Ashley Brown 0:00 [Intro]
Routines are my absolute favorite word, but you either love them or you're working on getting there. And either way, I strongly believe routines can be a springboard for improving your home, yourself and your life. I'm Ashley Brown, and this is the routine and things podcast. In each episode, I'll share practical tips and simple ways for you to consistently live your happiest life, one routine at a time. Trust me, you're gonna want to keep listening, because you're well on your way to getting and staying happy.
Ashley Brown 0:46
Before we get into today's episode, have you ever wondered which routine is the best for you to start right now, if you are unsure of which routine will best meet the needs of your home and life at this very moment, you now have a way to find out. I've created for you a very simple and free routine assessment that will help you identify which routine you really need most right now, to take this quick assessment that will point you in the right direction and get you started with the right routine. Click the link in the show notes or head to routineandthings.com Alright, let's go ahead and get into today's episode.
Ashley Brown 1:21
Hey welcome back for another episode of the routine things podcast. I'm your girl Ashley, your host and super excited that you are here if this is your first time listening welcome welcome super excited to have you and if you are an OG You have been listening for a while thank you for coming back for listening and being a part of the routine and things family which brings me to this topic. This topic today how to use routines to improve your mood was really brought to me by someone within the routine things family which I'm super grateful for her because she messaged me on Instagram. And she was like oh have routines helped you at all with improving like your mood? Do you feel like routines help you improve your mood? Because she was like You seem very chill. You seem very laid back. Do routines help you with that? And I was like, You know what?
Ashley Brown 2:16
Yep. I was telling her because I was being very transparent. I was telling her that I can be fiery at times. I also deal with anxiety as well. And so routines definitely helped me to have a better temperament to not be as moody I'm also a cancer so if you know anything about zodiac signs, us as cancers we can we can be moody, it's just who God help because just like please. So, it really helps. Routines have really helped me and so I want to share about this today because I think if you are definitely in a space where maybe you are feeling like you're always cranky or agitated annoyed, frustrated maybe you are constantly feeling sad and down or you just don't feel in the mood that you want to feel like you're like I'm in a mood I don't want to feel this way. Or you do struggle with a lot of moodiness Hopefully that's not a trigger for anyone that word you can also substitute that with temperamental, but if you are feeling like you go in and out of moods all the time throughout your day, and it's becoming an has become exhausting for you.
Ashley Brown 3:28
I'm telling you hands down routines will be super helpful for your life because they have helped me so much. And I realized this when I was a stay at home mom, I remember just being in such a funk as a stay at home mom, I've shared this story before I was in a huge depression as a stay at home mom for a certain amount of time. And what brought me out of that was of course leaning on God. But also I had a morning routine that was really helpful for my mindset. And that really helped to improve my mood, my mindset. And that routine was just the bomb.com and it still is to today, I have more of my mindset things in my bedtime routine. But just having things and behaviors and actions I'm taking to improve my mindset helps tremendously with my mood. And so that's why I think it's really important to have this conversation. So let's get into a how can you use routines to improve your mood, or temperament?
Ashley Brown 4:20
Okay, the first thing I want for you to do is try to figure out why are you in a certain mood, what is making you more temperamental, what is making you moody and pay attention like start to pay attention and figure out what is this about? Because it may just be with the fluctuation of being a woman and like we have a cycle and maybe that is why maybe you are in a certain season of life where you are being triggered a lot by maybe someone in your life it could be maybe your partner it could be your children that are triggering you they don't mean to but maybe that is like a constant trigger something in your life in this certain season. Maybe we're cuz just super duper stressful and that has, you're very temperamental, because you're like, it's a lot on my plate right now at work and I don't feel like I can like stay on top of things or manage, and so really start to pay attention to what has you in a certain mood?
Ashley Brown 5:13
Why do you feel like you're more temperamental right now, because once you can identify that, I want you to acknowledge it, because acknowledgement is always the first step. And like, really think about what has you in a funk, what has you in a certain mood, because then you will be able to decide because it's the second step, being able to decide which routine can be helpful for you focusing on routines that restored your energy, this is okay, let me say this again. Step number two, after you figure out what's causing you to be in a mood, or more temperamental in a funk, whatever you want to call it, when you start to figure that out, when you figure that out, then you can decide which routine is helpful for you. And it's important to focus on routines that help to restore your energy, focus on routines that help to restore your energy. Because when you have energy, you're less likely to be temperamental, when you're not super tired. When you're not low on energy.
Ashley Brown 6:10
When you feel good, you're less likely to be temperamental, that doesn't mean you won't be but you're less likely to have like the up and down, up and down constantly, constantly, you're less likely to be in this sunken place where you're sad, many times when you do feel good, okay, when you do have energy, so focus on routines that help to restore your energy. And so I'm gonna give you some examples. This could be a morning routine that focuses on your mindset. Like I shared earlier, this was for me, it helped tremendously. Okay, let me think about an example of a morning routine that can help focus on mindset. It could be you wake up, you give thank and you pray, you wake up, you give thanks and you meditate, you wake up, you give thanks and you journal. Those are just some examples of routines that really can focus on your mindset.
Ashley Brown 6:58
Because when your mindset is clear, and when it's strong, you have more energy, because you're not letting like this emotional seepage out like leakage, like, like your emotions aren't so in this place. Because when your mind is strong, your emotions are not all over the place, because that's where energy linkage happens. Energy leakage comes from how we feel as well as what we're doing, especially if we're not moving with intent. And if we're in an emotional place that keeps our energy leaking, like sadness, frustration, anxiety, those types, like stress, those types of moods, leaks, our energy. And so keeping your mind strong helps with that. So that's a morning routine that focuses on mindset. You can also have maybe an exercise or movement routine that can help to improve your mood. Exercise helps you to feel good, I know you know that moving your body, moving your body helps you to feel good, I don't care if it's just stretching, moving your body helps you feel good, it helps your body feel good and also strengthens your mind too.
Ashley Brown 8:03
So that could be something that you put into place a certain routine, possibly having an evening or bedtime routine to help you reconnect with yourself at the end of the day. And this can help you to stay leveled to stay grounded, especially in your emotions. So you can think about starting that routine. My bedtime routine is I usually will shower, I will journal I will pray and meditate. That is my bedtime routine, super helpful and me connecting to myself, at the end of my day, reconnecting back to myself helping me to stay level headed, grounded, restoring my energy, so it could do the same for you. Another thing I'm going to share, is having a routine for processing your feelings is great too. Because if you find yourself in a season when you are more triggered that you have to process that you have to think about okay, I was just triggered what happened? What is my belief about what happened? And then how did I behave? Right? And so that helps you in processing your feelings.
Ashley Brown 9:05
You can even stop at what is my belief about what just happened? And is there a way for me to have a different belief about what just happened so that now I'm not as triggered so that now I'm able to move forward? I'll just share this with you. So at a certain point in my life, this was when I was a stay at home mom, I'm telling you this was like a real huge life shift in my life being a stay at home mom, but I started this therapy program where I learned about ABC therapy, and she had her own method. But what basically it helped me do was process my feelings by thinking about okay, well, what just happened? Like when I'm feeling when I start to feel stressed or anxious or frustrated, what just occurred, then what beliefs do I have about that? When am I thinking about that thing? What story am I making up in my head about that thing? Because typically, whatever story we're making up in our head, that's what's leading us to feeling the way that we're feeling is because we're thinking something that is causing us to feel a way that we don't want to feel? And so then once you know what you're thinking, then you can start to think about okay, and how did I behave?
Ashley Brown 10:09
Did I start to yell? Did I start to get sad? Did I go upstairs and go into the bathroom and sit on the floor and cry? Like, what did I do from that trigger? What happened? And then how can I do this differently? Like, what thought could I have the next time? Just a disclaimer, I am not a therapist, but I'm just sharing what I've learned. Okay. So having a routine for processing your feelings is great. And it doesn't even have to be that deep, right? Maybe you're not there yet. Maybe it's just you really just need to acknowledge how you feel. Maybe that's the first step and that's routine, you want to that's a routine, you want to get into places, once you get triggered, acknowledge the feeling. Once you find yourself in a space and in a mood that you don't want to be acknowledge how you feel, because that starts the process of getting through the emotion is you acknowledging first and foremost. So no, no, that was on my heart to share. But those are some routines that can really help you and like, like I say it really focusing on routines that restore your energy, because when you have energy, when you feel good, you are less likely to be moody to be temperamental. Your mood just improves.
Ashley Brown 11:16
Okay, so that's the second thing, right? So we talked about first figure out why you are in a certain mood, then decide which routine can be helpful for you. Then the last thing start small with your routine and begin to track how you feel during the routine, you will begin to see that it is very helpful, and your mood won't fluctuate as much. Okay, so that's the last step. Start small start small, small. Okay, so that's what I want to share with you today. Hopefully, that was helpful. But I'm telling you routines. When I was asked this question, I knew I had to do an episode about this on when I got the question from the community member, because I was like routines have been really, really helpful for me when it comes to my mood. Because even till this day, like when I get into a little funk or a mood, I don't want to be in I believe, okay, let me pull from one of my staple routines, Which one can I do, that's going to help me with my mood, because there are many routines that I have that will help me to get back leveled. And so that's just another huge benefit of routines is they can be really helpful in managing your emotions, which is really helpful in managing your energy.
Ashley Brown 12:29
And you know, this year I'm talking a lot about how routines help you manage your energy. And so if you're wanting to do that, so that you better manage your time you better better manage your stress, get you on board some routines this year, girl, get you on board, some routines I am rooting for you always please be compassionate with yourself kind to yourself throughout the process. If you find yourself in a space right now in a funk and being really temperamental because of what's going on in your life, have compassion with yourself, be loving to yourself, you will make it through you're going to you're going to improve your mood will improve take steps to make it happen one step at a time, one foot in front of the other managing emotions takes time. And so please move with patience and love with yourself. I hope that this was a helpful episode, and I hope that you will leave a review if you wouldn't mind of the show. Let me know what you enjoy about the show rate and review below if you're listening on the iTunes app, and until next time, continue to enjoy wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stay happy girl, and I'll talk to you soon.
Ashley Brown 13:38 [Outro]
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, take a screenshot and share it on social I would love to know you're listening. And for tools to help you start maintain and enjoy your routines. Be sure to head to routineandthings.com Here's to staying happy.