Health & Wellness Archives

Blog, Health & Wellness, Planners, Planners, Journals & Paper

The Importance of Using Planners To Maintain Your Health and Wellness

January 18, 2021
by Mommy R+R

Keeping up with how well you’re taking care of yourself, needs to be tracked and monitored. To understand the effectiveness of your mental and physical health, you need to measure the activity. Planners are the perfect way for doing that so that you can keep yourself both mentally and physically healthy.

Help Clarify and Focus On Your Goals

Wellness doesn’t remain the top priority when we get busy and feel like we’re fine without taking a time out. Using a planner reminds you of the reason why you started monitoring your health. Wellness planners allow you to track your rest habits, daily nutrition, and workouts as a way to maintain your health. In addition, it lets you focus on your goals so that you don’t float amid various objectives. The best part about using planners is that you can always go back and remind yourself of the essential goals and why you want to remain healthy.

Breakdown Milestones

Planners will help you easily break down your bigger goals and into tiny milestones making them more manageable. You will be motivated when you reach these milestones, as it will be simple for you to track the critical changes that take place in your body. The best part about using a planner is because you look at it every day you will keep your goals at the forefront of your mind, which helps you make better decisions regarding your health.

Keep Tabs On Your Progress

One of the fundamental reasons why people keep a wellness planner or journal is to track their progress. When you record your mental and physical health, you know whether you’re progressing or not. Seeing how far you’ve come with how many times a week you meditated, ate well, and got a good night’s rest will keep you motivated, as they are signs of progress. It allows you to check if your current routine is having the desired effect or not. You’ll know if you need to switch up things and make a new routine. When you keep track of or jot down everything in a planner, it will make your job much more comfortable.

Plan Future Routines

Have you ever gone to a gym without a plan? Then you are doing the wrong thing if you want to achieve some health goals. If you have a busy schedule, then most likely, you will be distracted from planning your future routine in advance. However, when you maintain a planner and jot down everything for your next training day, it will make your practice more efficient, and also you will be free to do some other activities.

Record Important Health Factors

Many health factors can be tracked easily by using a planner. There is plenty of information that others may mark as unnecessary, but in reality, it can significantly impact your results. You can record measures like your sleep, energy levels, what you eat, and your general mood each day. This makes planning is a single tool that helps you gather all the information which enables you to understand the needs of your body in a comprehensive way.

Planners play a crucial role in one’s life and it’s the best route to go if you want to stay healthy, mind, body, and spirit.

Sharing is caring!

Blog, Journals, Planners, Planners, Journals & Paper

The Ban.do Wellness Planner Isn’t What You Think It Is

July 29, 2019
by Mommy R+R

Okay so remember when I talked about three undated wellness planners you need to check out. In that post, I said I was most interested in the ban.do undated Wellness Planner. So I ordered it and I was so excited to receive it, but then I realized it wasn’t the planner I thought it was.

Now let me be clear now, this is post isn’t meant to drag anyone or be mean. At least that isn’t my intention. I’m just keeping it real with you about what I do and don’t like about this particular planner.

I’m gonna jump right into it.

Pros of the Ban.do Undated Wellness Planner

How it’s broken down

This planner is broken up into five sections: Eat + Drink, Relax, Activities, Feelings, and Goals. You can tell the creators really wanted to explore ways that would help the user of this planner can get on the road to living a more stress-free life.

It’s informative

At the start of each section, there are 2-3 pages that give you all the information you’ll need about the section. I like how this is laid out cause it gives me tips and ideas from more than a dozen women who are experts in their fields. It gave me an introduction to crystals, told me ways I can workout outside of the gym, ways to process my feelings and so much more. There are also 18 motivational reminder cards that you can take out of the book and put in your wallet or add them to your bulletin board. The idea is that these little place cards help keep you on track.

This is a small planner

It measures 8 inches x 6.5 inches. Which means it can fit it nicely in a medium-sized bag without taking up a whole lot of space. This is perfect for those who like to take their planners with them on the go. Sometimes if a planner is too big, heavy or both you tend to not want to take it with you. But this one you can pretty much travel with it wherever you go.

It’s got a hardcover

I like hardcover planners and journals. I’m not rough with my stuff however there are times when I put books and things in my backpack and they get bent, crushed, or even torn from stuffing things in. With a hardcover that’s less likely to happen. Also, the cover is easy to clean. Just a simple quick lightly dampened paper towel will keep your planner looking brand new.

It has a 3 ring binder

I was so excited to see this because this means I can rearrange the sections or I can add my own personal touches. The idea that I can design this beyond its intended use really excites me.

It has stickers

There are two sheets of stickers and considering the length of the planner (which I’ll get to in a minute), there will be enough to go around. The stickers (and illustrations) in this planner remind me of FLOW so I can use my own stickers or use these in my FLOW projects.

Cons of the Ban.do Undated Wellness Planner

It’s only a 6-week planner

I’ma keep it all the way real with you, for the amount of money this planner costs it should have been a 12-month planner. Even if that meant the planner was a little bit bigger. I think there was so much potential that was lost with it being so short. If it’s something that’s supposed to motivate me into living better then I’m going to need more than 6-weeks to get into the groove, at least I think.

There are no refills

This is my BIGGEST con. Once you’ve filled up your planner you’re shit out of luck. At this point, you have two options: you can purchase a new planner or you can photocopy the sheets. But I’m telling you now if photocopy it won’t look or feel the same unless you’re using thick colorful/patterned paper. My biggest question is, what’s the point of having a 3-ring binder planner with no refills? Yeah, I can decorate and add to it as I mentioned but if someone is lazy, as I can sometimes be – no refills makes this planner useless. Cause whose gonna buy another one? Not I.

The lines to write are too small

After you read through the beginning of the section you’ll come to some prompt sheets. These sheets help bring the whole section together but space to write in is too small. Because the book is small (yay!) that takes away from the spacing needed to write your notes (boo!). I tend to write really big and need space to really get my words out. So if you write like me you’re really gonna have to keep it short and sweet, and small.

Do I feel bad that I purchased this planner? No, cause honestly speaking it really is nice. It’s prompted me to want to learn and do more. It also gave a chance to follow some new people on IG. So the potential IS there, I just wish the missing things were included to make it perfect. Maybe there will be more with those additions in the future but until then I’ll just creatively make my own.

What are your thoughts on the ban.do undated wellness planner? Do you have one? Do you feel the same? Share them with me in the comments.

Blog, Health & Wellness, Self-Care, Tips

Wanna Survive the Daytime? You Better Get a Bedtime Routine

August 6, 2018
by Mommy R+R

There was a time where I couldn’t make it to noon without needing a nap. As hard as tried I just could not keep my eyes open. The onslaught of exhaustion became the bane of my existence. And while I love a good nap, I can’t always be sleeping cause I got shit to fucking do during the day.

Then one night at 3 a.m. it hit me as I lay awake trolling Twitter. This right was my problem and why I couldn’t function in the daylight hours. You woulda thought I would’ve figured it out sooner. Better late than never, right? The problem was when it was time for bed I got up from my desk from being on the internet and hopped my ass in the bed and got right back on the internet. *buzzer sound* This is not the proper way to go to bed. While I was physically shutting down my body, I wasn’t shutting down my brain.

Enter my new bedtime routine.

Y’all should already know what a bedtime routine is, but if you don’t, it’s a series of wind down activities you do just before you go to bed to help you go right to sleep. Now keep in mind no one bedtime routine is the same. My routine has 7 steps but yours might only have 4. My routine takes an hour and starts at 11 p.m. and in this order or I’m not gonna be able to sleep.

Take my vitamins (multi & hair, nail, and skin)

I always take my vitamins at night before sleep. Why? They take hours to break down in my system. What sense would it make for me to take them at 8 a.m. and finally kicking in at 3 p.m. when I need the energy before then. So I take them at night so when I wake up my struggle level isn’t 10 and I can hit the ground running with energy that will carry me through the afternoon. Also, if you wanna grow your nails get these Vitafusion vitamins. They are the business.

Take a shower and brush my teeth

Next, I go take a shower. I’m usually in there about 15 minutes. I alternate between hot and cold water. I let the hot run on me and I stand there as it rinses off the drama and stress of the day. Then as I bathe and rinse I use cooler water. After my shower, I’ll floss and brush my teeth.

Brew a pot of tea

As soon as I leave the bathroom I brew a pot a tea. I’m a huge fan of T2 teas. So I’ll make a mug of relax or lemongrass and ginger. My tea doesn’t take too long since I don’t let the water boil. It’s hot just enough. I also won’t add too much sugar since I just brushed and cause I need to go to sleep, or I’ll add a small amount of honey.

I will drink my tea as I go through the rest of my routine.

Moisturize my skin

I’ll add a light lotion to my skin. My dresser is loaded with lotion. I put on whatever my hand lands on. I don’t want anything too oily or too heavy as I want to feel my skin breathing. I’ll also put on my Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream, cause I’m a woman of a certain age.

Mist and massage my scalp

My hair needs moisture or it’ll be hard and dry. So, with my water bottle, I’ll spritz my hair with a water and oil and water combination and add a little leave-in conditioner. I’ll rub and massage it in then put my satin lined Grace Eleyae cap on. In the morning my hair will be soft and shiny. I like this cap cause it’s got an elastic band that won’t slip off.

Lower the air temperature

I need the room to be cold, and I mean cold. I sleep with blankets year-round so I set the air conditioner to 67 degrees on the highest cooling level. The room gets brick quick, and no matter how cold the room may get I won’t feel it as I’m snug as a bug under all my blankets.

Get in bed with Calm app

I know, I know I’m not supposed to have electronics in the bed, but, I’m not actually looking at it, I’m listening. Calm app is the last step that really brings everything together. Now that I’m covered up to my neck I put my headphones in and set the app to relaxing sounds. I usually choose some sort of water sounds like rain or a waterfall. I turn the volume down low and turn over. It’s lights out in less than five minutes. Thankfully there’s a timer on the music that it cuts off after an hour.

When I wake up the next day, yeah I’m dreading getting up, that’s never going to change but at least I’m refreshed having received almost eight hours of sleep. And that’s the key to it all – getting the proper amount of rest. By getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night you won’t have to worry about trying to survive the next day.

Do you have a bedtime routine? What does it consist of?

Blog, Self-Care

5 Ways You Can Take Care of Yourself as a Stay at Home Parent

September 12, 2016
by Mommy R+R

Taking care of yourself as a stay at home parent is extremely important for yourself, as well as your children. When you have a kid, your life may seem like it revolves around your child, and on some level, it does. Because of that, you may forget to take care of yourself or worse you find your self-questioning why you should, and that’s never a good thing.

Here are some ways you can take care of yourself as a stay at home parent.

Go to bed at a decent time, and give yourself 6-8 hours of sleep

Your sleep is important. While it’s best to sleep 8 hours, sometimes, as a parent, you’ll be faced with times that you might strain snooze at least hours. Allowing yourself enough rest, allows you to focus on taking care of your kids, and running your household well.

During the times you might not be lucky enough to get even 6 hours of sleep, try a short nap. If you have small children that do a nap time, you could also utilize that time to take your own nap.

Make sure to eat at least 3 meals a day

Your health is just as important as your child’s health. Making sure to eat 3 meal a day keeps your energy up so you can keep up with your kid, or for some parents, multiple children. It’s really easy to skip a meal when times get hectic. Missing a meal could leave you dizzy or not performing up to your normal self.

Take an hour each day to do an activity that would be considered good exercise

Exercise can help keep you in shape. If you’re stuck at home, you can do simple things like floor exercises or walk around the neighborhood, especially if you cannot afford to purchase a gym membership. And while the weather is still summery there’s still time to take advantage of these summertime activities.

If you can, try delegating tasks to reduce stress and don’t overwork yourself

It takes a lot to run a household and also raise children. If you’re married, try involving your spouse in helping out when your schedule is busy. If you have a child that is old enough for some chores, assign them some tasks.

Never overwork yourself. It’s okay to want to be the super parent, but sometimes, a little help can reduce your stress, and also, later allow time for family fun. Don’t be afraid or feel embarrassed to ask for help.

Try a leisure activity at least once a week that you can enjoy without the kids

You can’t always be cooped up in your house, and you can’t allow your children to be attached at the hip. Getting a babysitter from time to time will allow you to have a little bit of time to yourself. And if planned with enough time you can hook up with a friend or two and make it a girls afternoon or night.

For a married couple, this is important, as it allows you to fit in a date night, and keep the relationship from being strained.

Health & Wellness