Seven Things I (Try to) Do Every Day

In Gretchen Rubin’s (very excellent) book about habits, Better Than Before, she mentions that we repeat around 45% of our behavior on a daily basis.

I do plenty of worthless things every single day (truly, do I think after 30 years that my pantry is magically going to be restocked with something new if I look AGAIN?), but it was fun to think about some of the good daily habits I have too.

7 things i do everyday (just about):

• Take vitamins. I’m a consistent vitamin taker and have been since I got pregnant with Ella more than six years ago. Since then, I’ve been either pregnant or nursing almost consistently, so it’s been easy for me to maintain the habit. I always look for a vitamin with folic acid since it can help prevent certain birth defects during pregnancy. Also, folic acid helps your hair, nails, and skin look better (a major plus in my book, especially living in the desert where the dry air really is hard on my hair and skin). Plus, folic acid helps regulate your mood and reduces stress, anxiety and depression. PowerMe A2Z has a lot of great information about all the benefits of daily vitamins and why 400 mcg folic acid is important no matter what stage of life you’re in. You can get a free PowerPack with a 3-month supply of multivitamins and other great health information mailed to you.
• Read on my own. As I’ve gotten older and busier, it takes more diligence for me to fit in my own reading. I’d love to blame it on having more children, but I’m amazed by how much I have to resist the evening siren call of the smartphone and cycling continuously through Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Feedly, and my email. I really try to shut everything off at least 30 minutes before bed and read for at least a little bit before I go to sleep. I also have started using the Kindle app on my phone more and making sure that at least one of my books is a digital one that I can read while I’m nursing or when I end up with a few minutes of standing in line at the store or waiting in the car for dance classes to get over. This has been a game-changer for me in the last few months and I’ve gotten a lot more reading in; plus it means when I pull out my phone, I’m more tempted to read a book rather than just aimlessly surf the Internet.
• Wash my face. I am not good at lots of things, but I am 100% faithful about taking my makeup off and washing my face before bed. I can’t remember a day since high school where I haven’t taken off my makeup before going to bed.
• Connect with each of my girls individually. This is one of the things I’ve been working on for the last several months. It’s kind of crazy how you can be a stay-at-home mom, spending all day with your little people and not really connect with them during the day as you run around on errands, make meals, fold laundry, and generally just get things done. I’m trying to make more of an effort to cuddle with them on the couch, let them tell me a quick story, or rock in the rocking chair and sing them a little song at least once a day.
• Get the mail. I am not one of those people who lets the mail pile up for days on end. For some reason, getting the mail is one of the highlights of my day and something I look forward to all morning (this makes me sound like a person with a very pathetic life). My girls LOVE being the one to unlock the mailbox and they switch off days being the one who wields the keys. And when there is a package in the mail? That’s basically the best thing ever.
• Make My Bed. My mom is a total bed-making evangelist. I make my bed every single day and have for as long as I can remember. My roommate in college started making her bed after a few weeks of living together because she said it made her feel like a total slob to have my bed made and her sheets all tangled up. WIN-WIN!
• Put in my contacts. I have pretty terrible eyesight and have worn glasses since I was seven years old. But once I started wearing contacts in middle school, it is extremely rare for me to wear my glasses during the day (although I usually take them out by about 8:00 p.m. if I’m staying home and switch to my glasses). I can’t stand not being able to wear sunglasses, and I’m way too blind to function without either contacts or glasses, so they’re one of the first things I put in when I get ready in the morning and I don’t take off my glasses until moments before I go to bed.

What do you do every day?