I've decided to set myself mini-goals each week, ones which are heading in the direction I want to go in. They will be simple, and things I want to work on. This week I plan to:
Get more sleep. I've been having too many late nights recently, and the black circles and bags under my eyes aren't chic. I want to have 8-9 hours per night. My preferred time to get up in the morning is around 6am, but lately I have been sleeping until nearer to 7 because I have been going to bed too late. I plan to be in bed by 9pm, so I can have a relaxing read, with lights out by 9.30.
Commit to everyday body maintenance. I'm not too bad at this but I want to be better. 1-2 times per week I will exfoliate my whole body in the shower, with scratchy gloves and shower gel. 2-3 times per week I will shave my legs and underarms. Every single morning I will apply moisturising lotion to my whole body. Currently the tallies are 0-1 / 1-2 / 5.
Wash my face after work. As opposed to just before bed when I'm already tired. I'm not sure about this one. I can see the benefit of washing off the day's grime as soon as I walk in the door, and all that lovely moisturiser has longer to soak in. However I don't know if I want to sit there with a pink and shiny face all evening. That's only the first five minutes though, after that I may transform into dewy and ravishing. I've already missed tonight, so I shall begin tomorrow. After a week I will decide if I want to carry on or go back to my old time.
Bonne nuit!
Fiona, this is that discipline that Tish commented on this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI always think small goals are the most practical. They add up, first of all, to accomplishing much broader goals; and secondly, each small goal you accomplish is a reason to pat yourself on the back.
Self-care has always been easy for me ... habitual. Where I fall off the wagon is having the discipline not to buy things for the house and to keep up on the housework. I've been working hard on decluttering for a neighborhood garage sale in two weeks, which is good motivation. But really the reward is opening my office closet, for example, and just looking at the peacefulness and relative order within.
Tish is right. It really is all about discipline.
LB, you are right about small goals. They are less daunting to commence also.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking a lot about what Tish said.
I know what you mean about the house. It's easier to buy something pretty than go home and vacuum and dust.
You must be a 'warm' person too. Warm people's home fill up automatically and they have to cool them down by decluttering, organising, cleaning.
'Cool' people have the opposite: they have to look for ways to warm up a space and make it inviting. They'd never think of buying a scented candle or a pretty cushion for instance.
This is from the Apartment Therapy book. A really great read and I got a lot out of it even though I didn't do the eight-week cure.
I love a good list :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good idea to incorporate small changes into your daily life.
I like your list and it seems achievable which is helpful, not out of reach. I think I can incorporate some of that myself. I love and need getting 8 or 9 hours of sleep best of all!
ReplyDeleteStephanie, imagine a blog that was entirely composed of lists, French-themed ones at that! There's something very satisfying about a list. My mum loves lists too. I think it's genetic.
ReplyDeleteParis Apartment, I printed out your latest post ('Something in me has changed'). I love it so much!