Happy October and the start of Quarter 4 (Q4)! I always find it baffling how time is never on our side - my, how quickly the year 2024 has flown by. Now that we are officially in Q4, it's time to think about how we intend to wrap up the year. Whether you aspire to finish the year with productivity or rest (or perhaps both! Now that's called balance baby!) - I have 4 wellness habits that you should incorporate into your weekly routine.
From exercise, sleep, nutrition, morning/evening routines, and mindfulness - just to name a few - there's an array of wellness habits. Cultivating wellness habits into your weekly routine can improve energy, health, mood, productivity, as well as reduce stress. As someone who's been deep in their wellness bag lately, I'm excited to share what has worked for me in finding bits of joy in my everyday life.
Wellness Habit #1: Create a dopamine menu.
The creation of a 'dopamine menu' was a popular summer trend on TikTok. So, what is it? A dopamine menu consists of things that bring you joy - essentially, it's a list of activities that trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps people feel pleasure and motivated. By using the TikTok sound, you post photos or a compilation video showcasing various daily activities that make you happy.
For me, my dopamine menu consists of the following:
Reading my She Reads Truth bible and journaling
Making coffee at home via my Nespresso Coffee Machine
Visiting local, aesthetically-pleasing coffee shops (y'all know that I'm a sucker for a cute vibe)
Cute gym sets
Working on my wellness blog + filming and editing content
Comfy PJ sets and matching press-on nails from Olive and June
I encourage you to set some time aside this week to write down a list of items that bring you joy, also known as your 'dopamine menu'.
Wellness Habit #2: Journaling practices - The Five Minute Journal and Best Case Scenario Journaling.
As always, I am a hugggeeee advocate for journaling. It's by far, one of my favorite wellness habits. Journaling enables me the opportunity to express my current emotions in a healthy format. You should never keep your emotions bottled up as it will often lead to severe stress. If you're new to the journaling game, I highly recommend that you start with this beginner-friendly journal by Intelligent Change, the Five Minute Journal. This journal offers morning and evening prompts that will help you to set the intention for the day as well as reflect on your daily habits.
I've mentioned this journaling technique quite a few times in my recent blog posts. I've been incorporating this wellness habit into my weekly routine lately and it has definitely helped me to decrease my anxiety about upcoming opportunities. As I've mentioned before, Best Case Scenario Journaling - from my fave wellness podcast Balanced Black Girl - incorporates the practice of how you want your life (or day, or week) to go in vivid detail assuming the best case scenario. So whenever I'm anxious about something - say, an interview - I'll write in detail about the interview working out in the best case scenario. "The interview went really well, I met so many amazing people. I confidently answered all of the interview questions. I responded with x, y, and z...." Essentially, you are programming your mind that things are going well. I encourage you to try this wellness habit this week!
Wellness Habit #3: Play low vibrational music while doing your favorite activity or being productive.
If there's one thing that I love to curate, is a good vibe! Whether I'm working my 9-5, journaling, meditating, doing my skincare routine, or planning content - I love to create a positive space by playing low vibrational music. Lofi music and soft jazz are my favorite type of tunes that help me to focus on the task at hand. I usually like to play my favorite lofi music YouTube channel at the beginning of my work day - to set the mood and intentions for the day - and towards the end of my work day. Sometimes the afternoon slump can be hard to get over, but this jazz piano playlist on Apple Music has helped me quite a bit. I also enjoy listening to this Work & Jazz playlist on YouTube.
Wellness Habit #4: Use a habit tracker.
Now that you have a few examples of wellness habits that you can incorporate into your wellness routine, here's one way of how you can maintain these habits by using a Habit Tracker. A habit tracker is an essential tool that helps you record your daily or weekly wellness habits. The benefit? It's a useful way to learn new habits, become more aware of your habits, and motivate yourself to change.
I recently started using a weekly habit tracker and it has definitely helped me to define my wellness routine. My habit tracker also serves as a visual aid in helping me to see the progress of my goals. For example, one of my October goals is to workout or move my body for at least 45 minutes, 5x a week. I get excited every time I mark a little check box next to my daily habit once completed!
If you're interested in trying out a virtual habit tracker, check out these free options from the popular productivity and note-taking app, Notion. I use this specific habit tracker template: tap here. And of course, Etsy also has some good template options as well.
But of course, if you're an avid paper girlie and prefer a non-virtual option, check out these habit tracker products down below!
Habit Tracker by Lamare ($17) - Amazon
CARDAMONOLY Habit Tracker Notepad ($9) - Amazon
Habit Tracker Notepad ($11) - ErinCondren
Arched Habit Tracker Sticky Notes ($5) - Cloth & Paper (Black-owned!!)
Once again, whether you choose to embrace productivity or rest for the final quarter of the year, I hope that you have enjoyed reading about my latest wellness habits. Be sure to follow my Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all of my wellness activities.
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