As we are in the midst of the Safer at Home order, you may be running out of things to do at home. In
my previous blog I talked about other areas at home to clean if you have some extra time on your hands. If you are like me, you may be slowly running out of bigger projects to complete.
Now is also a good time to focus on building small habits that can continue even when the Safer at Home order is lifted. When I am at home with an infant to take care of, I typically get small pockets of time
(usually during naptime) to get my tasks completed. Here is a quick list of things that typically take priority and help me feel accomplished when I have 20 minutes or less:
Movement
It’s as simple as that! Movement, no matter what kind, can be helpful not only physically but mentally. A few of my go-to places to find workouts are
Fitness Blender,
Spark People,
BeFit on YouTube, or the
7 Minute Workout app on my phone. Find what works for you in the time that you have!
Water
Drinking enough water has ALWAYS been a challenge for me. When I get busy, I tend to lose focus on drinking water throughout the day. Take some time to evaluate your water intake for the day thus far. Lately I have taken this personal goal a step further and added silent alarms on my FitBit at 10 AM and 2:30 PM as a reminder that if I haven’t had much water for the day, now is the time to drink up!
Healthy Snacking
Being home more often allows for more time to snack, but sometimes I find myself snacking on unhealthy items. Let’s face it! Who wouldn’t choose the chocolate cookie over the apple on the counter!? During a break in the day, assess what you’ve snacked on so far. Do I have healthy options available? If I eat something that is not great for me, can I make a better choice next time? Am I actually hungry or just bored? Now there’s some food for thought!
Plan Ahead
Plan out your groceries and meals for the week ahead. 20 minutes of planning can save a lot of time while shopping and making meals throughout the week! Other ways to plan ahead can include reorganizing your pantry or fridge so you don’t overbuy things you already have stocked, or prepping your dinner items mid-day so that making dinner later is a breeze.
At-Home Pampering
Since salons and places to get beautified are currently closed, pamper yourself at home! Take a few minutes to paint your nails, put on a little make-up, or if you’re like me, just getting dressed up in more than yoga pants is a good start. Oddly enough another thing that somehow increases my motivation for the day is going from wearing glasses to contacts! It’s the little things like this that can improve your mood and motivation levels for the day.