Why You Should Declutter Your Routine
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of wellness trends out there? Do you ever feel like you need to do ALL of them in order to be healthy and happy? You’re not alone.
We scroll through our feeds to see hundreds of photos of people doing yoga with scenic backdrops, meditating in the mountains, and journaling in a meadow all while having a green juice in hand with the hashtag #SelfCare. We watch people on Instagram effortlessly living a perfectly regimented life leaving us to wonder why we can’t quite do it all like they can.
With the surge of trends on the ‘gram, many of us are left to believe that when, and only when, we have the perfect routine down we will be happy. We think, "Once I can just master meditating, drinking enough water, exercising daily, decluttering my house, and meal prepping healthy food, I will be happy.”
Many of us create these routines with the intention of making our lives better and less stressful. I know I do. I love finding new healthy habits to add to my routine.
But what happens when trying to keep up with an in-depth wellness regimen is hurting you more than it's helping?
We live in a world where “grinding” and “working hard” is of the upmost importance. We want to fit as much as we can on a daily basis in order to be our best selves. And what happens when we get stressed out from this long-day of work? Self-care routines filled with multiple steps, products, and rituals. I used to think in order to relax I should meditate, do 30 minutes of yoga, journal for awhile, take a bath, do a face mask, and top it all off with a nice golden milk latte.
I thought this was self-care. I thought that by completing all of these regimens I was helping my mind and body. But what I was actually doing was ignoring what my body really needed by doing everything.
It’s not our faults that we feel this pressure. We have access to more information than ever before. We can see what millions of people are doing all over the planet at any given time. With one swipe we can see 5 different happy people engaging in 5 different productive activities. Seeing happy and healthy people swear by certain wellness regimens leaves us feeling pressured to engage in these regimens in order to live a healthy life.
Spoiler alert! You don’t have to do it all. In fact, you shouldn’t do it all. Trying to keep up with every blogger, trend, and wellness fad will only have you rushing to fit in all your self-care activities before the clock runs out causing even more stress.
So what do we do?
Try picking a couple wellness regimens that really stick with you. Find the routine that resonates with your lifestyle and current goals. A full-time fitness blogger is going to have a much different routine than you if you’re working a 9-5 desk job. It’s important to get really honest with yourself and listen to what your body really needs. Some days that might be yoga and a green juice, others it may be wine and a nice bath. The key is that if you are beating yourself up about your wellness routine, it is not doing you any favors.
Find a couple things that you genuinely enjoy and look forward to. If you’re doing things you don’t enjoy just because you see it on instagram, it’s time to declutter those activities from your life. Let’s stop doing what isn’t serving us and replace it with what is. Maybe you quit your reading routine because journaling brings you more joy. Maybe you replace your daily yoga practice with a walk outside. Find the things that work for you. Not every wellness trend has to be apart of your lifestyle
Don’t forget the beauty of doing nothing. We are so stimulated by social media, conversations, computers, texting, etc. that we forget to simply do nothing.
Sometimes the best self-care routine is doing nothing at all.