!
What do you like to do for fun? What helps your mind destress? Please share below or on Instagram! And don’t forget to tag me, @rrayyme!
Self-Care Tip #4: Journaling
I LOVEEE journaling, especially when I feel stressed out or overwhelmed. Seriously, I have so many different journals I love to use! I mentioned the Five-Minute Journal and the Habit Tracker earlier, but I think it’s helpful to have a journal just for random thoughts, too. (I recommend this one — it’s just full of grid paper, so I can write or draw anything I want!)
In my Random Thought Journal, I jot down anything from meditations to my realizations from listening to my intuition. This helps me to really get to know myself and listen to what my intuition is telling me. When I’m stressed out or going through a hard time, this type of journaling is more important than ever — it really helps me to stay calm and think through the experience instead of just freaking out!
What Are Your Self-Care Tips?
And there you have it — my best self-care tips! Doing each of these things every day really helps me feel happy and well-cared-for. They allow me to destress, stay calm when I’m going through something hard, and recharge my body and mind.
But those aren’t the only self-care practices you can do! What things do you like to do to take care of yourself? I would love to hear your tips! Please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme, and show me how you like to practice self-care. Let’s help each other learn how to take care of ourselves!
Thanks so much for reading today, guys! Until next time — LOVE YOU LOTS!!!
