Wellness In Progress: November 2024

[itsfi]

Hey there, BIC! I don't know about you, but keeping up (or even just doing) things for my own wellness or self-care can slide off my radar or just get pushed aside for some other activity. That happens even more often at the end of the year and with the holidays.

Here we have a game of wellness bingo for November. I thought it would be a fun way to try to keep at it, or to keep it top of mind, by making a little game of it. I also thought this might be a good way to get a leg up on resolutions for the new year. Wellness takes work - let's do the work together, BIC!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

🌻  There are a couple of ways to participate. You can aim every week (or every month) to try to check off a different 5-boxes in a row - vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. OR, to add a different take to this wellness challenge, you can use this sheet to see how many boxes you can check off this month. Those are just 2 ways to participate; I'm sure there are other ways and if there's an approach that you find works better for you to get in a little more self care, more regularly, please do share! 

BONUS CHALLENGE: This challenge is certainly one you can do on your own. It's also something we can take part in together! Share about the activities you did to earn each square. I love hearing from this Community - I learn about new things I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. Or, share challenges or questions.

🎀  We are all at different stages of our wellness / self-care journey. I'm not at expert at all at this and if there's an activity that is not something you are ready for or that you shouldn't engage in, make the adjustments you need to, or just skip the activity. For instance, the first square is to take a walk outside - if it's storming outside or you're in an area where it is not safe to walk outside (e.g., weather advisory, shelter-in-place, etc.), then skip this one and stay indoors. Be safe. For some of these activities, particularly the physical ones, please consult with your physician or health care provider before starting, if and as appropriate. 

⏲  The time periods I included are arbitrary - if you want or can do more than a 10 minute walk outside, go for it. If you're starting out or if you're crunched for time, aim for 5 minutes and work up when, if and as appropriate for you.

🗒  Wondering about the activities mentioned in the squares? Check this out - Wellness In Progress: November 2024 - Activity Summary

[danielledanielle]

This is pretty creative @itsfi 

There's a line that I think I do pretty regularly, so I'll challenge myself to do the one across.  I have all these hand lotions that would love to be used.

[itsfi]

aw-shucks, @danielledanielle, that's a huge compliment coming from you; thank you (said wholeheartedly but also bashfully). Yes, that's the spirit! And your hands will thank you for the TLC!  

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi LOVE this! What a fun way to get in some self care. I like the concept of this game and how we can make it our own. I will be back with an update.

[itsfi]

100% agree @Mellmars1185! There can be more distractions and hurdles during this time of year to get in self care, let alone do it regularly, so I'm hopeful this will be a flexible and fun way for all of us to do that or maintain that practice now (and then be maintaining our progress come the new year!!)  I like that it's a way for us to do this on our own, as a community here on BIC or within our other community of friends, co-workers, family, etc. and also for us to modify the activity to what works best for us.

[Samtian]

@itsfi This is cool! Can you send me a copy so I can download it? I could be lazy but I'm already editing I don't want to have to crop more photos if I screenshot it lol. 

[itsfi]

@Samtian, done! Hope you have fun with this!

Oh, and feel free to come back here and shout out a "BINGO!" when you check off 5 boxes in a row!

[peculiarzmakeup]

What a fantastic idea! 💡 @itsfi I love this chart it reminds me of bingo wellness bingo haha this is such an uplifting thread can’t wait to partipicate ❤️

[itsfi]

Yes, yes, yes @peculiarzmakeup! It's definitely like BINGO. No moderator to call out the activity here - all up to each person and what will suit them in their personal wellness journey! But, people can if they wish aim to get "bingo" (is that what it's called?) and try to do 5 activities that are next to each other. I'm going to *try* to do get one square each day this month, or average one per day. 

I'm thrilled you like this! Super excited to have you on board and I'm looking forward to hearing about how it goes for you and what you do for each of the squares you check off.  

[itsfi]

An add-on to the card on the original post.

First Row:

Spoiler

TAKE A WALK OUTSIDE (10 MINUTES) - Ahhhh, fresh air! Depending on wear you live, bundle up - it's a little crisp outside. Want to share a great tip that @heartsmyface  shared on the Habit Stacking Thread 📚  thread - she occasionally puts on teeth whitening strips before she heads out for a walk.

MASK TIME - There's a mask for nearly every need and for any time constraints we might be under. Most masks recommend 10-20 minutes but if that's more time than you have, there are others out there, including, DIOR Capture Dreamskin 1-Minute Mask 2.5 oz / 75 mL (1 Min), SEPHORA COLLECTION Booster Eye Mask Smooth + Peptides 1 pair / pack (5 minutes). Or do a quick, easy to use and extremely effective hair mask like K18 Biomimetic Hairscience Leave-In Molecular Repair Mask (4 minutes).

QUIET TIME / JOURNAL TIME - Spend some time journaling - on your laptop / phone or in a notebook. Or spend time meditating or just being still, being quiet.

HAND CARE - This can take many forms - stretching exercises for your hand, using a hand cream regularly, cuticle care.

SPEAK KINDLY TO YOURSELF - We can be our harshest critics. It's helpful to hold ourselves to a high standard. It's also helpful to cheer ourselves on from time to time. What's something you did today that you're proud of? What do you love most about yourself (e.g., character, accomplishment, feature, etc.) Shout yourself out!

Second Row:

Spoiler

READ FOR LEISURE (20 MINUTES) - whether it's a book (Kindle, audio or physical book) or a magazine, the newspaper or blog. If you're working through a book, consider posting about it on the BIC book club!  thread when you're done.

STAY HYDRATED - Whether you measure your daily recommended intake by cups or ounces, aim to get that or more each day!

TRY / DO SOMETHING NEW - Is there something you've been meaning to try or do - taking up a new hobby? Checking out a museum? Going to the new coffee shop in the neighborhood? Learning a new makeup technique, like blontouring a la Cheek Challenge Fall 2024: Fall Flushing Forward  thread? Go for it! 

TREAT YOURSELF - Treat. Yourself. Now, this is definitely something I would love to hear about. And I think others in the Community would too. What did you do check off this square? Let us know.

STRETCH (20 MINUTES) - Do a full body stretch. Focus on one or two areas. If 20 minutes is a stretch, start with 5 or 10. Or, simply pick one part of the body to focus on and do 1 or 2 stretches.

Third Row:

Spoiler

AROMATHERAPY - Light a candle to fill a room with your favorite scent - maybe while you're reading for leisure or having some quiet time or stretching - ooooh, multi-tasking and an oopportunity to check off multiple boxes with this wellness challenge.

EXERCISE (10 MINUTES) - Whether at the gym, working out from home, or walking outdoors (and earning 2 blocks in this wellness challenge). Adjust time, less or more, as needed.

FREE SPACE - Everyone gets to mark off at least 1 box in this challenge.

MAKE A DISH USING SEASONAL VEGETABLES - If you feel like sharing, consider posting a photo of your delicious dish on the What's on your plate?  thread.

GET OUTSIDE (REMEMBER SPF) - When I can, I've been trying to get some of errands done by walking to wherever I need to go - walking to the farmer's market or to a nearby coffee shop. If you have a go-to sunblock or our looking for one, you may want to check out Re: National SPF Day 2023 ☀️ 

Fourth Row:

Spoiler

FOOT CARE - Foot soak? Foot mask? Pedicure - diy at home or treat yourself to one?

GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP - ahhhh, sleep. 

LISTEN TO MUSIC - Do you have music or a song you like to listen to as part of a wellness or self-care practice, or if you have a song that puts you in a great mood? Put that on play and repeat!

PRACTICE GRATITUDE - Start or end, or do both, each day, identifying something or someone you are grateful for. Consider posting what you're grateful for on the Gratitude Thread! 🙂 

TOOL TIME SELF CARE EDITION - There are several tools out there - candles, a journal, a face roller, gua sha tool.

Fifth Row:

Spoiler

DIGITAL DETOX BEFORE BED (20 MINUTES) - Turn off the digital devices and set them aside for 20 minutes before calling it a night. NOTE: if you use an app like Headspace to help you sleep or if you read on an e-reader as a form of downtime before bed, keep at it. This is more meant to be off the phone, texting, being on social media (including Sephora BIC), etc. before bed.

CATCH UP WITH A FRIEND - over the phone, over coffee

EAT YOUR FRUITS & VEGGIES -

BE KIND TO YOURSELF - What does that mean for you?

BODY CARE - This can be in the form of exercise - yoga, pilates, going out for a run, etc. Or, it can be beauty related - using a body gua sha or dry brushing, etc.

🎀  We are all at different stages of our wellness / self-care journey. I'm not at expert at all at this and if there's an activity that is not something you are ready for or that you shouldn't engage in, make the adjustments you need to, or just skip the activity. For instance, the first square is to take a walk outside - if it's storming outside or you're in an area where it is not safe to walk outside (e.g., weather advisory, shelter-in-place, etc.), then skip this one and stay indoors. Stay safe. For some of these activities, particularly the physical ones, please consult with your physician or health care provider before starting, if and as appropriate. 

⏲  The time periods I included are arbitrary - if you want or can do more than a 10 minute walk outside, go for it. If you're starting out or if you're crunched for time, aim for 5 minutes and work up when, if and as appropriate for you.

[PDXXXX]

@itsfi I love this! I am fully disabled w/P.O.T.S. and other illnesses and sometimes self-care is challenging to fit in. This will be a great way to motivate making space for it by seeing other peoples' successes as well!

[itsfi]

@PDXXXX, you're absolutely right - seeing and hearing about people's efforts can be such a huge motivator - and also inspire new ideas for how to approach a particular activity. We can encourage each other along the way, both as we mark off squares and on those days when self-care means just giving ourselves a "time out" from all of it. I like the idea of having certain concepts for wellness activities but also making adjustments to fit our needs, conditions, lifestyles. I'm really looking forward to learning what people do for their wellness - some of us are better at certain forms of one form of self care and others better at another. 

[Titian06]

This is great, @itsfi !  😘  I already have several boxes checked off!

[itsfi]

Woohoo, @Titian06! 🙌 Look at you go; you got this!! 👊