How to Level up Your Habits and Self-Care. We can get overwhelmed with all the habits we wanna do. We spread ourselves too thin, get unfocused, then eventually fail at creating consistent habits that could change our lives for the better.
If you’re struggling like this, there’s a better way. The secret, is don’t try to do it all. Prioritize the most impactful habits and just focus on those.
Today, I’ll share a framework for achieving balance through selecting the right habits. There are five categories where you’ll end up with five habits to cultivate, choose wisely for each category and then set a daily or weekly consistency goal for each of these habits. Every day or every week, do something for each of these areas.
PHYSICAL HEALTH
The first category is physical health. Taking care of your health at a physical level is essential. It’s the foundation that affects everything else. Your energy, emotions, motivation, and more. Consider one habit that would be the most impactful for your physical health and get as specific as you can. If you wanna focus on healthy eating, you can develop a mantra to help guide your food choices, like eat fruits every day or have veggies with all meals.
You could also challenge yourself to stick to a consistent exercise routine, find activities you enjoy and can maintain regularly, like going for a daily walk, run, or following online workouts. Try to reduce friction as much as possible, meaning make it simple and easy to follow your habits so that you’re more likely to stay committed.
A bonus tip is to add a motivating factor to your workouts to make them more enjoyable. For example, I like to combine walking with listening to an audiobook. It makes my walks more interesting since I get to nurture my body and my mind. I’ve been using Audible for over five years now, and I love incorporating it into my routine. Audible offers a rich variety of content that could help you make a positive change in your life. There’s a whole world to explore with an incredible selection of audiobooks across every genre. Beyond audiobooks, there are also podcasts and even soothing nature sounds to help you relax, focus, and sleep better. The Audible app makes it easy to listen anytime, anywhere; when you’re getting ready, walking, working out, or doing chores.
WELLNESS
The second category is wellness. I’m using the term wellness to refer to the health of your inner self and your mental, emotional, and spiritual health. It’s essentially self-care for your soul, the activities that help nurture and maintain your inner peace and balance.
What is one habit you can incorporate that would make the biggest positive impact on your inner self? Think of the activities that make you feel whole, balanced, and at peace. Some great examples would be meditation, journaling, or yoga. Ask, which habit would make you feel the best that you would have no problem committing to on a daily basis? I recommend daily because it’s so important to take care of our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. They shouldn’t be overlooked. Like physical health, taking care of your wellness sets a strong foundation for everything else in life.
Whatever you choose, this habit should help you connect with your inner self, build inner resilience, and strengthen your intuition. It’s about cultivating all those invisible yet powerful things that lead to a happier and more fulfilling life.
JOY
Next is the category of joy. Joy is a beautiful energy. It gives us life. It gives us the energy to do more and be more. The more joy you feel in your every day, the more satisfied you will feel about your life.
So make it a habit to do something every day that brings you joy because you deserve it. This could be anything that makes you happy. Singing, dancing, painting, baking, playing games, gardening, the list goes on. Think of it as nourishment for your soul. It’s doing something that makes you feel alive and connected to your inner child.
For instance, if you love music, take time to listen to your favorite album without distractions. Or if you enjoy nature, schedule a regular walk in the park where you can truly appreciate the beauty around you. What brings joy is highly personal. It doesn’t have to be grand or expensive, it’s about what resonates with you.
The key is to engage in these activities without guilt or the pressure of productivity. Allow yourself to be in the moment fully immersed in the experience.
RELATIONSHIPS
The fourth category is relationships. Human connection and a sense of community are vital to our well-being, giving us a sense of belonging and fulfillment. Make it a habit to consistently connect with your favorite people, be it daily or weekly.
This could be scheduling a weekly video call with a friend, organizing a monthly family dinner, or sending a daily text to someone special. It’s about nurturing connections that make us feel understood, supported, and valued. It can be as casual or as deep as you’d like. You could share your favorite songs with each other, get curious, and ask new questions, play games, or just plan fun activities to do together.
PERSONAL GROWTH
The fifth category is personal growth. Decide how you wanna grow and expand as a person. If you consider the power of compounding habits over time, you are shaped by what you repeatedly do, so imagine how much you can grow and evolve in any given direction if you were intentional about it.
Your habit could be reading 10 pages a day, learning a new language for 10 minutes a day, or developing a new skill like video editing or coding. Follow your curiosity and passions and just see where it leads you.
Now it’s time to select your habits. Choose one habit in each area to commit to consistently, whether it be daily or weekly. As you go over your options, just imagine what would happen if you were to stick to this habit consistently for a year, and then pick the one with the greatest potential impact.
I’ll give you some examples. For physical health, you could say,
“I will exercise every day for at least 30 minutes.”
For wellness, it could be, “I will meditate each morning for 15 minutes.”
For joy, “I will take a dance class once a week.”
For relationships, “I will check in with my friends every Friday.”
And personal growth, “I will spend 10 minutes every evening practicing a new language.”
Now onto tracking. Note that you’ll be more likely to stay consistent with your habits if you track them. So use a habit tracker like the one in our Artist of Life Workbook, or create your own tracker in a notebook or an app.
