Realistic resolutions: Supercharge your 2024 routines

REALISTIC RESOLUTIONS: SUPERCHARGE YOUR 2024 ROUTINE

This is the year that I will reach my financial goals, get in the best shape ever, maximize my academic results, and only eat greens and snack on fruits. Pause. We’ve all been there. With the New Year often comes a set of expectations of a new and better versions of yourself. But sometimes, we need to take a step back and realize we’re perfectly placed right where we’re supposed to be on our journey.

That’s not to say that we can’t have expectations for ourselves and of course it’s always a good idea to evaluate what factors can bring you closer to your personal goals. All we’re saying is you maybe don’t need to turn your everyday habits completely around – sometimes all it takes is a few tweaks. Keep it realistic, reachable, and motivating. Then you can gradually develop your goals as you process. Read along as we go through some of the steps that may seem small but can have huge impact on your 2024.

 Make your bed every day

It may seem like a bother before it becomes a habit. Not only can making your bed every morning improve your room’s aesthetic, it may also lead to more productivity throughout the day. So, after you’ve rolled out, try using that 1 extra minute to set it up – it may even help prevent us from diving right into it immediately after walking in the door. Remember: Healthy habits breed other healthy habits!

Re-evaluate your bedtime rituals

We get it, sleep is important! We also mentioned the importance of catching your Zzz’s in last year's blogpost. However, a healthy sleep pattern is sometimes easier said than done. Swarms of thoughts can keep many of us tossing and turning, leaving us with dark circles, under-eye bags, and low energy the following day. But sometimes, what you do before hitting the hays can have a huge impact on your ability to fall asleep. Generally, it’s recommended to lay off electronics 30 minutes before bed. Also, research has suggested that yoga can have a positive effect on our overall sleep pattern, including the efficacy of our sleep. This is because yoga, and other types of meditation, promotes the practice of breathing patterns and helps educate on us movements that relieve stress and tension in our body. It's worth a try, if you ask us!

At woods_, we like to wind ourselves down with a soothing skincare ritual, taking our time to gently massage the products into the skin, helping to bring us into a calm state of mind. Afterwards, we enjoy reading or scribbling down our thoughts in a journey. Bringing the thoughts down to paper actually helps removing them from our mind, we’ve found.

Clean your brushes, please

Dreaming of a smooth, even-toned complexion? Then you may want to start cleansing – and it’s not (just) your complexion we’re referring to. Too many people leave out the vital step of cleansing their make-up brushes, allowing for bacteria and excess product to transfer to their skin. So, please, make it a ritual to wash your brushes 1-2 times a week to prevent undesired effects on your skin like irritation and impurities.

Our Daily Foaming Cleanser is infused with 100% natural cleansing actives that gently lift away grime, makeup, and build-up – meaning it’ll make an effective cleanser for your brushes as well. Simply massage the product into the hair strands and rinse with lukewarm water to see the residual substance disappear down your sink and never reach your complexion.

Practice gratification

It’s so easy to focus on the negative aspects. But try to consciously turn your attention toward the positive things you’re actually grateful for. It can be big and impactful things like loving family members, friends, and your health, but minor things like your ability to swim, read your favorite book, blast your favorite song, and eat a dessert for dinner on a random night are also important – and maybe even more important than you give them credit for.

All these fun, precious, and bubbly moments we tend to take for granted but that actually play a vital role in our everyday feeling of satisfaction and happiness. And that’s something worth spending a thought or two a day showing gratitude towards.

Maybe even make it a ritual to write down things you’ve been thankful today or overall – it really helps put things into perspective.

Wear SPF – every day

Rain or shine, we’re reaching for that SPF! With this essential product’s ability to prevent pollution, radiation, and UV radiation from entering and damaging the skin, it’s easy to say that it’s a mandatory step of every routine. Yes, even when it rains. Yes, even when it snows. Yes, even when it’s cloudy. The sun is a strong force beyond our comprehension and yes, it can penetrate and reflect on numerous substances and surfaces – so it’s always important to seal your skin with a dose of sun factor. Trust us, your future skin will thank you.