awellnessworkinprogress.com

I took some time off work recently. I decided to use this extra time to experiment with some new wellness practices. Here are a some of the things I’ve been incorporating into my daily routine to help support my wellbeing.

An improved skincare routine

Six months ago, I purchased an LED device. I wanted to address my ageing concerns – specifically, my forehead “crinkles” and a “jowly” chin.

I was excited by the potential for this relatively cheap gizmo to transform my appearance – but also apprehensive. For starters, I dislike not knowing how things work and I’m notoriously resistant to change. I also recoil from anything that includes disclaimers or safety advice. If there’s even a hint of danger or risk involved, I generally lose interest pretty quickly.

Using the device became a permanent feature on my to-do list. I told myself I would “deal with it” once I had the ‘headspace’, turning it into a chore to be procrastinated over for months to come.

I decided enough was enough and made it a priority to try out the device during my week off. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was easy to use, simple to incorporate into my routine and without any side effects other than a slightly tingly sensation on my skin. It is now a firm feature in my morning skincare routine.

Splashing cold water on my face in the morning

I want to incorporate cold water therapy into my wellness routine because I already benefit so much from so-called ‘blue therapy’ i.e. being near open water such as a lake or by the sea. I have read so much about the wellbeing benefits of cold water plunges but my dislike of being cold always prevents me from making progress beyond 10-15 seconds standing under a cold shower. While not quite a cold plunge, splashing my face with cold water first thing in the morning is a surprisingly pleasing addition to my morning routine. It is revitalizing and I’m thinking the cold water might be helping to tighten my skin – or is that just wishful thinking?

Morning run

Or should I say, a mindful plod around my local area. Running or jogging or plodding is not new to me but since completing the Couch to 2K challenge last year, I haven’t been running on a consistent basis. I have a fear of slipping on icy pavements so I guess it’s to be expected that a running habit might fall away during the colder months.

I was visiting my Mother in Arran, an island off Scotland’s West coast, and had the opportunity to go for a run on a pleasant Spring morning. I was absolutely buzzing afterwards. Running is a great endorphin booster but, throw in the stunning scenery in Arran, and a soundtrack of early morning birdsong and it really is one of the best ways to start the day.

I ventured out again, in my local area, while the streets were quiet and the sun was shining. Behold, my latest fixation. Who knows how long this will last before I turn towards some other pursuit (it was yoga not that long ago), or the weather breaks and it’s no longer quite so magical running in 12 degrees and rain. For the time being, I will happily plod along for 2-3K each morning with the odd rest day thrown in, of course.

Green juice

I am sucker for good wellness-related marketing. I am attracted to pretty packaging and intrigued by green powders that comprise all my daily vitamins and minerals. However, these products usually come with a hefty price tag and limited evidence to support their efficacy. It’s an investment I have been reluctant to make for what is essentially a green powder that may or may not do anything for my health and wellness. While I was rummaging through a drawer of wellness-related products that I’d accrued during several visits to Holland & Barrett, I discovered a box of green powder which I started to take in a glass of water post-run along with a squeeze of lemon. This is another pleasant addition to my wellness routine because a) I’d be drinking the water anyway, as I always do each morning so it’s been easy to incorporate, b) I enjoy the earthy flavour, and c) I have bought into the idea that greens are good for you.

Stream of consciousness and/or brain dumping

A stream of consciousness is best done as soon as you wake. Most mornings, I am on a tight schedule. This makes it harder to incorporate this practice but I have tried to do so when the opportunity presents itself.

I have found ‘brain dumping’ helpful when I feel overwhelmed or when I have too many thoughts or ideas in my head and need to get them onto paper. I set my stopwatch for 3 minutes and just write down anything that springs to mind. Sometimes, what I write helps to inform the day ahead in terms of my decision making, planning and organising, problem solving or goal setting. Other times, I don’t even look at what I’ve written because the process of writing things down has served its purpose, allowing me to process my thoughts and feelings.

Mindful cuppa

This sounds a lot fancier than it actually is. To provide context, I once had a herbal tea fixation and accumulated quite the collection which has been cluttering up my kitchen cupboards and drawers. I didn’t want the teas to go to waste but using them up began to feel like a chore – particularly when I preferred to stick to my usual green tea. I decided to reframe this ‘task’ as having a ‘mindful cuppa’, ideally at dusk, when I can watch the sun slowly sinking below the horizon accompanied by a soundtrack of birdsong. It helps to use a beloved cup or mug, I find. This practice has taught me to slow down, to take a moment to listen to the birds and watch the sunset and I’m getting to experiment with different tasting teas . It hasn’t detracted from my green tea drinking habit but the novelty of new flavours has provided a simple dopamine hit. My kitchen is less cluttered too, now that I’m making my way through my collection. I decided to romanticize drinking my teas and essentially created a lovely, mindful ritual that is now a welcome addition to my wellbeing routine.

Spending more time in the garden and listening to the birds

It is so much easier to do this now that the days are lighter and brighter. I am lucky that I work from home so I can take short breaks in the garden, with a book, or the aforementioned mindful cuppa, and watch or listen to the birds. It’s a grounding exercise that brings me back to myself; a moment or two of mindfulness that helps me to enjoy the present moment without my mind wandering to what I did previously or what I’m doing in the future. It breaks up the chaos of the day and slows things down to a more restorative pace.

Experimenting with different breakfast options and leveling up my eating habits

A surprising benefit of TikTok is the healthy eating inspiration – from scrambled oats to colourful salads and matcha chia puddings.

One of my toxic traits is a lack imagination when it comes to healthy eating. Occasionally, I stumble across a recipe I feel excited about but when I eventually tire of it, I revert back to carbs and lack of variety. I struggle to get my 5 a day and consistently eating a balanced diet often feels overwhelming. The lighter, brighter days are making me want to eat better and I have inspiration and novelty that is making me more motivated to eat well. Eating more of the good stuff has become easier and I find I am turning away from starchy carbs and saturated fats. I don’t even miss my daily dose of chocolate and have dropped 3 pounds of stubborn weight which feels like a big step in the right direction.

Lighter evenings have also meant less TV and more reading.

Although sometimes less TV also means more time on social media. Thankfully, I seem to spend more time creating content than consuming it so at least I’m indulging my creativity rather than mindlessly scrolling.

I am reading a great book right now and this means I look forward to taking it out to the garden and reading a few chapters.

Making good use of my time

A typical British trait is wanting to “make the most of” lighter evenings and better weather. This isn’t always a good thing as there’s added pressure to be doing things that are good for us and time spent indoors or in a sedentary position is increasingly demonised. As long as we take time to rest and to do the things we want to do instead of doing everything we think we should be doing, time spent outdoors, in natural light, moving our bodies and getting fresh air, is surely a good thing.

Grooming rituals

I am enjoying my hair being longer and have recently taken more pleasure in washing it, applying a finishing cream then leaving it loose. As someone who usually detests the tedium of washing their hair, I am delighting in the fact this no longer feels like a chore.

I usually wear my hair pulled back, so leaving it loose does take some getting used to: all that hair flying about, sticking to glossy lips and generally getting in the way, usually infuriates me – but I figure, what’s the point of having long hair, if you stick it in a ponytail every day.

I have a large forehead/slightly receding hairline that I try to conceal with a fringe or ‘curtain bangs’ but recently it feels like this fringe settles into an unflattering shape that seems to frame my forehead, highlighting the very thing I’m most self conscious about. This styling cream by Larry King Haircare has done a great job keeping my fringe in check, and I feel like I can go a day or so longer between washes. For someone who prefers low maintenance haircare, this simple product has been something of a revelation.

I am also moving away from heavier foundations onto a lighter base – such as bronzing drops or tinted moisturizer. I like a lightweight, dewy finish better as my skin looks healthier and lighter creams seems to settle less into my lines and wrinkles. I also notice my jowls on which I have become increasingly fixated appear less obvious, the less makeup I am wearing. As I write this, I have a somewhat starting revelation that perhaps the ‘warmer’ foundation shades I was previously wearing, actually highlighted the jowly look and perhaps a more natural look will help to minimize their appearance. Quite the epithany.

Final thoughts

The practices I’ve highlighted today are the ones that have blended relatively seamlessly into my daily routine. I did experiment with a few others but these didn’t stick so easily.

I did find myself becoming somewhat obsessed with leveling up my wellness routine and at the end of the week, it was almost a relief to return to work as I was beginning to feel slightly burnt out by it all.

You can definitely have too much of a good thing. My perfectionist tendencies were starting to kick in and I had to gently remind myself that life is supposed to be fun and not a constant battle to ‘fix’ oneself.

I had created this huge list of potential wellbeing practices which could be helpful if you don’t have my brain. Having ADHD means I want to try all of them right now and there’s no way to incorporate every item on that list.

My TikTok algorithm seemed to change overnight to reflect my new wellness fixation and it wasn’t always helpful to be constantly reminded of what others are up to: beautiful, young influencers, rising at 5am to begin a morning of seemingly back-to-back wellbeing practices that served only to overwhelm me of thoughts about what I should be doing and where I was sadly lacking.

This is literally the opposite of what I was looking for and I had to remind myself that a) these women are half my age, b) they make a living from posting this type of content, c) they don’t have a regular 9-5 like I do, and d) it almost certainly isn’t real!!

Social media can be helpful when you’re looking for wellness-related inspiration but consuming too much of this kind of content can be damaging to one’s morale and self esteem due to the sentiment that you “should” be doing all this stuff to become the best possible version of yourself. Here’s a wake-up call that you almost certainly shouldn’t.

When I reflected on what I’d seen and how it was making me feel, I had the realization that, actually just watching some of these videos left me feeling exhausted and demotivated.

I even began to feel sorry for the creators with their toned, lithe bodies and glowy complexions because, with all that time spent journaling and meditating, making Matcha and doing ‘Hot Girl Pilates’, then having to film it all to share with several thousand followers, there can’t be much time left over to JUST. HAVE. FUN.

Returning to work helped me to weed out the practices that weren’t going to be sustainable longer term, focusing my efforts on sustaining a handful of new practices that seemed to work well.

The best advice I could give to anyone wanting to build a wellness routine, is to step away from social media and focus on 2-3 things that work for you and that can fit seamlessly into your existing routines. Choose options that are realistic and achievable for you and your lifestyle. Most importantly, they should be habits and routines from which you derive some pleasure: they should feel good in the moment and offer long term wellbeing benefits. Anything that feels like a chore or a “should do”, you would do well to swerve.

Thankfully my algorithm has now returned to its usual mix of nature and spring vibes – with just the odd wellness hack thrown in and that’s just fine by me.