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

[peculiarzmakeup]

Amazing wellness week! @ather 

Every experience is definatley new and I’m so glad you got to go with family! I hope you had fun :). Bingo sounds so fun! Love the mask and stretching! You did excellent! 🙂 

[ather]

@peculiarzmakeup  Thank you! 😊 it was a lovely trip! 

[fatimamummy]

@ather This mask is a commitment seeker. Sometimes when I am on a kick, I wear it every morning while making breakfast and them Bnigo night sounds so much fun and IMO buying yourself a treat totally counts.

[ather]

@fatimamummy  I agree! The mask is definitely a commitment! I do yoga every night so my routine is to mask than yoga!!! 

[danielledanielle]

Mask + stretching is probably my favorite habit stack/ Habit Stacking Thread 📚 .  Keep it up! @ather 

I noticed I won't really stretch on my own, unless I'm like taking my time between strength reps, but that's rare .

[ather]

@danielledanielle  You don’t stretch? Awww I get it. I like to stretch between strength training too. Or when I need a rare break! 

[itsfi]

My wellness activities for the past week. No bingo but these were good ones to get in.

Mask Time -  Went with a hair mask - Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Hair Mask 8 oz/ 237 mL (gratis). 

Exercise - An old gym buddy of mine was in town so we met up at wait for it ... a gym. And, in a nod to our workout days of years past, I hopped on an elliptical and searched for a cooking show or cooking competition to watch. lol  Yep, one man was watching one of the football games, another was catching up on the financial markets, a woman was listening to music on her headphones and then there was me, watching a re-run of Top Chef. I got a few chuckles from passersby's and folks in the stretching area behind me. 🤣

Digital Detox Before Bed - I was doing well with this and then got off the track with reaching for my phone and being on it before bed. I've hit reset and am getting back to having a digital detox before going to sleep - I'm putting my phone back to its charging station in the hallway, and am either using my PEMF mat or a steam eye mask before bed. This has been helpful in improving my quality of sleep. 👍

Catch Up With A Friend - Good company, good coffee, good chat. Aiming to not let so much time pass before it happens again.

Be Kind To Yourself - I gave myself permission to prioritize myself and passed on a couple of events, since I was beginning to feel a bit run down. 

This week's self-care activities are marked with an orange star. 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Awesome wellness work! I am finding digital detox before bed so challenging! We have a tv in our bedroom. I have also been reaching for my phone - especially with the Black Friday sales. 

I like what you did for the 'Be Kind to Yourself'. Sometimes it is hard to say no. But it is important to say 'yes' to ourselves. Thank you for the inspiration!

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185, thank you so much for the encouraging words! Disconnecting from my electronic devices, be it my phone or computer or TV, is a hard one for me - after working on the house, I removed the TV from the bedroom altogether - it took some getting used to. In the very beginning I had to reset and start over a lot. I still have my reset moments but find for me that it does help with my quality of sleep when I hit pause on and physically distance myself from electronics, especially my phone! 📱

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Good call on removing the TV! I feel like that would help aid sleep more. I heard that the light can really affect your eyes and quality of sleep.

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185, I’ve heard the same thing. I wasn’t so sure about it when I first did it (or moving my phone away from arm’s reach) but it has made for better sleep, along with other things. It’s definitely helped with not staying up so late. I can see it having a negative impact / strain on the eyes, much like staring at a screen for work for a long period of time without a break. 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  great job with your wellness/self care progress! And that's a good reminder for me that different kinds of masks can count, not just facial masks (I guess I am not very good at thinking outside the box 😅). Glad you were able to catch up with a friend, that must have been so nice! I have a terrible tendency to drop off the face of the earth for long stretches of time when it comes to staying in touch with my friends, and unfortunately most of my friends seem to be the same way, so catching up is easier said than done 😭 but I am still working on it!

[itsfi]

@caitbird, thank you! I have a lot of hair masks that are in varying stages of use so it came to mind a lot more easily to me with them right in front of me. 😆 One of the things I appreciate about this wellness bingo is hearing about what people are doing for them - it gives me ideas for my own self care undertakings. 

[fatimamummy]

I love this hair mask @itsfi and I am seriously impressed to see digital detoxed marked on your chart. That is the hardest thing to avoid. Mostly I only manage to do that during spring and winter breaks when kids are home and I try to keep them off the screens by staying off myself 😅 

[itsfi]

Awww, thank you @fatimamummy! Being screen-free before bed has not been an easy practice to put into play, or to maintain, for that matter! I aim for 30 minutes before bed but some nights it's more like 15, or 5. Every little bit helps and I do find it better for my quality of sleep (and means a good start to the next day) so that is a big motivator for me. 

That's fantastic that you do that with your kids. 👍 Reading that made me / convicted me to be more mindful about doing a better job at not being on my phone so much when I'm helping out with homework. I've not been on it as much, but I can definitely do better. Going to try to put that into practice later this week. Thank you. 

[danielledanielle]

That totally counts though @fatimamummy , because you're at least modeling the behavior for them to see

[ather]

@itsfi  🤩 wow you are amazing. Look at you go. You are doing a great job at prioritizing yourself! I hope you’re feeling more energized soon.  This is a great challenge to help out! Gym catch up and a coffee date! That is awesome! 

[itsfi]

@ather, thank you so much! Back at ya! I appreciate how encoraging and supportive you are of others, including me. Thank you, thank you! Prioritizing myself, as in really doing so, is not the easiest thing for me to do, but it's a work in progress, and it takes time (and effort) to make it ... easier.I ended up with a cold so I'm glad I stayed in earlier that week. 

[ather]

@itsfi  You are so kind. Thank you for being my friend! I hope you’re feeling better. Colds are no fun!!! 

[peculiarzmakeup]

That hair mask looks so soothing! The excersize thing when I was reading it seems like it would be fun! I get some inner motivation when I do excersize with others I think that’s a great way to connect and stay present. I love the digital detox idea. I think someone would literally have to lock my phone in a box tho and throw the key away haha I like how you described it. Baby steps! I’m glad you were able to priotize time for yourself that’s so key. Great job with your self care practices this thread is such an inspiration 🤩 @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Hahaha! I get that @peculiarzmakeup, about the phone. Baby steps sure is right! The first time I tried the whole no electronics before bed was a challenge. I would put it in my nightstand drawer a few minutes before bed, but kept all the bells, whistles and sounds on. To help me not reach for it, I would apply cuticle oil to my nails and massage that in so my hands were a bit greasy and I wouldn't reach for my phone. It worked some of the time. 😅 Having it physically away from me, out of the bedroom, helps me a lot. Just gotta take it a step at a time and do what works best for you. Or, find an approach that just stretches you enough, then work towards making it more comfortable and when it is, adding another stretch to aim for.