Hi Loves!
Welcome to 2020! It's a new decade and I wanted to welcome this year with a breath of fresh air and a shift in focus to self-care. I’d like to create a clear vision for myself this year and goals to help achieve it. It's so easy to put ourselves last when we lead such busy lives. This year making yourself a priority is necessary. Keep reading for all of my favorite self-care 'musts' that I am making a priority this year!
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Welcome to 2020! It's a new decade and I wanted to welcome this year with a breath of fresh air and a shift in focus to self-care. I’d like to create a clear vision for myself this year and goals to help achieve it. It's so easy to put ourselves last when we lead such busy lives. This year making yourself a priority is necessary. Keep reading for all of my favorite self-care 'musts' that I am making a priority this year!
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Sleep
This is a huge one for me. I never get enough sleep! I believe sleep is a key to success. On a typical night I sleep about 5 hours (sometimes less). Although I function well with this much sleep I can only imagine how much better I’ll feel with an extra hour or two. Sleep can have a huge effect on how you feel both emotionally and physically, and can even affect your appearance. Work and life stress can sometimes be the reason that we lose sleep. I'm guilty of this one big time. I'm always in go mode with work and sometimes have a hard time slowing down. At night I find it hard to settle my mind from the hectic day, so I find myself on my phone for an hour or so before going to sleep. This year I want to make a point of putting my phone away, meditating and calming my mind down before bed. Ideally I would love to create a 'bed time' but sometimes I work till really late at night. My goal is to try to get in bed, get off my phone and go right to sleep. This will most likely add an extra hour into my sleep schedule and I think it will make a huge difference for me!
Planning Personal Time Off
I’m really guilty of never taking a day off or time to myself…. This can lead to being overstressed and overwhelmed with life and with work. I feel like I’m being selfish if I ever take a moment for myself to just chill out, get my nails done, or relax. I always feel like I owe every ounce of my time and soul to my business and clients! I now realize when I start to feel run down, this directly affects my clients and my business and it’s not fair to myself or you guys! In order to maintain this goal, I am going to start blocking time off in my schedule in advance so when the time comes, there’s no excuse. Even if something comes up at work and I have to put off the personal time off, at least I am making the effort for myself. Even just putting the effort into making time for myself is a form of self-care. I plan to start my day consuming positive content (such a meditation or a podcast), and to take moments throughout the day to eat lunch alone, go for a walk or take a nap. These small pieces of time will make a huge difference to me! Especially when working 12+ hour days.
Listening to Podcasts
Personally I spend a lot of time in the car for work. If I’m traveling for a mobile appointment in NYC or to my Orange location, I try to be conscious of the content and audio I’m consuming. I'd like to make my time in the car more productive by listening to positive, inspirational podcasts. Whether I'm actually getting into it or mindlessly listening I know my subconscious will pick up a lot of the information I’m listening to and it will be more impactful than listening to a song. I feel like this should be a new year goal one for everyone, there's always more we can learn from others! Podcasts for me are something I listen to when in need of motivation, reassurance, inspiration or wanting to learn something new. Some of my favorite podcasts are The Skinny Confidential His & Her’s Podcast, Grant Cardone, Tony Robbins, Ed Mylett, Girl Boss Radio & Gary Vee.
Consistent Diet & Exercise
During and after the holidays it can be easy to lose sight of your goals. I always tend to find an excuse as to why I “need” to eat the bread or cheese and why I “can’t” make my workout today. Indulging once in a while is ok! But I know personally a little bit of cheese or carbs can quickly lead into a downward spiral. After the holidays and my busy season at the salon, I have been trying to consistently get back to my clean eating and working out. I try to workout at least 4 days a week. I would love to get a workout in 5 days a week but I’m still a work in progress! I also love to switch it up, it has always given me more drive and excitement to workout. I love to workout with my personal trainer a few times a week, I love hot yoga, cycling, pilates, and I am going to try to get back into crossfit this year! I trained at a crossfit gym for about 4 years and would love to get back to it. Constantly changing up my routine really helps me stay consistent and motivated!
During and after the holidays it can be easy to lose sight of your goals. I always tend to find an excuse as to why I “need” to eat the bread or cheese and why I “can’t” make my workout today. Indulging once in a while is ok! But I know personally a little bit of cheese or carbs can quickly lead into a downward spiral. After the holidays and my busy season at the salon, I have been trying to consistently get back to my clean eating and working out. I try to workout at least 4 days a week. I would love to get a workout in 5 days a week but I’m still a work in progress! I also love to switch it up, it has always given me more drive and excitement to workout. I love to workout with my personal trainer a few times a week, I love hot yoga, cycling, pilates, and I am going to try to get back into crossfit this year! I trained at a crossfit gym for about 4 years and would love to get back to it. Constantly changing up my routine really helps me stay consistent and motivated!
Time Management & Productivity
One thing I have always struggled with is being “busy” but not productive. Sometimes I get lost in the business of my life and work and tend to not get as much done as I can. I have realized that being busy and being productive are two completely different things. I have started this goal for the new year by some making lists daily. Each day I come into work and make a list of what I need to accomplish that day. Sometimes it doesn’t always get done, so I just roll it over to the next day. As long as I begin my morning with goals and objectives, my productivity level is going to increase!
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I hope this gives you some inspiration to add to your current goals for the new year and to make self care apart of your 2020 goals!
Xx
Kara Mac