In 2018, I had a great routine set up and it was working well for me. By the end of 2018, I had NO routine. Maybe it was just because it was the end of the year and things were happening all over the place and maybe it was that I was just over my routine. Not following a routine caused everything else to go out of whack. For example, I lost track of when my bills were due at times and I stopped writing to-do lists during the week. This year, I want to create routines that stay throughout the whole year so things like that never happens and I can be as productive as possible.
Starting with my morning routine. There was a time last year where I was able to wake up at 5am and get my day started before heading out for work. That lasted a good month and it went into the holidays which is where I think it all went downhill. I quit following my routine and I slept in longer than I should’ve. One of my goals this year is to wake up earlier and accomplish a lot of things before I go to work for 8 hours a day. I think the best way for me to follow this is by waking up at 5am and getting in at least 30 minutes of exercise. Our home gym is almost done so that means I literally will walk out my back door, into the garage, and will be able to work out in the comfort of my own house. No having to drive back and forth anywhere – easy. The hardest part will be getting my body to adjust to waking up so early. That means going to bed earlier which won’t be a problem for me since we get into bed by 9pm every night and even 8:30pm at times. So that’s the first step, which is why this week I’m going to train my body to wake up at 5am and just do things before work so it’ll help when the gym is done and I actually work out.
Aside from waking up early, I want to incorporate those things I want to do before going to work. I want to eat breakfast of course, get my lunch ready, drink coffee/tea with my husband, and blog. Blogging in the morning is the best for me because usually after work I have stuff to do and never have time to blog. On Monday mornings, I like to write out the things I have to do for the week and that way I know I won’t forget to do something. This would make be super productive in the morning and I would feel as if my day wasn’t wasted after working all day.
Now, my skincare morning routine is something I am changing this year as well. My skin has been looking a lot better and I want to keep it that way. I cleanse my face every morning and put on moisturizer right after. Then comes makeup and whatever else. One of my skincare goals for this year is to go to a professional place to remove my acne scarring. That is the #1 thing that makes me insecure, the fact that it’s just around my cheeks and never goes away. Sometimes even makeup doesn’t fully cover it. Being comfortable in your own skin without makeup is something I’ve always dreamed of. I try to wear makeup only a bit during the week and it’s very hard for me to go to work without it, but it’s good for my skin. I was looking at buying the Clarisonic Mia, has anyone else used/tried this? Does it help and is it worth the price? Was thinking it might help with my completion and glow. It also would be nice to know I took all of the makeup off my face!
So that’s the plan for my morning routine. My night time routine is a bit different. I’ve been doing a great job of going to bed early, it’s easy because I’m tired by 8pm, but sometimes I lay in bed for an hour or two not being able to fall asleep. So I use that time to browse Pinterest or Reddit. I tried melatonin and it helps a lot, but sometimes I forget to take it and I’m too lazy to get up. I also think my phone is a distraction at times, so putting that away and just clearing my head before sleep would be a better thing to do. I am also trying to limit the amount of time I spend on my phone overall, so this would be a big help. So top things I am adding to my routine: be in bed by 8:30-9pm so I can get 8 hours of sleep, take melatonin if needed and don’t be lazy about it, put away the phone, and make sure the room doesn’t have a lot of light.
As for my night time routine, I am changing that up as well.
- remove any makeup using coconut oil like a cleanser instead of a coconut oil on a makeup remover wipe – the way I used to do it doesn’t work for me
- after removing makeup with coconut oil, use a wet cloth to wipe down any coconut oil still left on my face
- wash face with moisturizing cleanser
- put a face mask on (2-3x a week depending on how my skin is feeling)
- add moisturizer and soft lip therapy on lips
My skin is usually very dry in the winter and I haven’t been very good at applying moisturizer before bed. On the days I don’t wear makeup, I’d skip the first two steps.
2019 is going to be a great year and I plan to do a lot of things. I can’t do those things without a consistent routine, so let’s hope this will keep me going.
How are your routines and how do you keep yourself motivated to keep them?
Meli 