Healthy Habits Week 4: Self-Care and Making Habits Last

It’s officially Week 4 of our Healthy Habits Challenge! Hopefully, these past few weeks have been an enlightening experience on your journey of mastering your habits and living a healthy lifestyle. We’re so proud of how far you’ve come! 

In today’s blog, we’ll summarize what’s really important when it comes to making habits last so that you can stay consistent with your healthy habits all year long. And if you haven’t already joined, check out our Snap Kitchen Community for accountability, helpful information, and all things Snap Kitchen! 

Making Habits Last 

In weeks one, two, and three of our healthy habits challenge we covered several different topics when it comes to healthy habits, including why they are important, how to build healthy habits, and how to break bad ones. But we’ve got a few more tricks to share when it comes to making habits last all year round. 

Prime Your Environment 

Ever heard the saying out of sight, out of mind? That’s because visual cues are very strong triggers for behavior. Priming your environment to encourage good habits will make you more likely to do the activity you are trying to make a habit of. For example, leaving a book on your nightside table will make you more likely to read. You’re reducing the chance of forgetting about the activity and lowering the barrier to engage in that habit by making it obvious and easily accessible.

Make it Attractive 

You are much more likely to engage in an activity if you are actually looking forward to it! As you build your habits in the areas of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and self-care, you will begin to find what works for you, and find more enjoyment in the habit. For example, if you are trying to make time for self-care each night, being sure to include your favorite scented candle in your nighttime wind-down routine will make you more likely to stay consistent with the routine. 

Have a Backup Plan 

You may have the best of intentions when it comes to creating healthy habits, but life happens, and nobody is perfect. But consistency is what we’re aiming for – not perfection. So when life does inevitably get in the way of you achieving your daily habit, have a backup plan. For example, maybe your goal is to eat 5+ veggies per day, but you got caught up at work and you’re too tired to cook dinner. As a plan B, have a list of healthy dishes from restaurants that you can turn to when you need to get your veggies in. Having some backup plans in place for your habits will ensure to stay consistent on your path to forming healthy habits.

Who Cares about Self-Care? 

Building healthy habits requires planning, effort, and consistency, and for these reasons, making time for self-care is just as important as those other elements of a healthy lifestyle. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup, so carving out the time to rest, relax, and do things that you really enjoy are essential to health and happiness! 

Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to include 2-hour massages or a lengthy bubble bath (though those are awesome!). It can involve 5 minutes of meditation, 10 minutes of stretching, or a quick face mask. It can also mean defending yourself and your boundaries against the onslaught of everyday obligations and making some space for yourself. Taking even a few minutes for yourself every day will help fill your cup. Keep reading for some more self-care habit ideas below.

Self-Care Habit Ideas:

1. Write down 3 things you are grateful for daily 
2. Snuggle with your cat or dog 
3. Schedule your favorite spa treatment 
4. Make a DIY face mask with avocado and honey
5. Try meditating for 5 minutes each day
6. Call a friend and catch up 
7. Reflect on what went well today and what you could improve tomorrow 

Let Snap Kitchen Take Care of You 

One of the best ways to care for yourself is to ask for help when you need it. If you’re too busy to cook or if you’re not sure where to start when it comes to eating healthy, Snap can help! Our meals take the worry out of cooking. They’re dietitian-designed and chef-prepared so that you know every bite will be delicious and nutritious. 

Tell us your favorite ways to care for yourself in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!