Change doesn’t happen overnight. It happens gradually – day by day, week by week, month by month. And now a new 12 months stands before us.
We are going to start 2024 off with intentionally build up positive habits that will help our well-being and allow us to build up our families and homes too. Each month, we are going to write about five habits to work on for the month – one for each facet: Mindfulness, Physical Wellness, Emotional Wellness, Family and Home. I hope you will join us and moms throughout Rochester by reading about these monthly habits and finding ways to put them into action. We will be posting on our Facebook and Instagram reminders for these habits. We’ll ask how you are doing at these and we want to hear from you.
Mindfulness – Journal About The Holidays
Having quiet-time for self-reflection gives yourself space to process what is happening in your life and the lives of your family members. For mindfulness, we’ll be writing a journal entry. You can do this in an old notebook or on your computer. It can be something you do once a month or maybe you find there are things that you want to write down throughout the month that your family does. But for this January prompt, write about what your family did for the holidays last month. What did you do? Who did you see? What was your favorite part? What would you like to make a point to do next year?
Physical Wellness – Go To Bed Earlier
For physical wellness, we are going to work on one habit for the month of January. That’s right. Just one. And here it is – we are going to get to bed earlier. Getting enough sleep is integral to our overall health. When we have little ones waking up at night, it is especially difficult to get the sleep we need. Having me-time in the evening is so needed to unwind, but sometimes we should go to bed instead of watching one more episode or continuing to scroll through our phones. Going to bed a little earlier rather than way too late can feel satisfying because you are intentionally doing something positive for yourself.
Emotional Wellness – Face-To-Face Time With A Mom Friend
There are always things that we can do to help our emotional wellness, but it can be hard to take the time to do something for ourselves when we’re already being pulled in so many directions. That is the case for many moms. So for January for emotional health, reach out and make plans for face-to-face time with another mom friend this month. Find time for a playdate or to meet for coffee when someone else can watch the kids. Just having time to talk with someone who is a positive influence on your life can refresh and energize you.
Family – Affirmation For Your Kids
There are three key moments of the day when our kids need us to love on them: when they wake up, when they get home from school and when they go to bed. (For moms who homeschool, that second moment might be when Dad gets home from work.) For this month, we are going to work on building up our kids at bedtime by praising them for something that they did that day. I can spend so much energy telling my kids what they are doing wrong throughout the day – “Don’t touch that. Don’t say that. Don’t do that.” – that I have to remember that they need affirmation from me. When you say goodnight to your kids, tell them, “I saw how you helped your brother” or “your joke at dinner was so funny” or “you were so kind to your friend.”
Home – Declutter One Space
There is a lot we can do in managing our home to help reduce our stress. For the month of January, find a space to declutter. Maybe it is a closet or the dumping ground on the counter or your kids toys. Decluttering is something that you usually know needs done but gets put on the back burner until you have time and bothers you everytime you see it. Taking care of that one space will help you feel less anxious. Who knows? It may feel so good that you may find yourself decluttering other things too.
That’s it! You have until January 31 to work on these! Then, I’ll be back with 5 new habits for February. Remember to comment on our social media posts with how you are doing!
