5 Lifestyle Habits I Will Always Invest In

How nurturing the mundane can improve your lifestyle.

We all know how important self-care is, but many of us still don’t implement it regularly or seriously enough. We may think we don’t have time, or maybe we don’t feel we deserve it because of our neverending obligations to work and look after our families.

You may plan to do something but you easily cancel because you put other things first, such as an impromptu Zoom call with your boss, or helping your child with school work. Basically, your “me” time just doesn’t seem like a priority, because what you’re doing with your time instead is done with love and duty — which you do deem important, and rightly so.

So this is why I have set up a few things in my life that means I can still get some good quality time, even if it doesn’t involve that spa treatment at the salon. Because although we live hectic lives and we put others first, we still deserve to give ourselves a little piece of that pie.

We are worthy of love and we owe it to ourselves to feel a sense of duty to keep up with our own plans to look after us.

It’s this kind of self-care that we can implement even during the midst of a hectic lifestyle that will make all the difference.

The Hotel Bed

“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” — Thomas Dekker

If you’ve read any of my previous articles, you’ll know I’m all for getting a good night’s sleep. Your whole day literally depends on how well you rest at night.

And you’re going to be sleeping for the rest of your life, so think about that.

After being sleep deprived for months when our first son was born, I swore I would never, ever, take sleep for granted again. But even when you’re not sleep-deprived, a mild problem with your sleep can have a huge impact on your health and lifestyle.

Every morning I wake up and thank the universe for giving me a good night’s rest now because of all the steps I have taken to ensure my sleeping environment is top-notch. That includes good lighting, a peace lily plant, a nice painting over our bed, and most importantly — an awesome 5* hotel-like mattress.

My husband is tall and muscular and I’m of average height and build, meaning that when he got into bed before, the mattress would dip towards him and my body would roll over towards him. It meant uncomfortable sleeping positions and bad backs all around.

Now, we have 2 single mattresses that zip together on a superking frame. Thus, we still sleep next to each other, but I don’t feel my husband getting in and out of bed, and I don’t roll on to him every night. Not only this, but I have purchased the Egyptian cotton sheets that I curl into at night and it feels like a dream — pun intended.

Even after a busy day, you can make sure that you get a good night’s rest by improving the environment in which you’re sleeping — that includes getting a comfortable mattress you can float in.

That way, when you go to bed and you notice how comfortable you feel, you’ll start looking forward to that moment every night, making it that much more likely for you to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the next day. Add the pain-free back to your morning wake up and you’ll feel like a whole new person.

The Coffee Machine

Whatever your beverage of choice is, get only the best. You may not be able to squeeze in that 30 minute-long “me” time in the morning if your child woke up early, but claim that drink that helps you survive the day regardless.

For me, it meant investing in a bean to cup coffee machine for the best experience whenever I want one. Because nobody likes bad coffee and no one deserves anything less than amazing, including me.

If you like to treat yourself to a Starbucks, then recreate a good coffee experience at home because you are worthy of it. It doesn’t make the Starbucks event any less special if you’re used to going there with friends etc — but it makes the ones at home more meaningful and thus raises your own mood and feel-good vibes.

What happens when you feel good during those normally mundane, day-to-day moments? You begin to enjoy your life that little bit more. You start to get pleasure out of the small things and look forward to them. You begin to be more deliberate with your choice of actions for yourself. And starting with your favourite choice of drink could lead to groundbreaking results that change your life around.

I’m not even joking. Because I enjoy my morning coffee to the fullest, I now use the time it takes me to drink it reading my affirmations and goals. With that, I feel pumped to write at 5 AM every single morning. By the time my son is up at 6:30, I’ve had a good time being productive and focusing on the enjoyment of my life at that moment. My son gets the best version of me every morning, and it all starts with a damn good coffee.

Entertainment At Home

These could be TV subscriptions or books, a console, or a good surround sound system for your music. Whatever you love to do at home to feel good.

We prioritise TV in this family, but I also invest in books and will never hesitate to pay the full price for one.

We use a Google Chromecast and have Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Thus we are really selective about what we watch. We don’t get unconsciously sold hair growth products during breaks in TV shows. Rather — we choose our own breaks with the pause button. We save ourselves time and we choose when we watch our own stuff on TV.

Yes, they cost. And yes, it’s necessary for us because we lead extremely busy lives and we deserve to enjoy downtime to its full potential.

Spoilt? Call it what you want, but our quality of life is better because we have chosen not to compromise on our relaxation time. It is just as important to enjoy that time as it is to fulfil our less enjoyable obligations.

And books — well, you can find out the importance of reading below. Just remember — to read is to learn, and knowledge is power.

No matter what you love to do at home for entertainment — don’t settle on the quality of your experience if you’re going to be attempting to enjoy it regularly.

Invest in your everyday downtime.

Belgian Chocolate and Good Meat

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.”― Oscar Wilde

The idea is to buy good quality food to eat at home with pleasure, not with the sole purpose of filling your stomach in a rush.

Now, I’m a chocoholic. It’s my evil pleasure. Sugar is bad, I know. But if I’m going to give myself bad stuff, I want to be able to do so consciously, and saviour every single bite. Hence, Belgian chocolate is my go-to because it’s my favourite. Yes, it’s more expensive, which is good because it means I spend more mindfully and moderately — but the experience fills me with comfort and peace every time.

And good meat? Well, I can’t avoid processed meat because I’m Spanish and you don’t understand how good chorizo is. But I do buy most meat low in fat contents. For example, I only buy 5% or less fat beef mince. Or the shop’s version of “finest” steak.

Basically, whatever you’re going to give your body, make sure it’s tasty, and make sure you tell yourself you’re worthy of the best. I can’t rave about health or the environment because I’m not a nutritionist nor an environmentalist, but I can big up the importance of food actually tasting good and eating everything in moderation — those are just obvious. And when you eat well, you feel good.

Simple.

Your Own Space (For Alone Time)

“We need solitude, because when we’re alone, we’re free from obligations, we don’t need to put on a show, and we can hear our own thoughts.” — Tamim Ansary

If you live with others, especially if you share a bed or a room with others, you need a small space that you can escape to, even if that space is technically communal.

You need privacy and time to be in your own company. I mean, how else do you relax? How else can you get to know yourself and think about what you want out of life, or simply do nothing, other than by chilling in your own comfortable space?

My husband has his home office and it’s a proper man cave. He has his laptops and computer screens, his console, his massage chair, and a leather sofa to do everything he needs — from work projects to let some steam off on COD.

If our house was big enough, I’d also have my own home office even if I didn’t work simply because everyone deserves a space that’s solely theirs. But instead, I get my quality me-time first thing in the morning and I choose where I go for it because I know it will remain uninterrupted. Sometimes I go to the kitchen, sometimes to the living room.

At night, I usually go to bed around 30 minutes before I’m ready to go to sleep, simply because I like to have a little time on my own to relax. I’ll write down a small to-do list for the next day and read my book. And normally, I’m asleep in minutes every night because I’ve had a proper chance to unwind, on my own.

You might not be able to get out to that gym session if you’re exhausted after work, but make sure you give yourself 20 minutes to switch off alone.

Takeaway

Yes, life is busy. Yes, life is hard especially when you’re not financially comfortable. Yes, there are priorities and obligations we should fulfil in order to survive and care for our families.

But life is also supposed to be enjoyed. And as we know, we mostly live in habits and the mundane — so why not invest a little luxury in the every day activities of our lives?

If there are things you would love to be able to afford regularly — then aim for them. You deserve to enjoy every day, and not just splash out on occasion. I’m not saying you go for a massage every morning, but I am saying you can take steps to improve and take pleasure in your everyday life.

“I like to make the mundane fabulous whenever I can.” — Rufus Wainwright

Sylvia Emokpae, thinker and philosopher, is passionate about self-love, relationships, and motherhood. See more work like this.

Follow her on Twitter.