(I hate this phrase)
Feeling guilty about the fact you have no real New Year's Resolutions? 1) Please don't, since that whole thing can be kind of overrated and this is the favorite season of gyms and Jenny Craig exactly because people just sign up and give money and then never go back, so you're really not that far behind everybody else. And 2) here are some super-easy habits that I've picked up that have made my life better, and that are not very hard to stick to!
The trick is this: don't say you're going to cook fresh food for every meal this year because you won't. Don't say you're going to run three times every week because you won't. Don't say you'll go to sleep before 11pm every night because you won't. And then, once you fall off the train, you'll be so disappointed that you failed so early that you will never get back on.
So let's start small, shall we? Little things!
Skincare
My new obsession. It started when I found /r/skincareaddiction. They're a little hardcore for me, so I decided to make a simplistic skincare routine all my own--but feel free to check them out for ideas and info!Wash Your Face
Everyday. Maybe twice a day. Even when you don't shower. I'm a shower-every-other-day person, and an anti-morning person. Taking the time out of my morning and evening routine to wash my face (and maybe moisturize it) is such a nice, relaxing thing that really makes you feel good.
-Buy a cleanser. I'm partial to Aveeno's daily scrub, Neutrogena's "pore refining" daily cleanser, and Lacura's moisturizing cleanser. (That last one is my fave, and you can get it at Aldi for cheap!!) Don't use them all at once! I just wanted to try a bunch out and it turned out I loved all of them so I use them on a rotation, haha.
-Some cleansers might dry your face out a bit. Find a facial moisturizer, not just lotion! Facial moisturizers are specially formulated so as not to clog up your pores.
Moisturize!
Find a lotion you love and stick to it. Or dig out those Bath and Body Works lotions you got as a secret santa gift and actually put them to good use. You can just put it on your hands and arms after you shower, or your legs after you shave, or carry around a small bottle to put on your hands throughout the day. I like this for two reasons:
-If I'm stressed during the day, I just put good-smelling lotion on my hands and the scent is very calming. This isn't even about skin, it's just about good smells making me happy.
-Sometimes you don't realize how dry your hands get until you carry around lotion. It makes you more aware of it.
If you don't like lotion because it's too thick and it feels like there's gunk all over your hands, please try Vaseline's Total Moisture lotion (it's in the yellow bottle!). It's my favorite lotion ever because it's NOT thick, and it melts right into your skin. Best stuff ever. I use it on my face sometimes as well.
There IS lotion for you out there, I promise!
Scent
Remember how I said good smells make me happy? So I've tried wearing body spray some days, and it just boosts your confidence so much. Don't overdo it! But find a body spray that smells good to you, and just spritz it on in the morning. Does wonders for your self-esteem.
Simple Makeup
Makeup used to terrify me. It didn't help that I have a pathological fear of things being near my eyes, but that's another story. It used to terrify me because I had no idea what to do with it! So if you are like I was, start with two things: eyeliner and mascara. Put a little black line on your upper lid right next to your lashes, and just put mascara on your upper lashes. Done! Yay! Not so scary, right? With that as a start, you can gradually maybe move on to eyeshadow and lip shades and the like. Or not. No worries.
Also: tinted moisturizer. Concealer and moisturizer in one. Life-changer.
(side note) Dry Shampoo
Ever have one of those days where you just don't have time to shower before you need to go to an event where you need to look nice, but your hair is all greasy and awful? Do you have those days ALL THE TIME (like me)? Buy dry shampoo. I'm serious. Go buy it. It changed my life. It's the magical spray that makes your hair stop looking oily and I'm not sure how I ever lived without it. Go. Go buy it.
Bedtime
Put away the phone!So you get in your PJs, brush your teeth, and turn off the lights. You're all cozy in bed, you plug your phone in and set your alarm, and then....spend another hour browsing through Reddit and Facebook. There are tons of studies about how screen-time is super detrimental to sleep, and you can go look for them if you really want; but just try it yourself. Set your alarm, and then take your other hand and force the hand holding the phone to put. it. back. down. I know it's hard.
If you don't think you can quite do that yet, at least download Twilight. It makes your screen redder, getting rid of the blue light that's so detrimental to your sleep cycle, and making it easier on your eyes to read your screen at night. At least promise me you'll do that, okay? (f.lux for iPhone, Twilight for Android)
Sleep mask/Earplugs
I used to think sleep masks were only worn by rich/vain female villains just to show how fancy schmancy they were, but I was so wrong. They shut out all the light in your room or coming from the streetlights outside, making it the perfect amount of dark for sleeps. Earplugs are also crucial; party next door? No problem. Also check out these adorable fox/cat sleep masks?? So cute!
Tips:
-Get a cotton/linen sleep mask. Silk and polyester and such can be hard for your skin to breathe through, and you just wake up with a sweaty face.
-Get earplugs in bulk, and make sure you always carry some with you when you travel. I never leave home without them. Crying children on the plane? Screaming couple in the hotel room next door? Snoring relative in your shared bedroom in your grandma's house?? No. Problemo.
Journal before bed
Don't like talking about your feelings? 'S cool. You can write them down though! I've found it's a really good pre-sleep activity for me, since reading isn't always relaxing. ("oh my god did he really just say that to her?? No, don't kiss him, don't kiss him, doN'T--!!! ARGH. GOD, WHY.") So I've left a notebook and pencil on my bedside table, and I'll just jot random thoughts down before I go to sleep. It's kind of a release, and I always feel more relaxed. Just pull one of those notebooks you've never used (you know you have like, 10 at least) and put it next to your bed with a pencil. Easy-peasy. And then that's something you can do instead of browsing Pinterest!
Food - Cook More!
"But Meredith, that's super hard and time-consuming," you say. "Why can't I just have frozen corn dogs all the time?"Because even though that would be awesome (I'm talking veggie corn dogs here, of course), you'd be surprised how much your nutrition affects how you feel from day to day. I have no scientific basis for this, only anecdotal, but try eating a little healthier for like, three days and see if you feel a little less tired. I certainly do.
But of course, I don't expect you to stop eating corn dogs. Because you won't. And I haven't. But I thought I'd give you a few tips and tricks for easy day-to-day cooking.
Have your ingredients made for you
Need tomatoes in your chili? Get them from a can. Need a bunch of different vegetables for your stir fry? Get them from the frozen aisle. Artichoke hearts? Frozen. Beans? From a can. There's no shame in this! Preparing dry beans is a bitch and a half; so is preparing fresh artichoke hearts. So meet the halfway point between having your entire meal prepared for you, and having to go out into the field to pick your own green beans.
Use spices!!
You don't like cooking because it's always blander when you make it? Stop just adding salt in the hopes that it'll taste better, and expand your spice cabinet! Cumin, garlic powder, dried basil, chili powder....and don't be afraid of the pre-mixed spice combinations, like "Italian Lemon Zest" and "Sun-Ripened Vegetable Flavoring." These are often the most awesome of spices.
Staples:
Here are some easy-to-prepare ingredients that you can put in almost anything to make it more interesting:
-Minced garlic in a jar (don't even have to cut your own garlic! and it usually contains olive oil, so you don't even have to add it to your pan!)
-Onions
-Spinach, zucchini, broccoli
-Tomato sauce (which you can use as a base to make a more interesting sauce!)
-Beans/chickpeas in cans
-Tofu <3 (optional)
Those, plus shredded cheese, are the things I always make sure to have in the house, because I can always use them to throw SOMETHING together. (That usually ends up being just a literal combination of them in a pan with as many random spices as I can find. I call it "Mush" and it tastes different every time.)
Remember, just start small. Buy a bottle of facial cleanser. Put that notebook next to your bed, and download the screen-reddening app. Let me know if you have any more small habits that you think have made your life better!
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