Recent Habits That Have Made Me Happier & More Stress-Free

writing in my present not perfect journal & Practicing Daily mindfulness

The parenting books I have been reading or listening to talk about practicing consciousness. Well I don’t think consciousness stops at parenting, so I have been using this journal to learn more about the skill of mindfulness. So far, I love it! There are so many different prompts and you don’t have to follow a certain order. So either in the morning while Evelyn is eating breakfast or in the evenings as I am relaxing in bed, I flip through the pages until I find a prompt that connects with how I’m feeling that specific day.

leaving my phone outside of the bedroom

Before bed, I plug my phone into a charging station that I have made in the living room. I always wake up early, but I use to sit on my phone for hours until Evelyn woke up too. Now, I wake up around 7:30am and get started with my day. I leave my phone where it is until after breakfast too. This allows us to have our mornings together as a family, undistracted.

checking in on friends at least once a week and visiting if possible

Our society has become very disconnected due to technology, and even more so due to current conditions. For those we aren’t visiting or seeing right now, we like to reach out through text, Facebook message, or some other form of communication and make sure everything is going well.

For friends and family we have been seeing, we try to get together once a week or every other week. Personal relationships are so important for many different reasons, such as increasing our emotional well being, creating stability, learning how to be a wonderful friend, and having someone to talk to.

Being outside as often as possible. daily walks/spending time outside

It’s no secret that being outdoors is full of benefits. So Evelyn and I try to go on a walk to the park everyday, we all try going out as a family in the evenings, and we try to head somewhere full of nature on the weekends. We have bikes from Charlie’s grandparents that need some cosmetic touch ups and new tires, but I hope to fix those up soon so we can enjoy evening bike rides to the park together.

declutter

We enjoy the simpler things, even if that means less stuff. We try not to bring any plastic or battery operated toys into the house for Evelyn, and she has very few toys to begin with. I love the amount of toys she has currently, that they are wooden or organic fabrics, and that they don’t make any sounds (unless they are musical) because this leaves room for so much more imagination and creativity.

But also, we have very limited season decorations and decorations in general. We are actually in the process of doing some more downsizing, reorganizing, and spring cleaning. I want to have everything set aside to sell on Facebook marketplace or to put out in a yard sale. Having less ‘stuff’ and more space helps your brain to not feel disorganized, cluttered, and allow for quick and easy cleanup. With Charlie and I both working, anything that makes cleaning up quicker is a bonus!

planning my week

Charlie and I share a family calendar on Google. On Sundays, we love to look at our week together and see what each other has going on. This helps us to stay organized with our events or deadlines, to know when we can squeeze in some individual attention time with Evelyn, and how our week will look revolving around each other. I love to sit and look at my calendar or planner to get an idea of the week ahead.

For work, personally, I’ve also started keeping a list of content ideas and prescheduling them into my Google Calendar - which creates my Content Calendar. This has really helped a lot as well! I know exactly what I need to focus on for the week, get my to-do list in order, and possibly work of future content if I have the time and resources.

weekly bath

This is something I started implementing a couple of months ago and it has been so wonderful. Charlie just got me some bath bombs and some more lavender Epsom salts for the bath. I feel so rejuvenated, my skin feels healthier, and I feel ready to tackle the rest of the week after my bath.

Every couple of weeks, Charlie has game night with his friends online. Evelyn and I use that time to have Mother and daughter date nights full of relaxing spa time, movie night, and a sleep over in mommy’s bed. So if you are short on time and still want a relaxing bath, taking one with your kids is still an option!

random acts of kindness

This has been a new years goal of mine that has been one of my absolute favorites. Every month I try to commit small random acts of kindness, whether it’s dropping off a gift at a friends, filling someone’s freezer with homemade food, shoveling our neighbor’s sidewalk, or paying for someone’s meal in the drive-thru. It just fills your heart to do anonymous acts of kindness, to pay it forward, and to not expect anything in return.

keeping track of goals

Everyone has their New Year’s Goals, but so few keep up with them. This year, I have been keeping track of my goals in a planner, revisiting them around the deadlines, and revising or making new goals once completed. It’s so fulfilling and rewarding to check off a goal, no matter how small it is!

Limiting TV to the weekends

We use to be guilty of watching TV with dinner or leaving it on all day for Evelyn. I have tried for years (6 to be exact) to break that habit with Charlie. I’m not sure what made him finally say okay, but we did and we haven’t looked back! It’s so easy to fall into the trap of binge watching a show at dinner, because you have to see what happens next, right?

I do have to be honest and say that I miss watching some of my favorite shows, but I enjoy how much more time we have in the day without them. I’d much rather save my shows for a rainy day or for the winter and have my free-time to spend during the day, than lose all of that time on the couch.

Quitting the comparison train, staying off the phone, and allowing myself to be where I am in whatever I am trying to do

THIS IS HUGE. I use to spend HOURS scrolling on Instagram or Facebook and say “wow, I’ll never be able to create pictures like that” or “my work isn’t anything like that! No one is going to love it!” When that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth. The creatives and photographers I follow are already established, I’m just beginning. I can’t sit and compare myself to those that aren’t even in the same stage that I am. I am just where I need to be, wonderful for where I am, and people will love me for who I am and what I create in the now.

I know I said that I keep my phone outside the bedroom at night. But, I also try to leave it in another room during the day as well and only get on it during work hours.

Listening to audio books

Okay this one has been amazing, and I can’t believe what it has done for my mood. I am a huge book worm, but I have been trying to save space and resources by reading digital books or audio books. Running around with a toddler all day, though, kind of limits how often I can actually sit down and enjoy a book. Not only that, but my reading list keeps growing and I can’t keep up! Well we lost power for 3-4 days back in November of 2020 and I decided to go ahead and buy an audio book while I was doing odds and ends jobs around the house. WOW! There are some books that I’d rather read than listen to, but I can’t believe how many books I’m able to enjoy, how much happier and lighter I feel because of it, and the sheer amount of knowledge I am able to absorb. I listen to my audio book while I work, when I do chores, and in the car while Evelyn is napping. It has seriously been so amazing.

Those are my current habits that I love and have made me so much happier! Do you have any habits that make you happy and reduce your stress?