50: [A Bit of Fun] 8 Habits That Give Back To You

Welcome to the Fill Your Cups Podcast! Back today with another episode about habits! Our favorite topic. 

Today we're giving you 8 simple habits that you can incorporate into your life that will give back to your life in so many ways. 

Comment below your favorite habits that you do that give back to you!

As always, share this with a loved one. CHEERS!

Transcript

0:03

Welcome to the Fill Cubs podcast. We're your hosts, Morgan and Bailey. Hey guys. We are here with a habit episode for you. Yes, we love habit episodes. I feel like it's been too long since we've done one. Yes. We love them so much. Yes. And you guys love them. Yeah. That we've noticed. Yes. Yeah. So thanks for hanging on with us. Last week we had our interview with Chelsea, and it was so fun. Yes, all things astrology. It was a little longer. Today's won't be like that, but it will still be full of great content and we are excited for it. So yes. Before we get into that, Bailey, what is still in your cup? I've got my handy dandy water, and then I also woke up early enough to get McDonald's breakfast. Which is crazy because they stopped serving at 10 30. So early enough means before 10 30 for me. Um, so I have a Dr. Pepper as well. Nice. I'm kind surprised, don't you like. Is it Taco Bell or Wendy's? Dr. Pepper that you like Taco Bell. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. Taco Bell has the best Dr. Pepper. It's so syrupy. It's so good. It's so good. I love that. I know. Well, I just have plain of water today. I am boring again. It's probably better for me. I probably shouldn't be drinking Dr. Pepper as I'm like. Still battling this cold or something. But I just think, honestly, yeah, honestly, I already had my caffeine and I'm on, I'm in the home stretch of my aligners, so Ah, really? Yeah. Yeah. Like seven weeks left. Oh my God. Yeah. Crazy. So, yeah, so I've just been doing a lot of water, not a lot. But yeah. Anyway, so yeah, I love it. And then we do have a shout out. This one's really fun. Yes. Such a fun shout out. Take it away, Morgan. Yes. So we do have a handful of YouTube subscribers and watchers and thank you. If you subscribe to us on YouTube, we love that. And we appreciate that you watch us there. I know Chelsea, who was on last week told us that she exclusively does YouTube'cause she like just audio is. Over it. Like overstimulates her. Yeah. So I really love that, but. For our book club episodes, we actually do get a little bit of a peek on those episodes. Yeah, like viewership on YouTube specifically. Yeah. And last book club episode. Pictures of you, miss Rhonda b. Dunno who this is, but thank you so much for commenting. Left a comment and said, love this book. It really picked up in the last half, and I think those chapters were the most beautiful. You see their relationship more fully. Drew wasn't just a six month friendship. Told you Bailey, they truly were pillars for each other for years before she pushed them away. Influenced Coerced by Oliver. Oh, and Hank is the nickname for Henry LOL. Random. Yes. Which is so funny'cause that whole episode I was like. Is it Henry Harry? Like I could not think of Hank. I know we have like a whole five minute spurt where we're just naming nicknames. Yes. For other names that like don't really make sense. Yeah. But no, I loved that one. And yes, that's a reminder to you guys that we do post all of our podcast episodes on YouTube as well, just in case listening in the car or listening while you're doing things isn't your thing and you wanna have it like visually in front of you. Yeah. I know Jared during the workday actually will sometimes watch his. Finance podcast, or like League of Legends podcasts. Yeah. Or things like that. He'll have it up kind of while I am. I do not rock with multitasking like that, but Jared does, but he will have that kind of on the side while he's coding or whatever. Yeah. And so if that works for you, having the YouTube up, we love it. All of it is. Support and we appreciate it. Yeah, and if you're watching it on YouTube, then you're able to see our little cohost edited. Yeah, he's laying in here with us today. I guess on the video it kind of just looks like a black blob. Yeah, his face, his face was here, but this, this is, my dog's a cute boy. At some point, he'll probably perk up and hear something outside and run away, so yeah. Yeah. So if you notice an edit where he's there and then he is not. Business. I'm just kidding. That's why. Because he was working. Yeah. No, I'm just kidding. Well, on to today's episode, like Morgan said, we are doing a habits episode today. We've done a couple in the past, and I know we always really love doing them. Yeah. I feel like we feel pretty passionately about habits and that like they really benefit you. Yeah, and the thing about habits that people don't totally grasp and that I didn't grasp until reading Atomic Habits. Was that everything you do is a habit. Yes. So it like, when you're talking about your habits, it doesn't only have to be your good habits. If you are snoozing your alarm, that's a habit. If you are like washing your hands after you go to the bathroom, that's a habit. Like just things like that that you're doing routinely. Those are, they are all habits. Yes. So today's episode is gonna kind of be about some habits that Morgan and I have come up with that give back to you. So ones that benefit your life, ones that. Help you out in the long run. Ones that aren't gonna associate with burnout and things like that.'cause I think that habits can be kind of scary sometimes. Yeah. Like just a thought of them, or you're like, I'm trying to start this habit and I'm having a really hard time with it. Things like that. So we've just kind of come up with a few different habits that have really. Impacted our lives positively. And we're gonna tell you what the habit is, kind of how it's helpful. And then like a small tip for how you can incorporate it. Yeah. Like what its return is on your Yeah. Kind of your return on investment, honestly, like you are, yeah. You are investing in making this a daily consistent or however consistent action. Mm-hmm. And what are you getting out of it, and then how can you incorporate it easily. Yeah. Before we dive in, I did wanna say,'cause you were. Saying something about like how we love habits, all that. Yeah, I, it brought up this quote to me, and I couldn't remember exactly who said it, but essentially like, you are what you do every day. Mm-hmm. But I found it, the quote that I'm thinking of is from Aristotle who says, you are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore is not an act, but a habit. Ooh. So it's not a cur like being. Being healthy or being productive or being clean or whatever it is, it's not, it has nothing to do with like a character trait or something that is innately not in you or in you. It is just simply in your habits and the things that you do repeatedly. Yeah. All the time. Simply like discipline almost. Yeah. Like you just gotta do it. Yeah. And that's why I love this idea and that you thought of kind of the ones that give back to you because when you. When you wanna incorporate something simple, but consistently, it helps if you know, okay, this is gonna give me something else. Yes, yes. You know why you're doing it. Yeah. Yeah. So do you wanna just bounce between the ones that we thought of? Yeah, let's do it. So we've got eight habits for you guys. They're all really small habits that are easy to incorporate and we highly recommend that you do. This is not me saying I do every eight of these habits. No ma'am, but it is me saying I'm gonna try and not, I know why it's good for me. And a lot of these you do. Do I do. Yeah, that's true. Do you wanna start off with the first one or I'll start it off. You Morning sunshine helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which is your body's internal clock, and that helps you improve your sleep quality, your mood, and your energy during the day. Mm-hmm. So sunshine in the morning is so important. Plus who doesn't love to like open the blinds in the morning and you're like, oh, it's beautiful. Or like an morning walk or just sitting on your patio, drink your coffee, whatever it is. Get some sunlight first thing in the morning. A good thing or a good way to do that is getting outside within the hour of waking up, even if it's cloudy. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. We do this with Ed every morning. We take our morning walks, I've talked about before, and Jared sometimes we'll joke, he'll be like. Look toward the sun, but not at it. And he's like, get the sunlight in your retinas. Oh my God, whatever. Because,'cause it, it, it is scientifically shown that Yeah, it, it improves your sleep and everything that you said. So yeah, I really like to, in the mornings and now it's not every morning, so Mason, if you're listening to this mind your own business, but I like to let Waylan out in the morning and like stand, stand outside while he's. Going to the bathroom. That's great. So that way, yeah, I'm just out there for a couple of minutes. It feels really good and sometimes I'm so cold and I'm like, oh my God. Yeah. But then like you go back inside, it feels really good again. Yeah. It doesn't have to be like a full morning walk. It can literally be letting your dog out or like, I like drinking, go to the bathroom, drinking your coffee on the porch or something. Yeah. You know, in the, sometimes in the, in the spring and summer when it's nice, I'll sit out on the deck and we get sunlight on that side. During the day or during the morning. Yes. And yeah, it's just really nice. So, gives back for sure. Yeah. Uh, going with the morning theme, one of my first ones was a morning gratitude. So first of all, the reason that this, that this gives back to you is it shifts your mindset into abundance and reduces negativity. Because I say this all the time, but our brains look for proof of what they already believe to be true. Yes. So if you wake up and you automatically start with a gratitude, your brain is gonna start thinking about all the things that it's grateful for throughout the day. Mm-hmm. So one little habit tip that I have is you can change your screensaver on your phone to some type of gratitude phrase or something like that. Have you ever heard of the Lucky Girl Mindset? Yes. I only just heard about it recently. Oh, I love that. But it's where you wake up and instead of being like, Ugh, I hate, like, I can't believe I have to go to work. Today's such a bad day and nothing goes my way. Whatever the lucky girl mindset is, you wake up and you're like, I am so lucky. Everything goes my way and fortune just comes to me. Yeah. And it's a little woo woo, but it works. Yeah. And when you tell your, when you wake up and you tell yourself that, so I highly recommend putting like a lucky girl phrase or even just a gratitude phrase on your screensaver. That's one way to incorporate this. And then another thing I've done in the past that I wanna get back to doing is what do we do first thing in the morning? Pee. Yeah. So I used to have like a little notebook journal. Right next to the ba, the toilet on like the little, I don't know, wherever the, the back of the toilet. The tank? No, it's like in our hall bathroom. We have like a little ri like ridge. Oh, like a ledge? Like a ledge. I guess it could just be your sink. Whatever is right next to your toilet. Because I, I don't love the idea of it being on the back of my toilet, to be honest, but, but whatever's next to your toilet, you can just have like a little notebook there and a little pin. And every day when you're peeing, it probably takes that long to just write down one quick thing that you're thankful for from Yeah, the day before or what's coming up, or whatever. That's one way that you can incorporate it super duper easy and it just shifts your mindset immediately. And then the last little hack that I found was I was searching in the app store to see if there was anything like this. Mm-hmm. And I found an app called Grateful Me. I haven't used it before, but I wanna download it and try it. Mm-hmm. But Grateful Me does that. And you can set it, it has it so that you can set an alarm daily. Oh. And so you could set the alarm on that for like whenever you wake up. Then you just go in there on your phone and type in whatever the gratitude is. Yeah. It prompts you to do that. I like that one. That's really good. It reminds me of, we talked in the pregnancy episode about how Mason and I have our saying of like. Um, good things happen for us. Like good things just happen for us. Yes, yes. Things just go our way kind of thing. Yes. And it really reminds me of that'cause I was, it was you that you were like,'cause I was like, okay, that might sound a little bit full of ourselves or it might sound like No, like, we're so just lucky and fortunate, which we are, but also like just the mind shift, it happens. So when bad things happen mm-hmm. Or when things are less than favorable and things like that, we're like. We're seriously like, well, good things happen for us. So yeah, whatever this means, it means that something else is coming that's better. And it reminds me of like the lucky girl mindset. Yeah. Of totally being like, no, I'm so lucky. Like. Good thing that I hit rush hour traffic this morning because now like I could have been stuck in that accident if I had been there earlier. Like, I don't know. I think it's a really good one. It totally makes you see things a different way. And in that example, it was a scary doctor's appointment that you were having with your Yeah, baby. And like not here in the heartbeat at first and whatever. Yeah. It was really scary and it was so funny to me that you guys were like, yeah, but we were just like. Or we always say good things happen to us. And after that we were like, wow, good things really do happen to us. And I'm like, it would've been so easy to be like scary things always happen to us. Yeah. But instead you were like, oh, good. Things always happen to us. They explained why the heartbeat was kind of hard to find. Yeah. And obviously it was there and everyth, everything worked out really well. Yeah. And I'm like, I mean, it could have gone the complete opposite way. So obviously just our mind shift did not affect that or like change the outcome. But it did affect how we felt. While it was happening. Well, that, but also what I'm saying is even in the same scenario, someone else experiencing the exact same thing. Yeah. And it did go their way and they did find the heartbeat. They could have left that scenario instead of being like, oh, everything works out for us. Yeah. Being like, gosh, everything's always scary for us. That's true. Scary things always happen to us. The world is against, against us. Like why can't anything ever be easy? Yeah. And you guys are like, oh wow. Everything works out, you know? Yeah. Things work out for us. I don't know. I, yeah, obviously, yes. It could have gone the other way, but even if it didn't go the other way, your mindset is what made that event. Mm-hmm. And afterward, you looked on it. Positively. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, absolutely. I also, I saw that you said like make your screen saver. Something about like lucky girl, or like good things happen or good things are coming my way. And it reminded me that a while ago, and I would do it for years, there was always one time a year where I would be just like really mentally down. I think it's like, you know, seasonal depression kind of thing. Yeah. But I would have this screensaver that was of hand. Doing a snapping motion and it would say snap out of it. And I would always like, I would change it, snap this one time of year, every time.'cause it would seriously help every time I saw it. And I think it was just like a conditioned thing that mm-hmm. I was like, oh, it makes me feel better. I'm gonna change it. And I would always send a screenshot of it to my best friend and be like, it's that time of year again. And she'd be like, oh my God. Like you're so dramatic. But it helps so much. I love that. And maybe it is just like that, seeing the motion of it. Yeah. And just having that. Yeah, no, I love that. I just thought that was so funny to see it on there. I was like, let, should get back to that. Yeah. We should share that on our Instagram. We should. I loved it. I mean, it's in my phone library because I've changed it. To my background so often. I love that. I know. Well, what is your next one? Shifting from the morning to the evening it to the bedtime? Yes. My next one is a consistent bedtime. I have been the queen of not going to bed on time. I, I just kind of, for a long time would just go to bed when I wanted to or stay up the absolute maximum time that I could to get the maximum like me time. Yeah. But. Once learning about habits and once trying to like really figure out my life, I learned that a consistent bedtime is so important. So going to bed at the same time each night, it trains your body to fall asleep. Mm-hmm. Which I have a really hard time with. It gives you more rest, deeply.'cause obviously you're getting more time to sleep. Mm-hmm. And then it also improves your recovery, your mood, and your focus. Mm-hmm. So. A consistent bedtime is just so much better for you. I feel like it's all about the circadian rhythm still. Like your internal clock. Definitely. Like it really is so, it's so funny. I'll get super tired, our dog. When it hits eight o'clock, you know that it's eight o'clock'cause he's going to bed. Yeah. And then when it's nine o'clock, you know it's nine o'clock'cause I'm going to bed. Yeah. Like we are on a schedule in our household. Love that. So love. It's really funny. I love that. I know the tip that I have, and it's actually one that I do, is to set a nightly alarm to start your wind down routine and then dim all your lights an hour before bed. Nice. So I have, it's like a feature in your iPhone that you can start a wind down routine and my phone will actually go on sleep mode. So I won't get notifications, I won't get Oh, yes, yes. You can set your sleep window and then Yes. Your sleep window At that point it basically goes on do not disturb. Yeah. Yeah. And then of course, like I have it open for a couple people that I'm like, okay, if it's an emergency kind of thing, like you can get me, but I don't get any notifications. I don't get any emails, I don't get any texts. I, I get nothing that could kind of disturb my sleepy peacefulness. Yeah. And then it also like will make your. Phone screen go down. I don't get any notifications during the night that's gonna wake me up and disturb me. Mm-hmm. And then it also just lets me know like, Hey, it's this time. It'll always tell you like 15 minutes or 30 minutes before like, Hey, your sleep window's about to start. Make sure you kind of get everything done. I'm like, mm-hmm. Yes. Stuff that, yeah. I'm like, yes. Yeah. That's a huge thing I do. Yeah. I just looked at it in my iPhone settings and it's under focus and then sleep. And then you can select people that you still allow notifications, apps, you can select how your screen shows up and then set your schedule for the time. Yes. So that's a really good, I don't do that, so that's a really good tip. Mm-hmm. Something really nice about it too is that like it stays on literally all night until you have your like set up. Time for your phone to come back alive, basically. Mm-hmm. So if I wake up in the middle of the night to go pee or something and I click on my phone, I can only see the time. I still can't see any notifications. Oh, nice. And I feel like that's really nice. So then my brain doesn't re wake up. There's nothing to be anxious about while I'm like going to sleep, just in case someone had sent a weird text at night. Yeah. Or something like that, you know? So I, I love that feature. I don't know how I found it forever ago, but when I did, I loved it. Nice. No, that's a really, really good one. Mm-hmm. This, I, I also am really curious to see how it goes.'cause obviously in like the first year of you having the baby sleep will probably be kind of wonky. Yes. But I was gonna say that that also is something that you can communicate to your older, like your kids, once they get a little bit older, that's something that you can definitely communicate with them. Yeah. And. Tell them, you know, this makes our body feel better and whatever. And that sort of thing. Yeah. Try to set a good example. Yes. But it reminded me'cause one of mine is wake up 30 minutes earlier. Ooh. Which is funny going with the, like going to bed at a good time. I'll say if you go to bed at a consistent time, it makes it a lot easier to wake up 30 minutes earlier. It does, and I just, the reason that I say 30 minutes specifically is because. It's not as daunting, I don't think, as like an hour. Yep. But it does give you a chance to wake up essentially before anybody else is needing you. Gives you some you time. Mm-hmm. And it helps you to just collect yourself and adjust your initial mood when you wake up.'cause I know I talked about this on our morning bird. Routine. Oh yeah. Episode. But I swear to you guys, everybody thinks I'm a morning person and I'm not. I wake up and I am in a bad mood, I promise most the majority of the time, I promise. And, but because I kind of have a routine and it's really truly did start with just 30 minutes because I have a routine and now it's a lot, bit longer routine. Yeah. But just 30 minutes gives you time to do the little gratitude. It gives you time to wake up and have. Warm lemon water or whatever, get sunshine in the morning, get some sunshine in the morning. It just gives you some time. And so the way that I recommend to do this, I've said this a million times, but. Plugging your phone or whatever kind of alarm wakes you up across the room. Mm-hmm. If you sleep with a husband and or a wife and you're like, oh, I don't wanna wake them up, they will fall back asleep. It's fine. Yeah. Like, just do it. Yep. But, and they will get used to it, but, so plug, plug it in across the room because then you have to physically get out of bed and you're less likely to get back into bed. I know some people do, but you're less likely. She pointed at me. It will be hard to do, but then also pair it with something that you love, like make a little morning spot in your house. Mm-hmm. I know at some point I had like a chair by the window with. A little light and a soft blanket that I would, I would look forward to getting up every morning. Yeah. And sitting in that spot because it was just like my morning spot. Yeah. And it was quiet and whatever. It was really, really nice. So pair it with something that you really love. You can make, like if you have some kind of like. Protein bite or a little snack or something like that. Mm-hmm. Like you, that is really good for you. In the morning, I know we're gonna talk about breakfast at some point, but something small like that. You pair it with that. You compare it with like a coffee. Coffee machine. Yeah. Yeah. Getting your coffee machine going. The smell of coffee is so. Pleasant. Yeah. You know, you can start your coffee there, so I just highly recommend pairing it with something. And then, like I was talking about with the kids, this is something that if you have little ones, I know that they wake you up and I know that they. Oftentimes it's like wake up before my household. That's impossible. Had, yeah. But I do know that our mom did this with John Gideon when he was growing up. When he was her. He was her first and her only at the time. Mm-hmm. And she did say that he would, he was a early riser. He was a morning person. He, he was, he woke up. He wasn't wake. All the time. Person, yeah, dude. He would wake up in, in his world, the sun was shining and like everything was good. But anyway, he would wake up as a kid. And I remember her saying that she would tell him, she gave him a clock in his room. Yeah. And she would tell him, look. We don't wake up. We, you can, if you wake up, that's okay. You can stay in your room, you can play, you can whatever. You can read your books or whatever. But we don't get up in the house until seven o'clock and she pointed to it and she said seven o'clock or whatever, and he would look at the clock and right at seven he would wake up and get her whatever. But I always, I, that has stuck in my brain because I do think that you can communicate with your little ones and yeah, obviously it is hard at first. They're probably not gonna follow directions immediately at first. Yeah, but you can communicate to them. Even if it's not seven o'clock, you can tell them, okay, like this, this is what time? Or each morning I'm gonna put a little timer in your room. And yeah, after that goes off, then you can come get mom. But. I'm pretty sure my in-laws do that. Abby and Nicholas. Really? Okay. Beck? Yeah. They have like, like a And Beckett's. Beckett's Young. Oh, super young. And he is also a morning person, like awake first thing in the morning. Would like, loves to get going. When he was a baby, they would, he would talk to himself in the morning for like an hour. Mm. It was like, if you hear him on the alarm, don't get him. Mm-hmm. Yet, like let him talk it out. And like you can keep sleeping kind of thing. I love that. They were like, he just is gonna talk to himself and entertain himself for a long time, but he is almost four now. And so he of course is like ready to go. Mm-hmm. And they have a nightlight that has like, let's you set a schedule. Mm-hmm. And they tell him that when the light turns red that he can get up. And so it's like the same thing. There you go. Yeah. It's same thing. And he, he loves it. He follows it. Exactly. Last time we were over there and like had stayed the night. He, it turned whatever time it was, like seven or seven 30 and you could hear him be like, I'm coming. And he's like, oh my gosh, I'm awake. And it was so funny. That is so cute. Yes. I think the deal natural, we should, we should figure out what that is and link it in the show up. It's the hatch, so it's Oh, okay. I've seen that. Yeah. It's the hatch alarm. Um, but I'm sure that I actually got. Kristen a hatch. Is it like a It's a light, yeah. Yeah, it's a light and like a machine. I didn't know what it was, but it was on a registry. Yeah. Yeah. I, I have one on our registry and I'm pretty sure Abby Nicholas got us one because they're like, this has been a god since obsessed. Yes. Yeah. Yes. So yeah, for sure that it is, can be something that you incorporate within your household. Yeah, I do think I, I do think people think. Often that getting 30 more minutes of sleep is going to be better than waking up 30 minutes early. But I just, I really think it changes your mindset. Yeah. I do think it gives back to you and I always feel like the 30 minutes as someone who consistently. Tries to get 30 more minutes. It's never actually worth it. No, you just, I'm always like, I wish I had woken up. Yeah. Well, my next one is going to be washing your face, which reminds me of that book that's like, girl wash Your face. Your Face. Yes. It makes me feel like that, but it so good for you. I really feel like we're kind of in an age at least, so I'm always wondering if it's the age or if it's the like. Society's doing it now where I'm like, which 1:00 AM I seeing it more as, yeah, but like I was gonna say, I feel like a lot of us are washing our face, a lot of us are getting skin can, like skincare routines, things like that. But the number one thing that's so important is washing your face. You have so much dirt and oil. Think about how many times you're putting your phone on your face, and also how many times you're putting your phone on the bathroom sink. Mm-hmm. And how many times you are touching your face, get hair outta it. Mm-hmm. And how many times you're also licking your fingers after you eat. Like it is just so gross if you really think about it. Yeah. How much stuff gets on your face and like I'm sure we're not all changing our pillowcase nightly. I'm sure that we aren't cleaning our sleeping masks, like things like that. So it is so important. Obviously cleansing your face removes the dirt, the oil, the bacteria, but it also helps prevent breakouts and it promotes healthy skin, so that glowing skin, it also is a physical signal to your brain that you are caring for yourself. Oh yeah. So, so especially if you like, kind of have it in a routine part of your day, like. It's obviously something I do before bed. Mm-hmm. So my consistent bedtime, it's like my body knows, okay, hey, you're about to go to sleep within like 30 minutes because you're washing your face. Yeah, that's so true. So yeah. So I would say a good tip to start doing that is just washing your face. If you're not in the consistent habit, I would just try to do it either once in the morning or once before bed. And just a really gentle cleanser. You can get them from Walmart, target, Walgreens to Hy-Vee, wherever you want. I use like an off-brand. Oh, what is it, cbe? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I use an off-brand one right now because Mason went shopping and he bought it, so, and it works just fine and I love it. And then I wipe it off with a lukewarm towel and I'm like, ah, feels refreshed. Yeah, I love that. My next one is movement after eating. So I have shared on this that I do digestion walks, but oh yes. The way that movement, so movement after eating is. Shown to improve digestion by reducing gas and bloating, which, who doesn't have that? I feel like 80% of Americans or something have IBS like Yeah. Undiagnosed or diagnosed IBS. That was a made up stat, but, but I'm convinced I do. So everybody's, everybody gets told. They have IBS and I'm like, just move after you walk. But also it does help with blue. Blood glucose levels, like blood sugar levels, which also most of America has issues with because our food just is not the great, the greatest of quality. Yeah. And we have lot, lots of sugar in our food and so it helps stabilize those and it also helps with sleep, which we've talked a lot about how important that is. But when you move after you walk and you help your digestion system. Ease into it, then it doesn't have to do as much work overnight whenever it's digesting your food. Yeah. So that's how it gives back to you. I, the way that I do this is I try to do a five to 10 minute walk after every meal if I can. Mm-hmm. It depends, like sometimes lunch is the one where breakfast or lunch, because it's during the workday where it's a little bit more challenging if I have. Something that I'm, if I have lunch and then I have a meeting right after or something like that. Yeah. But you can always incorporate it a little bit later. And you know, we talked about this in our work-life balance episode, that you should be taking your breaks. Mm-hmm. So take your breaks, do your little digestion walk. Another thing that you could do is just doing some like stretches. Like if you don't wanna. Pace around your house or walk around the neighborhood or something. You can do some stretches, which are also good. I know there's a lot of really good ones for like low back. If you sit in an office chair all day, some low back stretches, hip stretches, things like that can also help get your body moving and blood, blood flowing. And then I actually did, I was kind of googling. You know, benefits of movement after eating. Yeah. And this first, one of the first things that came up was a five minute after you eat YouTube workout. Hi. And it was literally like the girls just leading you through like, do this, do this. You know, like stretches. Yeah. Yeah. Stretch overhead and whatever, and it was just a really easy five minute thing, so you could also just pull that up, close the door of your office and, and do that. It was super easy, so I love that. I know before that you've said that if you don't have enough time or like it's really cold outside or raining, you'll just walk around your living room. Mm-hmm. Like you just walk around your couch while you have a show on or something. I actually do that even sometimes when it's nice out, because I will walk around my living room and I'll. I'll read like my ebook on my phone or something. Or I'll go in and I'll track my food or I'll res I, you can even respond to emails if you want, like while you're walking around. Yes. I, I do it for my lunch digestion walk. I pretty much always do it just in my house. Yeah, no, I love that in circles. I know that Mason has really incorporated that one and he plays with our dog. So, yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. I put that one on here as an idea. Oh, did you? Well, is yeah. Run around with your kids. That's another idea. Run around with your kids or your dog. Waylon's our kid right now. Yeah. That's an option. Yeah. And I really think that if you struggle with this one, just setting a timer or putting on. All too well, 10 minute version. TE's version. Yeah. Is some, is something that can make it so easy. Like you put it on, you put on a 10 minute timer or five minute timer or whatever, and then you get done and you're like, oh wow. That was quick. Yeah. And that's one of the best ways to start a habit is like make it easy. So make it easy. Yes. I love that one. Well, speaking of eating, and I think that this is our, oh wait, no, we've got another one for you guys. But speaking of eating. Eating breakfast is such an important habit. It is one that I did not do for so long just because I honestly, I would wake up late and I didn't have time. Mm-hmm. To make breakfast or something. But it was funny'cause I was always meal prepping my lunches. So it's like, why am I not taking an extra 10 to 15 minutes to meal prep breakfast? But I do it now and I'm so thankful that I do it now because eating in the morning and eating a breakfast gives you a. Gives you stabilized blood sugar levels, which is huge because that's what makes you tired, right? Yeah. Blood sugar, when your blood sugar increases, or it goes up real fast after you eat and then it crashes. Yeah. So it helps to stabilize it. It also supports your brain function, and it sets a tone for a balanced energy and appetite throughout the day. So I, I'm kind of known for eating my lunches at like 10 o'clock. Because for the longest time I wouldn't eat breakfast, so I'm basically eating breakfast because I'm so hungry. Mm-hmm. But I'm eating my lunch and then of course I'm, I'm spending more money and I'm eating more throughout the day and things like that because I thought if I wasn't eating breakfast, oh, I'm saving my calories and also I'm not hungry, and like things like that. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But it's just so much better for you. It has so many benefits. And it could be something small. It doesn't ever have to be huge. Sometimes if I don't have time to meal prep, I'll grab like two or three beef sticks. That's what I eat in the morning.'cause protein's good for you. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I, I think that, I mean, you put choosing protein and fiber combos. Oh yeah, I forgot. Like eggs and whole grain toast or yogurt with fruits and nuts or like a protein bite that has oats and. Protein and you know, whatever. Yes. That, that is really important too, because if you're just eating like a muffin that's just like sugar. Yeah. Then it's not quite, so definitely eat breakfast, but try to make it like a balanced breakfast. Yes. And it can kinda have it support you. It can be something quick. Mm-hmm. But, but yeah, it's good to have some fiber and some protein. And I will say, you were talking about why it gives back, but especially if you are a woman or female at birth listening to this, you. You can, this is also important because our hormones are, it's really good for our hormones. I, I've heard from a lot of podcaster and health influencers or whatever, that eating within an hour, waking up is really important for women and balance balancing our hormones because our cortisol is higher and like just. God, women go through so much. They do. Yeah. And I could look up more. I, I don't, I'm obviously not articulating the science behind it, but I know that that is true, that especially for women eating in the morning is helpful and a lot of women don't because a lot of the time we are the ones like getting the kids ready and we're getting. Getting the household ready or whatever, and then it's noon and you realize you haven't eaten anything. Yeah. And it's like, that's why it's also good to just have something easy on hand. Yeah. I've been really into RXBARs lately. Ooh. And yeah, just as like a quick option if I can't make something, obviously it's best to make a homemade nutrition. Right? Whatever, but, but RX bars are really good, like clean versions. They've got some fiber, they've got some protein, they've got some healthy fats, whatever, where you're getting these. Our X Bars. You can get'em at Walmart or Costco or Swag. Rice Chopper anywhere. Yeah. Fuck yeah. Yeah. I just like whenever you get like a bar,'cause sometimes something will say a protein bar and then you look at it and it's got an outrageous amount of sugar, dude. Yes. And it always so bad. Yes. And it always ha it is, it says protein bar, but then you look at the protein and there's like six grams of protein, but there's like 50 grams of carbs or something. Yes. 30 grams of sugar and you're like, that's not a protein bar. Yeah. So it is misleading. But RX bars I do think are really good. So Nice. I'll have to try those out then. Yeah. Like it. My last one, it also kind of has to do with eating, but more so what you do after. I highly recommend cleaning up right after dinner. Mm-hmm. This is, I feel like it's a struggle to make a habit out of this because at the end of the day, after you've made dinner, the last thing you wanna do is clean up. Yep. And a lot of the time, I feel like the pans and the pots and the plates and everything just sits on the counters and in the sinks, and you tell yourself you're gonna do it. And then you don't, and it's kind of like just one of those things that it, it sits in your brain while you're sitting there watching tv, you're like, oh, I still have to do that. Yeah. And that's why it's just so much better right after dinner, as soon as everybody gets done eating, just put, put the plates in the dishwasher, wipe off the pan, whatever. Again, this is something that I think is so good for setting a timer or putting on like, oh yeah, a 10 minute song or a 10 minute YouTube video or something that you really like. Yeah. And, and making the task. Go with that. Because when you stack it with that in your brain, you're doing something fun. But also usually it's like, oh, it didn't even take that long. Yeah. And so it re, it, it reinforces the idea that you should do this every time because it's easy. Yes. And so, and doesn't take very long. So I highly recommend this. The reason that it gives back is because in the morning when you go into your kitchen, you're not gonna feel overwhelmed. You're not gonna feel overstimulated. You're not gonna be like, oh my God, there's food still in there. And there's. Splatters on the sink and like all this stuff, it smells. Yes. And like I said, on the giving back to you that evening, it's not on your mind all evening. Yes. I, I hate that feeling of like, okay, I need to do this, I need to do this. I'll do this before bed. And then by the time you go to bed, you're like. I don't wanna do it. And then it just like it sits there until morning. Yeah. And so I feel like just cleaning it up, and one habit tip I have for this is that you can dedicate this role. So a really common one is whoever does the cleaning, the other does the, or whoever does the cooking, the other does the cleaning. Mm-hmm. If it's just, mm-hmm. If it's just you and your partner, but another thing that you can do is you can kind of like make it a game or put on Jared's cousin Ashley told me that when I shared on the podcast about, I always say put on 10 minute version all too well. Yeah, Taylor's version. She doesn't do that, but she was like, you kind of inspired me with my kids. Whenever we have a task like laundry or doing the dishes or something like that now she'll put on like silly songs. Yeah. And I guess there are parody songs like. Farting songs. The The Fart song or like things like that, like just really goofy songs for kids that they just love and they'll sing and sing and sing or whatever. Yeah. And makes them happier to do the task. Yeah. I wanna say this one was like farting in the USA or something. Oh my God. And she said that. Nathan, Jared's cousin walked in and they had all done all the laundry and they were laying on the ground just cracking up, like belly laughing. And I was like, how much fun is that? And they were doing a chore, you know, like I love that. Yeah. And so I highly recommend for something like this that is monotonous, annoying, you don't wanna do it, you begrudge it and it's the end of the day, you've got mental fatigue. You don't wanna do it. Yeah. You can put it with something fun. Yes. And yeah, I think the, in the atomic habits make it easy. Make it enjoyable or pleasurable or fun or something. Yeah. Those are like two of the tips that he says. Yeah. For, for establishing a habit. Mm-hmm. And yeah, I just really feel like this one will give back to you. I feel like it gives back to me. Yeah, for sure. This is one of those habits that I really need to incorporate.'cause we are so bad about neither of us want to clean up after dinner. Mm-hmm. And so then. We're right before bed. We're like, oh crap, did you clean it up? And they're like, no, did you? And I'm like, no. So then you gotta get up outta your snuggled up bed after I've just washed my face and I feel amazing. And then I have to go clean up this dinner. Yeah. I'm like, this sucks. Which surprises me because I feel like you are such a protector of your space. Yeah. And I could, like, I would assume that you. Walking into your kitchen and feeling like it's cluttered and chaotic.'cause I don't go into the kitchen. Oh, okay. The kitchen is not my space. That makes sense. That makes sense. Mm-hmm. Okay. That makes sense. Mm-hmm. So, and maybe it gives back to some people more than others. I am in the kitchen all the time, I feel like. Yeah. So I spend a lot of time in our kitchen. So yeah, it frustrates me if I walk in and there's just cups everywhere and plates everywhere and food everywhere, and I'm like, okay, let's. Yeah, let's take 10 minutes and take care of this. Let's this together real quick. No, it definitely makes sense. That one is not my space because it's, that is Mason's territory. There you go. So I don't know if you remember, but during the organizing episode I talked about like organizing the kitchen cupboard cupboards or something like that. The Tupperware specifically? Yes, the Tupperware and I like. I literally, it's never organized because Mason does the dishes and I'm like, that is not my business. I will not open that because when I open it, I'm like, I have a mental breakdown, so none of this makes sense, but whatever. So I really, I really do it for my own benefit of don't go in the kitchen, but. When I remember right before bed that there's still food out there. I'm like, oh, no. Yeah, yeah. Putting away the leftovers. That's a big one. Yeah. Yes. That's a huge one. Well, I think that's all eight of our habits that we had. They are all easy habits. They're all ones that are pretty like simple to incorporate and they just only take. A little bit of a mind shift and a little bit of dedication to kind of get it started and get it involved in your lives. Yeah. And we gave you tangible ways to do it. Yeah. Well, that's all I had. Me too. You have anything else? Me? Yeah. No, that's, that's it. So thank you so much for listening. We will catch you next week and appreciate you wanna hear what habits you're incorporating and if you have any others that you're like, this changed my life. It gave back to me. Such a return on investment. We'd love to hear it. Yes. Otherwise, we will catch you next week. Woo. Cheers.