Self Care, Routines, and Habit Stacking

We all know that self-care is important and pours into every facet of our lives, but for a long time reading inspirational self-care lists just left me feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

As a full time working mom raising three little ones, it's not usually practical for me to get a massage in the middle of the work day or read for an hour each morning. And the times I did, I would often feel guilty, thinking about all the other things I should be doing with my precious time. As an entrepreneur with so much on our plates and filling our minds, I'm sure you can relate. 

As I started battling burnout, I knew it was time to make a real, sustainable change.

I knew that I had to first shift my mindset and think of time carved out for self-care as just as important as time carved out for work, relationships, etc. Don't get me wrong, I believe quality time with my family is more valuable at face value than a massage, but when I'm not taking care of myself, mentally, physically, and emotionally, I'm not showing up as the best version of myself.

Secondly, I knew that I had to find a way to build self care into my routine in a way that would stick, that would make an impact, and that wouldn't take up hours of my day that I already felt short on.

After reading the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, I was inspired to transform my life through several small changes and "habit stacking" -  The concept of gradually incorporating new lifestyle habits into your routine by associating them with an already-established habit.

I made a list of small things with great benefit that I could incorporate into my current routine and schedule.
Here's what I jotted down and why:

1. Ice Rolling - helps with energy, skin, inflammation, circulation, and muscle tension
2. Dry Brushing - helps with exfoliation, lymphatic drainage, circulation, energy, and digestion
3. Sunlight / Light Therapy Lamp - helps with mood, energy, circadian rhythm, cognitive function, and skin
4. Acupressure Mat - helps with pain relief, muscle tension, circulation, sleep, skin, mood, energy, stress, immune system, and digestion
5. Facial Gua Sha or Red Light Therapy Mask - guasha helps with circulation, muscle tension, inflammation, lymphatic drainage, skin tone and texture, collagen production, detoxification, and sinus pressure. Red Light Therapy helps with inflammation, collagen production, skin tone and texture, acne, cellular repair, and pain relief.
6. 80 oz+ water (+ lemon) - lemon water helps with digestion, vitamin c boost, detoxification, skin health, energy, immune function, pH levels, fresh breath, heart health, and preventing kidney stones.
7. 10 min+ Reading, Education or Meditation
8. 2 mi+ Walking
9. 10 min Stretching
10. 20 min Power Cleaning
11. Automated Focus Settings

Here's how I incorporate these into my day without taking away hours from my schedule:

1. Ice Rolling - I ice roll my face and neck while I'm drinking my coffee and eating breakfast, which helps my skin care absorb better and wakes me up.
2. Dry Brushing - I dry brush my whole body following the patterns for lymphatic drainage for a few minutes after I wake up or right before I shower.
3. Sunlight / Light Therapy Lamp - Most days I'm inside the majority of the day, so I use my Light Therapy Lamp either while I'm getting ready in the morning, while eating breakfast, or at my desk.
4. Acupressure Mat - I use this on my office floor as a quick break if my back needs relief from sitting at a desk all day, or at night right before bed (usually with my red light mask, while Tommy and I are watching a show) and it helps my body relax before sleep.
5. Facial Gua Sha or Red Light Therapy Mask - I alternate between these two and do one or the other usually in bed while watching a show.
6. Lemon Water - Adding lemon to my water is so inexpensive with so many benefits, and I've made a point to be more intentional about hydrating throughout the day.
7. Reading, Education or Meditation - I've tried to replace scrolling with education (a crossword puzzle, a course, or apps like Duolingo and Impulse Brain Training) or reading. I often meditate in the sauna with the Headspace App (link gives you 30 days free). And I'm always listening to an audio book (I love the Libby app to listen to audiobooks free with a library card - you can check out my favorite books here) or an educational podcast (Huberman Lab, Goal Digger, and Skinny Confidential are a few of my favorites) while driving, cleaning, and cooking.
8. Walking - I usually walk at an incline for an hour at the gym before starting my Sweat App workout. I often use this time for team meetings, emails, and small to-do's from my phone. If I can't make it to the gym, I use a desk attachment on my treadmill at home so I can walk while working from my laptop.
9. Stretching - I try to squeeze in a few minutes of stretching at the end of my workouts, in the sauna, during a work break, or before bed and I find when I do, my body feels so much better.
10. Power Cleaning - I was already spending this much time or more cleaning, but less focused and constantly distracted by messes throughout the day. Now I set a timer, put on a podcast or audiobook, and power clean for 20 minutes (usually after the gym/before starting work, or at the end of the day after dinner). You'd be amazed at how much you can get done in that time when it's focused, and how much less you'll be distracted and picking up throughout the day.
11. Automated Focus Settings - I set up my phone's focus settings to automatically switch to "do not disturb" during my normal work hours, while I'm driving, and at bedtime. This has dramatically reduced distractions, lowers screen time, and helps my focus and productivity.

For me, I wanted to find small, inexpensive things that I could incorporate into my routine and could stick to, knowing that a handful of small positive habits could build to a big impact for my health, mood, and overall wellbeing.

If you're wanting to up your self-care routine or incorporate positive habits into your daily life, make a list of what’s important to you, and look at your day, finding ways you can sneak them in and stack them with something you're already doing. I know we’re all pressed for time, and adding more to our plate can be overwhelming. But these small changes have made a huge impact for me. I feel more ready to tackle the day and have a more rested mind when it’s time for bed. 

This whole change has me obsessed with looking for new ways to habit stack. If you have any routines, habits, or hacks you love, please share!

P.S. You can find all my self-care favorites all in one place here.