Now that April has arrived (yeeey!) it is high time to start thinking about the month as one to be really productive, especially if you have fallen off the wagon already. What you had set yourself from January, you haven’t kept to completely, and you are worried how you will be able to keep to your plans… Who knew that diets, exercise plans and productivity resolutions were so hard to stick to? If you have taken reassurance from the pretty spring blossom outside your window or just those first few bracingly beautiful spring days that good times are to come, don’t let that wonderful spring spirit go to waste. Instead of letting your resolutions and goals go into the rubbish, make sure that you make the most of this month’s foreseeable days by implementing these five habits over the coming spring months.
PREPARE A CAPSULE WARDROBE
Do you know that the average woman takes around 15 minutes each day to pick out clothes for the day? It doesn’t help that as our shopping habits get bigger, the wardrobe space still remains the same, meaning we end up with cluttered, over-filled wardrobes that are pure hell to find anything in. If you have ever felt that your wardrobe simply has too many clothes, maybe it’s time to try a very different concept of dressing, pioneered by the most successful people in the world. If you are managing a company as CEO or you have limited times in the mornings, you simply don’t have that 15 minutes to waste on picking clothes. The solution for all of this is the capsule wardrobe: a carefully edited selection of universal basics like t-shirts and jeans, and more statement pieces that ‘make’ your outfit. Ideally, the capsule wardrobe shouldn’t exceed 15 items in your wardrobe, although there are wardrobe extremists who cut it down to just 5 items. While this may seem like a tough ask for people who have so many clothes they could barely count, it does make you seriously think about what kind of items you really NEED in your wardrobe. You never know, but the items that you reach for every day, that you feel most yourself in, maybe the ones that will make up your spring capsule wardrobe. Change your capsule wardrobe seasonally, so that you can adjust to the different styles and weather.
Top statement items in your capsule wardrobe for spring: trench coat, mules, embroidered jeans
INCORPORATE 3 MORE VEGETABLES/PULSES INTO EVERY DISH
You might think this one may be very hard to do, but I find that if I am not strict enough with myself for meals, I end up snacking, which ultimately ends up with me feeling annoyed (and hangry) that I broke my own food rules. I am sure that you have felt that before as well… Ultimately, I found that most of my meals had not been very diverse, and usually didn’t have more than two vegetables in them, making them less nutritious than I wanted. By adding healthy, filling ingredients like beans or other pulses, the dishes I made before became filling for much longer, at no extreme costs. Vegetables don’t have to be an expensive addition either- basics like courgette, tomato, onions, carrots, leeks and celery are perfect for bulking out most meals and are not very expensive. If your resolution this year was to cook more, but you are finding most recipes need more ingredients than you can afford, make these vegetables your basics and add beans, pulses and basic protein like chicken for a truly filling meal. Try just chopping these up raw to keep all the nutrients, or gently heat them together with pulses for a filling stew.
TRY AND STAY OUTSIDE FOR A TOTAL OF 1HR A DAY
With the sun peeking through our windows, it may be a good time to consider exercise if you haven’t already. While trying to exercise every day may seem like a bit of a chore, especially if you have had trouble keeping to this year’s resolutions, aim to simply stay outside for about an hour. Even if you stay outside for an hour a day more than you are doing right now, you make sure that you are doing more than before, which is a great improvement! Try taking a usual activity that you do inside outside: reading, drawing or simply doing your workouts outside, or even just taking a walk can clear your head. Giving yourself a burst of fresh air and better quality of sleep is always needed, and one of the main reasons people don’t sleep well (in my opinion) is that you end up being cooped up inside all day, with your lungs full of stale air. So if you feel like every day you wake up feeling tired and groggy, just try taking at least an hour in total of exercise outside.
What are your spring habits? Do you have any recommended spring tips? Please tell us in the comments!