30 is the new 20! Or so that is what I have heard and am hoping. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I just had a birthday and I am no longer in my 20s. I’m now in my 30s. Yikes! I love birthdays, truly love them! Not just mine but everyone’s! They are a great time to reflect, celebrate, and revisit your bucket list. I don’t get too caught up on the number but this year is different because it is a milestone birthday. It’s the close of a decade. I like to think I am getting older AND wiser. Self improvement books and podcasts are what I find myself reading and listening to. I am always striving to be a better version of myself than I was yesterday by forming habits and routines.

Don’t get me wrong, my 20s were great! I got my Bachelor’s and later my Master’s degree. I met and married my handsome husband. We purchased #TheBraxtonCapCod and have slowly been renovating it. We adopted our pitties, #DeanAndLeonard. I became a God Mother and an Aunt to the sweetest little girls! My world traveler status has improved with 3 trips to the Dominican and a European Vacation to include Italy and France.

As wonderful as all of that sounds I also had some downfalls. My weight was a roller coaster, up, down, up, and now back down again. I struggle with comparison and not feeling like I am where I am supposed to be in life. My marriage hit turbulent times and some of our lowest lows but our highest highs thus far. Nothing is perfect, especially not me but I would rather share the good than the bad. Throughout it all I learned more about myself and what I needed in my life to stay sane. Here are 10 habits that I started and focused on in my 20s:

1. Self Care

   • You should be #1 on your priority list. You can’t be a good momma, wife, sister, or friend if you aren’t taking care of yourself. This will look different for everyone. It could be a bubble bath, baking, getting a pedicure, or a massage. It could be as simple as having hot coffee instead of cold or enjoying a good book. Whatever it looks like for you, make sure that your taking time for yourself.

2. Working Out

   • I’m scared to admit this but I LOVE the gym! I am sure I will get flack for that and most of you will think I am crazy. But after sitting in an office for 8+ hours and commuting 2+ hours I needed an outlet. I am a busy person, so if there was anything in my schedule that I could put off or cancel, it was the gym, until about a year ago. Now it is a priority. I have workout partners who I am committed to showing up for. I even go when they aren’t able which should say something. It is on my calendar and I make appointments around it. I have even been going on the weekends because I see my hard work paying off. It has helped my weight, confidence, and all around well being. It is tough sometimes to workout so late in the day after giving my energy to work but I go. I even sleep better now because I am able to work off my energy by lifting.

3. Monthly Budget & Financial Goals

   • I have always been a saver and money conscious. I have a ridiculous spreadsheet that maps everything out. Our current status, future standings, account balances, etc. You name it, it’s probably on the spreadsheet. TJ thinks I am crazy! However he and I  have not always been on the same page about money or our financial goals. Until we were introduced to Dave Ramsey a few years back which was life changing. We attended the Financial Peace University and that’s when things started to change for us. It caused us to have hard conversations about where we were spending money and what we wanted our future to look like. This course opened our eyes to whole picture and where exactly our money was going. Now we tell our money where to go and it’s exciting! We are happily on baby step #5 and can’t wait to not have a mortgage, crazy right?

4. Canceled Television Subscription

   • This goes along with the previous one. We realized after looking at our bills that we had unnecessary expenses such as cable. TJ and I hardly ever watched it and when we sat down to truly look at what we watched, it wasn’t much. We realized that everything we watched came on late and we never watched it in real time anyways. We also noticed that it was offered on Netflix and Hulu for a fraction of the cost. So, we ditched the cable bill which is $85/month and now only pay $22/month for Netflix and Hulu and watch even less TV.

5. Meal Prepping

   • This one goes along with budgeting. I can’t grasp spending hundreds of dollars on eating take-out, when I can prep at home and each for a fraction of the cost. The average cost of lunch for fast food and dinning is $6-$13. Let’s assume you spend on average $10 a day on lunch, that’s $50/week or $400/month for TJ and I. That’s only one meal! I am able to buy groceries for breakfast, lunch AND dinner for a whole month for $400ish. We decided to try meal prepping and I don’t think we will ever go back. Our meals are prepped on Sundays for the week. We don’t have options or decisions to make. It is simple, easy, and cost effective.

6. Non-toxic and Chemical Free Products

   • We started doing research into the products that we were using when our boys started having reactions. The reactions seemed seasonal but we weren’t sure. They were miserable so I tried to limit the products that I used to clean the floor, wash their dog beds, etc. We finally determined their issue and they are better than they have ever been but we still utilize the non-toxic and chemical free lifestyle and are incorporating it more into our household. I signed up for Young Living and we now use a household cleaner, body care, laundry, and more with no chemicals and toxins and it feels great knowing we are using safe products.

7. Regular Scheduled Bedtime

   • I have always needed my sleep. It’s no secret that I need a minimum of 6 hours or more if possible. However when you wake up at 4 a.m. for work you have to go to bed pretty early to get that minimum 6 hours. So many people make fun of me for wanting to be home early or going to bed early. But that’s just how I am and what I need. So it means that I start to wind down for the night at 7 and am in bed by 8 to be asleep no later than 9. I have found that keeping a routine of a regular sleep schedule has helped me wake up easier in the morning. It allows me to be as alert and productive throughout the day as possible. My body and mind needs routines and this was just one that I had to implement. So when my fitbit goes off to start preparing for bed I try to shut everything off and get to bed. 

8. Others Opinions Don’t Matter

   • This is huge! I worry about what everyone thinks. What they think about me, my life, my situation and I let it get to me. It wasn’t until recently that I listened to “Girl Wash Your Face” when Rachel said that the only opinion that counts is your own. You are the one that makes the decisions and takes the action, so why should someone else get to have an opinion?!

9. Practicing Grace

   • To-do lists are my double edged sword. I LOVE a good to-do list where I can accomplish tasks and mark them off the list. It makes me feel good to have a marked off to-do list at the end of day. It’s a sense of not wasting the day. I used the day to the fullest and got so much done. But then there are other times when I can’t seem to get a thing marked off the list, or my list was unrealistic from the start. I know that there are days where a to-do list is crucial and other days when there just needs not be one. I’ve learned that even if I don’t get everything done on the list for the day that I still accomplished so much and to not beat myself up. Practicing grace is an ongoing struggle for me but I like to think I am getting better with it.

10. Be Present

    • It became very apparent that most people attend functions only to snap a photo on their phone and post that they were there. Our true lives revolve around what we share and how exciting the experience. It was saddening to see couples on a date and both were on their phones and not communicating. We would drive down the road and see one driving and the other on their phone. I knew there was more to life than my cell phone. My social media accounts, of which I don’t personally know many of the people I follow were “becoming more important” than the people I was at dinner with. They were getting more of my attention than my husband or family. I make it a conscious effort to take a few photos and then put my phone down. I don’t post in real time anymore so I can be present and enjoy the moments outside of a screen.

These are just some of the things I learned in my 20s and plan to continue to grow on in my 30s. I don’t know why the 30s seem to be the decade that I really turned my life around. I guess you could contribute it to maturity and figuring out what it is important in life. I’d love to hear some things that you have learned and areas you’re growing in.