Happy September! It’s the start of a new month and I want to share 5 things that I plan to continue in my routines heading into the fall.

A Workout Routine I’m Actually Sticking To

I’ve been using ChatGPT as my personal trainer for the last 2 weeks and I LOVE it. I don’t spend more than 60-75 minutes in the gym on any given day. I feel myself getting stronger and the scale has been moving in the right direction. Two weeks isn’t enough time to see major changes in your body, so I’m excited to continue this routine into the fall. Who knows where I’ll be come December? Hopefully doing 5 unassisted pull-ups, that’s for sure!

Meal Prepping

I fell off of my meal prep game a few months ago. For a while, I would prep all my meals for the week on Sunday (or whatever day I was post-call, sometimes Saturday or Monday). That was a regimen that worked well for me because a lot of the time I’d have just a few minutes between cases to scarf something down. Unfortunately, work got busy and I had less energy to dedicate several hours to meal prepping.

BUT I discovered sheet pan meals and using my Instant Pot as hacks to minimize the amount of active time. Since making these changes, my active time in the kitchen has been cut down from 2-3 hours to about 45 minutes. And the time it takes for the food to cook, I can study, work on papers, and write for this blog 🙂

Being a Blow-Dry Natural

I don’t do much to my hair: I bleach 1-2 times per year and I usually wear my hair in wash-and-go styles. But I’ve noticed that over the last few months I’m having more breakage than before. I tried washing my hair twice a week, but that became a huge time suck because of how long it takes to diffuse my hair (usually around 45 minutes). And when I diffuse, I can’t do anything else because my hands are occupied with moving the blow dryer around my head. On the weekends or post-call days it’s not so much of an issue, but coming home and washing + diffusing my hair after a 12-hour shift just ain’t working.

Last month, I started blow drying my hair once a week and just adding some leave in-conditioner and oil mid-week before bed to add more moisture until the next wash day. It hasn’t been that long, but I’ve noticed less breakage and fewer single-strand knots. I’ll be continuing this to see how this improves the health (and the length) of my hair!

Letting My Blog Grow Slowly

Like many people in the modern age, I tend to want things done quickly and that includes connecting with a bigger audience! But I keep reminding myself that unlike Instagram and TikTok, blogging is like cooking in a slow cooker rather than a microwave; I saw someone say that on TikTok and it really stuck with me.

It will take some time for this tree to bear some fruit.

I’ve set some goals for myself and for Monday’s Edit that I hope to reach by the end of September. Part of achieving those goals is taking time every day to work on content for the blog, even if it’s only for 10 or 20 minutes a day; every little bit helps. I’m excited to see how much this project will grow by the end of this month. 

Making More Time For The Things That I Actually Enjoy

This month, I want to do more things that bring me joy.

I used to love being at the gym, it was such a safe space for me way back when so I’m really happy to be more intentional about bringing that habit back. 

I’ve been wanting to spend more time with family and friends whether that be after-work drinks or a quick FaceTime during dinner. I’ve never been a huge fan of texting, so I don’t think that will be something that I’ll push myself to do, but never say never.

My goal is to do just one thing every day that brings me joy, even if it’s something small like admiring my manicure for a few seconds between cases. 

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What are five things you’re taking with you into this new month? If there are any goals you’re working on, let me know below and we can keep ourselves accountable together!

With love,

Ash ♡