I am all for starting new habits … especially if they pertain to my mental health as well. I’m not the greatest at sticking to exercise routines, but when I find an exercise that I like, I feel good and happy. (Cue the Legally Blonde quote about endorphins here)

These are healthy habits that I’m starting to put in place this fall and hopefully through 2022.

Drink less coffee + more water.

As I’m writing this, I am drinking a Diet Coke, so my habit of drinking water may not seem like it’s going well, but during the week, I want to drink more water. I’ve been feeling more tired and groggy after work, and as a result, I have no energy to do anything. When I drink water, overall, I have more energy to do the things that I have always loved to do: walk my dog, cook a nice meal (hello, HelloFresh!), and work on the side hustles (aka this blog!). I’m not giving up coffee or any sort of caffeine, however, I am reducing the amount of caffeine I intake overall.

Stick to the exercise classes I love.

Since the coronavirus panini, I have been a member of Obe Fitness. (I talk about it on the blog!) It’s online, however, there are both live and on-demand classes. I personally love the dance hiit classes, specifically the ones hosted by Walter K. (I love his energy and instructor style!) A healthy habit that I want to stick to is continuing with the exercise classes that I love and treating exercise as something that I like to do instead of something that I have to do. I’ve been in the mindset where exercise is something I do to lose weight, and when I don’t lose weight, I stop exercising. But instead of treating exercise as a weight loss trick, I want to focus on the classes that I love to get back into the mindset that exercise can be fun.

Save More, Spend Less.

This November, I am entering into a no-buy month. For those who don’t know what that means, it means that I pledge not to buy anything that I want, emphasis on the want. Obviously, I’m continuing to buy the necessities such as groceries, utilities, subscriptions, and anything else that comes up. But this is largely focused on eliminating the Target trips (these always cost me at least $50 of things that I don’t need), TJ Max, Old Navy, and any other purchases that I don’t need. My hopes from my no-buy month is to really learn “intentional” spending vs. impulse purchases. Do I really need that? Do I really want it, or did I just see my favorite influencer wear/use/talk about that?

This also includes takeout vs. cooking! I want to stop ordering takeout more than once a week and meal prep or cook more recipes. I currently use Hello Fresh and love it, but I also want to plan more meals out at the beginning of each week to avoid ordering takeout mid-week (because I’m tired, and that will be hopefully helped by drinking more water!).

Read More, Less Screen Time.

This includes even watching less TV. While I think watching TV is a form of self-care, I do want to read more and stay off my phone less and watch less TV. When I do read more, or have a better reading month (for me, it’s five books a month), I feel better like I’ve accomplished something.