How to Create Your Ideal Wellness Routine
“So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.”
– A. J. Reb Materi
Structure and standards, these are the guidelines that keep us on track. Achieving our goals, creating potential to excel, are all propelled forward by thoughtful consideration. Without guidelines leading us, we make our decisions on the fly. While not impossible to progress, the impact can be shaky and difficult to sustainable long term.
When we make goals we have the intention to keep them. There are many roadblocks that can get in the way of us achieving our goals. Roadblocks that diminish our belief we can see them through. That is why creating your ideal wellness routine is so important. By having pre-established wellness systems in place, you are better able to navigate the bumps life has to throw at you.
Establishing a wellness routine can feel like a tricky thing. There are so many categories of wellness to consider: social, spiritual, emotional, physical, mental, etc. With many facets within each category. While I will not try to tell you what should be important to you, I would make some personally proven recommendations that will help you create the structure around those goals.
Without further ado, here is how to create your ideal wellness routine:
Assess Your Current Wellness Routine (Or lack thereof)
To start creating the wellness routine of your dreams it is important to first assess your current situation. You won’t know how far you are from your goals if you don’t first evaluate your start point.
It is easy in this step to be overly critical. Women especially tend to be unnecessarily harsh on themselves when we turn our gaze inwards. We see fault before progress. Observing our internal opportunities to grow as failures and flaws. I encourage you to assess your current habits, patterns, beliefs, and routines with an objective eye.
It is sometimes easier to have a kind eye when you step back and see things from a distance. No harsh criticisms, just honesty. This part might be harder than you think.
Take your time with this part too! My favorite way to self-assess is to document myself over a few weeks to a month. That way I get the full picture of my regular habits. I use a journal or notebook to log little pieces of my routine (water intake, how often I exercise, how long I slept, what thoughts tended to circulate this week etc). You don’t have to log every move you make, just an overview will do.
You’ll be surprised by the end how many tasks and routines we have that are done on autopilot. Those are the ones to pay attention to as they will do the most to help or hurt us. Having the intention behind the actions you take will make you feel more in control of your behaviors. Which brings me to my next point!
Brain dump Your Wellness Routine Aspirations
Once you have a good idea of who you are, as far as the routines and habits you have, now is a great time to start dreaming. Where do you want to be? What is your ideal wellness routine?
Think about some of the major categories in wellness: spiritual, social, mental, physical, etc. What areas do you see room for improvement? Start in the large categories then go into specifics.
If you feel stuck and don’t have any ideas I recommend you outsource. You don’t have to go far on Youtube or Instagram to find examples of wellness routines.
Be a boss babe and wake up at 5 am to run and drink your green juice before your morning meeting. Or you could go down the homemaker route and journal before tending to your garden and kids. Be a crunchy girl and make your own granola while learning the ukelele.
However you ideally want to structure your wellness routine, there is likely inspiration out there for you to find.
Create an “In Case of Emergency” Plan
When it comes to wellness we always have the best of intentions.
“I am going to wake up earlier,” “Staring tomorrow I will only eat plant-based foods,” “I will keep the promises I make to myself.”
We do our best to fall in line with our ideal path, with the highest expectations that we will become whole new people, ignoring the years of negative habits we’ve built.
Starting anything new, especially cold turkey, even when it is well-intended needs room for grace. Making space for forgetful moments, tired defeat, and overwhelmed energies. Life happens, and learning to stick to your goals through the unpredictable twists and turns takes time. Creating a wellness journey is not something that has to be perfect overnight.
Taking your time to find what systems work best for you is what creates longevity. With that, I recommend what I call a “Break in case of emergency” plan. Some activity you establish ahead of time you can use to hit pause and center yourself again when you start to get off track. It can be practical like doing a deep clean of your physical environment. A clean nest makes for a peaceful mind. Or something small like lighting a candle and processing out your exhausted thoughts by journaling. Or something spontaneous that gets you out of your normal routine and reminds you of your aspirations.
Whatever you choose, use the time to reset. Be honest with yourself about where you are mentally, and do not try to push through your burnout. Show yourself a little TLC and keep moving forward at a pace that is sustainable and fulfilling to you.
One Wellness Routine At A Time
James Clear author of Atomic Habits, like many other gurus, says when crafting a new routine it helps to layer one new habit onto an existing one. When I originally tried to establish my wellness routine I attempted to follow that advice. But what I found over time was I became overly critical when I struggled to do even that.
Even though I tried, I felt like a failure when I couldn’t reach even the simple goals others have done. I criticized my inability to improve my mental, physical, social, spiritual, and emotional wellness all at the same time. Wanting to make impactful change felt like it had to be immediate, done perfectly, and all at once.
That thinking was very damaging and set me back for a time. After regrouping and taking the time to figure out what I needed for me to succeed I landed on this idea:
One wellness routine at a time.
Instead of stacking habits upon habits, or trying to stuff all my goals into one I chose to focus on one new routine at a time. I started with something small, drinking more water. I allotted one month to incorporate this new routine. Starting my day with a glass of water, keeping my bottle with me at work, getting a cute coaster for my bedside table to remind me. All while allowing myself the grace of a full month to invest in my hydration habits without worrying about anything else.
Once the month was up, I was drinking water throughout the day without thinking about it. In month two I picked a new habit to add and went from there. You choose your timetable. Whether you need a couple of weeks or 2 months to acclimate, give yourself the time to feel steady in the accomplishment of living up to your intentions. One wellness habit at a time.
Experiment and Refine
As I mentioned in the last section, the journey of creating your ideal wellness routine takes some refining. Over time as you get some experience under your belt you will see the need to make edits. Perhaps you will need to adjust your timeline expectations. Or, you’ll realize you weren’t dreaming big enough. Maybe your “why” will change over time, or you will take a break and come back when you feel better prepared.
Experimentation and refining go hand in hand. You test out your theory of how you think you will succeed, then time shows you the outcome of that assumption. You may go back to the drawing board, you may not. But you cannot find what works best for you without some trial and error. A custom wellness routine tends to be better than a one-size-fits-all model.
Final Notes
The fun of crafting the life you can enjoy and feel proud of is so rewarding. Each day will present a unique challenge for you to face and overcome. Having the tools of a wellness routine that is completely catered to you will teach you to self-invest even when the going gets tough. Your ideal wellness routine is a practical way to show yourself you are worth the time and energy it takes to prioritize your needs.
Investing in yourself is always worth the effort because YOU are worth the effort. It doesn’t mean you have to break the bank or overextend yourself. There are always economical, practical, and impactful ways you can invest in yourself. Fall in love with building routines that make you fall deeper in love with yourself.
Your life and your time are valuable, spend each day with intention. You get to build the life of your dreams, no one can take that from you. Your well-being should be a top priority, and from there…the world is your oyster.
Until nest time,
