Raphael Stevens

As I really get into my “mid-to-late 20s,” I’ve been prioritizing figuring out the habits and routines that serve me and make me truly feel like my best self. Through much trial and error, I’ve found the things that work for me when it comes to living a balanced lifestyle. I not only focus on my physical well-being but also on my mental and emotional health. And of course, I still have bad days and days when I don’t practice these habits, but being able to loosely stick to these things without putting too much pressure on myself has been the key to living a life that I am proud of. Keep reading for the five realistic habits that have made me feel like my best self:

1. Make myself delicious, well-balanced meals
Over the past few years, I’ve discovered a new love for cooking and preparing myself meals that are both fun to make and nourishing to my body. I find the process of cooking a meal that’s a little more in-depth to be extremely meditative, and I love experimenting and trying out new things in the kitchen.
I’ve also learned to invest in nutrient-dense foods because prioritizing my health and general well-being is a genuine expression of self-love. I always make sure that my kitchen is well-stocked with produce, and for years, the #1 staple in my kitchen has been fresh avocados. I put them in and on everything, from salads to pasta dishes to, of course, toast. Fresh avocados are not only delicious and satisfying, but they also provide nearly 20 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytonutrients. If you’re looking for some recipes, be sure to check out this FREE handout featuring delicious avocado-based dishes inspired by a Mediterranean-style of eating!

2. Get active because I genuinely want to
I have struggled to find a workout routine that works for me for pretty much as long as I can remember. I’m someone who goes through phases of really committing to a specific routine—whether it be taking classes, working out in a gym, or working out at home—only to get burned out after a couple of months and then not really work out much at all.
I always put pressure on myself to stick to certain “rules,” such as working out a certain number of times per week or even hitting a step goal. However, I’ve discovered over the past year or so that the workout habit that works best for me is one that is flexible and includes activities that I genuinely enjoy. I listen to my body and do whatever type of physical activity suits me best on that particular day, including doing nothing at all if I feel like it doesn’t serve me. I’ve found that I feel like my best self when I fit in physical activity I actually look forward to, and for me, that includes long walks, tennis, and yoga.

3. Actually make an effort at budgeting
For most of the years of my adult life, I’ve actively avoided taking the time to budget my money. I’m a pretty laid-back person, so for a long time, I operated with an “out of sight, out of mind” viewpoint. However, I’ve been using a budgeting app for about six months now, and I can confidently say I wish I had started sooner. Having knowledge of the money that I earn, knowing how I spend it, and seeing real-time updates for my spending categories have definitely helped me feel more in control of my life and all the “grown-up” aspects of it.

4. Make time for something “just for fun” every day
I have been on a journey of practicing more mindfulness as a daily habit, and one of the main aspects of that is to do more things that bring me joy. I now have made a habit of making time to do something purely for fun every day. Sometimes these things are as simple as reading a book in place of watching TV or calling someone I haven’t spoken to in a while, or sometimes they are more adventurous, such as trying a new restaurant or exploring a new part of my city. I’ve found that in a world where we are often consumed by work and responsibilities, prioritizing fun and joy can be the key to keeping yourself grounded and happy.

5. Start each morning with journaling and affirmations
As hard as I have tried to become one, I am just not a morning person. But instead of beating myself up about that, I’ve found that there are other ways to start my mornings off on the right foot. Although I might not be waking up super early and fitting in a bunch of activities before starting work for the day, I can do a few little things while I drink my coffee in order to go into the day feeling balanced and ready.
I made myself a list of affirmations for 2022, so I like to read those aloud every morning. Then, I’ll do a little bit of journaling, whether that be gratitude journaling, manifestation journaling, or even just open-ended thoughts. I’ve discovered that starting my day in this way helps me work through anything that may be weighing me down so that I can tackle the rest of my day with focus and energy.

I Tried Blake Lively’s 8 Healthy Habits To Live By—Here’s What Happened

This post contains a sponsored inclusion of Fresh Avocados — Love One Today, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everygirl editorial board. More

Whether you like it or not, Monday morning is coming. But it doesn’t have to be the stressful bummer of a day we make it out to be. There are productive things to do on Sunday that can not only set you up for success throughout your week but also actually make Mondays—dare I say—enjoyable. In fact, when you spend your Sundays fully recharging, getting ahead, and preparing accordingly, you might even feel excited and motivated to crush that Monday meeting or book a tough workout. Don’t believe me? Read on for 10 ways to give yourself a Sunday reset and have your best week ever. Be warned: You’re about to start enjoying your Mondays.
 
1. Grocery shop, meal plan, and prep for the week
Eating healthy can be as simple as being prepared so you have better-for-you options on hand throughout your busy week. Make a plan when grocery shopping and prioritize nutrient-dense foods like fresh avocados, which can serve as an accessible snack or addition to any meal that doesn’t require a lot of prep (perfect for weeks where you’re tempted to grab fast food on the go). The choices you make for your health and well-being are an expression of self-love, so choosing foods that you enjoy and support your health is an important way to invest in your well-being.
Fresh avocados are satisfying and refreshing and provide nearly 20 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytonutrients. They’re as delicious alone as they are in a variety of tasty recipes, which makes fresh avocados an obvious add to your weekly grocery run. If you’re looking for avocado-centered recipes, look no further:  Check out this  FREE handout inspired by a Mediterranean-style of eating!

 
2. Do a quick tidying
No matter how busy your week is ahead, it will feel so much more manageable when some of those chores you put off (looking at you, pile of dirty laundry) are taken care of and you start with a clean home. A one-hour deep clean or a quick closet reorganization can make a huge difference in not only your home environment but also how you feel for the rest of the week. If major chores like deep cleaning the bathroom or organizing the hallway closet feel overwhelming, start with a quick cleanup of the kitchen (doing dishes and wiping up counters), tidy up the living room (folding throw blankets and stacking coasters), and declutter your bedroom (that means putting away the clothes on your worn-but-not-yet-ready-for-laundry chair).
 
Source: Jennifer Kathryn Photography for The Everygirl
 
3. Unplug
PSA for whoever needs to hear it: You do not have to (and should not) be “plugged in” 24/7. If your weeks feel overwhelming and Sundays are scary, consider doing a temporary digital detox to reduce stress. Mindless scrolling through social media or peeking at your work email may seem harmless, but they could make you feel drained and waste the last of your weekend. Unless your job requires you to be on call, deactivate all work notifications over the weekend to avoid having your phone become a source of anxiety unless you’re going to set aside intentional time to get ahead before Monday (more on that below). Even if you’re getting ahead on work, try putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” or putting temporary locks on social media apps so you can truly recharge.
 
4. Pick out a week of outfits 
We make a lot of decisions every single day, even just within the first few minutes of waking up: whether or not to hit snooze, when to turn on the coffee pot, what to make for breakfast—no wonder we all feel exhausted and overwhelmed. No matter how big or small, decisions add up; decision fatigue is real. But good news: You can limit your decision making throughout the week by planning outfits (including which shoes you’ll pack to transition into happy hour on Thursday) in advance. You’ll limit some of the decision fatigue throughout the week so you can spend more time on those really important decisions that come up, but you also might find yourself excited for that power outfit or getting to rock your new pair of shoes instead of dreading the week ahead.

Source: @waityouneedthis

5. Clean out your inbox
You already know unplugging on Sundays is important to recharge, but if you have severe Sunday Scaries just thinking about your Monday to-do list, setting aside some time to get ahead might help. Sundays should feel like Sundays (rather than an extension of the workweek), but spending just 10 to 20 minutes intentionally clearing out your inbox or going through all of your messages will help you start your week already feeling ahead. If emails aren’t a source of stress or you do want to unplug, try planning out your meetings and deadlines for the week instead. Just think about how good your Monday morning will feel when you’re already ahead.
 
6. Set an intention
At the beginning of the week, we’re always focused on to-do lists and goals, but what about setting an intention or a theme to focus on for the entire week? Setting an intention will help us get excited for the week and will also allow us to replace negative thoughts with phrases that can help us feel less stressed or more confident. To try it for yourself, pick an affirmation or “theme” (like staying present, moving more often, or having more fun) on Sundays and write it every day in your planner so you don’t forget it. Then, live your entire week around this affirmation or theme. Sunday Scaries, who?
 
7. Check in with your budget and money goals for the week
Self-care doesn’t always mean bubble baths or face masks. Sometimes, self-care means feeling in control of your finances and independence. While having a detailed financial plan and setting goals can help you reduce money-related stress and achieve what you want in life, feeling in control of your finances doesn’t always require a lot of time and energy. Spend five minutes on Sunday to glance over your bank account and credit card statements. Getting in the habit of frequently checking in can help identify fraud early on and will also give you a good idea of where you’re spending and where you can be saving. Set a financial goal for the week, whether it’s to put a certain amount of cash into your savings account or invest in a course or service that will improve your well-being.

Source: ColorJoy Stock

8. Make enjoyable plans for the week
Got the Sunday Scaries? That’s because there’s nothing during the week that you look forward to (and what a sad way to live!). Schedule your week with more than just work meetings and workouts and make time for things you’ll actually look forward to. For example, schedule in a dinner with friends, when you’ll call your mom, or a couple hours where you want to bake that new recipe you’ve been dying to try. Instead of looking at Sundays like an end to a good weekend, start looking at Sundays as the beginning of a very exciting week.

9. Schedule workouts
You schedule meetings, appointments, and plans in advance, so why not schedule your workouts too? Not only will having an 8 a.m. jog or a 5 p.m. workout class on your calendar hold you accountable to make the workouts happen, but when you prioritize your health and well-being just as much as you prioritize a work meeting or coffee with a friend, you’re making a statement that self-care is just as important as every other aspect of your life (because it should be). Treat your scheduled workouts like any other item on your calendar: Show up on time, be prepared, and don’t cancel last minute.
 
10. Organize your desk space
A messy workspace, stacks of paper, or a snack wrapper from last Friday can add to the feelings of stress, overwhelm, and anxiety that come with the start of a busy week, so minimize as much clutter as possible on Sunday. Clean out your desk drawers, organize papers or mail, and even wipe down your computer. If you don’t have a designated workspace or solely work in an office, you’ll get the same benefits from detoxing your desktop (AKA deleting that folder of Christmas decor inspo that’s been sitting there since last December), organizing contacts, or installing any updates (to avoid that annoying notification throughout the week).

8 Things To Do When the Sunday Scaries Set In

This post contains a sponsored inclusion of Fresh Avocados — Love One Today, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everygirl editorial board. More

Being an American Born Chinese, I believe I have the best of both worlds—melding Chinese customs my parents passed down to me and my sister with American traditions. Growing up, I studied American history alongside learning how to read and write Chinese. On my family’s Thanksgiving table, you’ll find the usual suspects (you know, turkey, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole) interspersed between a Chinese version of stuffing, noodles, and a bok choy dish. 
In light of the recent anti-Asian racism, I’ve never been more proud to be Asian American. And as May marks Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, I thought what better way to honor and celebrate our cultures than highlighting female Asian American-owned wellness brands that inspire innovation, creativity, and connection in our community and beyond. Keep reading to learn about eight companies to support today and every day. 

From your skin to your period, Rael has got you covered. Founded by three women from South Korea, including CEO Yanghee Paik, who saw the need for quality feminine care in America, Rael combines high-quality organic materials from the U.S. with cutting-edge Korean manufacturing technology to create clean, sustainable, and cruelty-free products for women. It’s a one-stop shop for women, by women.

Synonymous with self-care, the act of journaling has become a wellness trend you don’t want to sleep on. Enter: Silk + Sonder. In search of a tool to help her work through her feelings of anxiety and being burned out and unfulfilled, Founder Meha Agrawal discovered the transformative nature of journaling and created a subscription-based journaling model to make self-care a more joyful and personalized experience. Choose from a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription (included in each journal are guided prompts and wellness trackers). 

Sisters Julie and Connie Kuo grew up in the male-dominated footwear industry and set out to make a mark for themselves and other women by producing sustainable kicks made from repurposed plastic bottles. An abbreviation for authentic, versatile, responsible, and empowered, AVRE boasts a stylish collection for various types of workouts, not to mention a 3D technology that creates precise sizes, dramatically reducing waste. Oh, and did I mention their shoes are machine washable?

After getting out of a toxic relationship and going through her own healing transformation through self-care and self-love, CEO and Founder Lin Chen started Pink Moon to create a space of empowerment and abundance. Best described as a platform that marries emotional health and self-love with sustainable beauty, Pink Moon curates a unique shopping experience featuring vetted female-led brands and their eco-conscious and ethically minded goods. Talk about girl power. Browse gua sha tools, vegan lipsticks and nail polish, perfume oils, and so much more (they even have workshops!).

A cup of tea has always been more than just a beverage for Sashee Chandran. Coming from Chinese and Sri Lankan descent, she has always viewed tea as a form of connection, community, and nostalgia, bringing back fond memories of her childhood. Wanting to recreate the magic of a high-quality tea experience she grew up with without the waste of tea bags, she established Tea Drops, an assortment of bagless, organic, whole-leaf teas. Shop by tea type, flavor, caffeine level, benefit (immune support please!), and mood (can I get some stress relief?).

When CEO and Cofounder Sarah Paiji Yoo became a new mom, she was determined to find a solution to single-use plastic after learning that all disposed plastics were contaminating the water and food she was feeding her baby. Born out of the lack of household products that didn’t come packaged in plastic, Blueland specializes in eco-friendly cleaning supplies that are as safe as they are effective. Their collection also includes hand soap, body wash, and laundry essentials—all sans harmful chemicals, because a clean, non-toxic home equals better health for you and the environment. 

When Lulu Ge went off birth control and experienced debilitating cramps, bloating, headaches, and sleepless nights, she was determined to change the narrative around menstrual symptoms as an accepted part of just being a woman. Instead of masking the pain with toxic drugs and more synthetic birth control, she turned to herbal medicine and soon after got the idea to create Elix to provide greater access to the holistic approach for menstrual wellness. Through an online health assessment, you’ll get a personalized herbal treatment plan and be on your way to your healthiest cycle yet. What’s more, all Elix offerings are 100% organic, ethically and sustainably sourced, and vegan and gluten-free.

After years of living off fast food, Julie Nguyen developed a laundry list of health issues. Not until she changed her diet did she realize the impact food can have on her health and well-being. Julie built Methodology, a weekly meal-prep service, to help people take the guesswork out of creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle so they can focus their time and energy elsewhere. Customize your subscription based on your diet preferences, cuisine, days needed, and type of meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack). The best part besides the convenience and delicious options? All the food is pre-cooked and delivered in glass jars that are picked up for recycling.

A daughter of a potter and a farmer, Shizu Okusa was influenced at an early age to appreciate and feel a connection to Earth and nature. You wouldn’t find over-the-counter medicines in her household but rather hot stones and herbal drinks. But her career didn’t always match her balanced upbringing. After working as a Wall Street trader for three years, she knew she was destined for more. After leaving her job and traveling abroad where she learned Ayurveda, she eventually founded Apothékary. A plant-based “farmacy,” the brand offers herbal and adaptogen remedies (all organic, fair-trade, and non-GMO) for everything from skin and gut health to sleep and sex drive. 

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