My Daily and Weekly Routines for Self-Care

As a woman turning 45 this year, my priorities have shifted a bit. I still care about what I look like, but for whatever reason I am less interested in spending hours on my appearance like I may have done when I was in my 20’s. 

I consider my self-care to be a sort of pyramid of rituals, routines, and activities that add up to feeling like my very best self. I don’t always get it perfectly right, and sometimes I make bad choices, but overall, this is working for me right now. 

I still drink coffee, and I love it. It is part of my morning ritual of waking. I get up and feed my cats, make the coffee and then sit down with that first hot cup to begin my morning. Usually I also make my daughter breakfast during this morning waking and getting going time. 

After my daughter is in school I turn my focus to me–I wash up from the evening before and then I get to focus on my workout. 

I work out in a HIIT training class a minimum of three days a week and try to walk for at least 45 mins to 1 hour daily. I have started lifting weights again in the last year and I have loved adding this into my exercise routine. Weight training is ideal for building bone density as well as muscle mass. I practice yoga movements in short segments each day of time for a total of  about 2 hours weekly. I don’t really make time for a full hour long class, much less a 75 min or 90 min class like back in the day. I am sure I will go back at some point, but this is me right now at this moment. I also walk daily–and aim for 8-10k steps a day. 

I bathe daily and use a line of natural skincare that consists of an oil based cleanser, a couple of serums that I alternate between, always eye cream, and a heavier overnight cream. I do not wear makeup daily, but when I do apply makeup– I use an all natural makeup line called Jones Road–it’s the new creation of Bobbi Brown, whose line I have been wearing since 2001, and and I love the way that it feels so much that I am almost unable to use my heavier products that I used to use only 6 months ago. 

I eat what I would consider to be quite well. I eat a balanced diet of veggies, protein, and fruits, as well as grains. I eat nuts, and seeds and I eat a lot of whole foods. I drink water all day, every day and when I don't drink enough I don't feel as good as I could–so I make my water drinking a priority. I always make time to cook a meal for my family, and I try to eat at regular intervals, particularly after strenuous exercise and I add protein to every meal to maintain muscle mass. Sometimes I eat bread and even pasta–but have eliminated it in the past and probably will again at some point–they make me feel heavier and more bloated than I should. 

I sleep for at least 8 hours a day. My bedtime is almost always before 10:30pm, and I wake at 6:30am each day. If I am tired, I go to bed. If I stay up late–I make sure that my morning will allow me to sleep in. I am not ashamed to take naps and I will schedule a nap during my day if I need one. Sleep is non-negotiable for me at this point in my life. In my late 20’s and early 30’s when my daughters were toddlers I got much less sleep and I was always tired. I did learn though to nap and to try to rest more when they were resting–so that was helpful for me in developing a better relationship to rest. 

When I can, I love to sauna and massage is also another special treat that I use to take extra special care of myself. I am working on getting a sauna for my backyard and I cannot wait. 

So there you have it!! These are my basics for my daily self-care practices. What am I forgetting? What do you love to do each day to take the best care of you??