Getting dressed and doing my skincare routine [reconnects me to myself]. I have clothed and washed my ‘skin bag’ as Olivia Laing says. It’s refreshing for the soul residing inside. I wish my preferred ritual was cooking or feeding myself but I find myself impatient even waiting for tea to steep. The most important thing I’m trying to ingrain right now is to not regret time spent doing something for myself but to see it as equally as important as my tasks for others.

“When you return to something over and over you evolve in the way you approach it, let it settle over you, and eventually decide if you keep on familiar terms with it.”

I take a long time to wake up. I stretch and drink something warm first and then usually check my phone. If I’m headed to work, l’m out the door by 7am with my book and muni pass. I have my headphones on and I hang out with myself first. We recently moved into this beautiful building downtown in SF and there are sunlit corners set up on the entire floor that are my intentional places to step away from the desk, read for a bit, or just look out onto the Bay. After I eat lunch, I make time to go on a walk and breathe deeply. I like to jot down what I ate or saw in my notebook as a reminder to be here now. At night before bed, I’m not good at putting away my devices. I like to watch dog or other pet reels and send memes to friends as a form of keeping in touch. It’s what we do. It always feels good to go to bed with clean and hydrated skin so I’ll be sure to make time to shower or take a bath. Self care for me is also doing things ahead of time for myself. I’ve made my iced coffee for the morning, my breakfast shake, and my work tote is packed next to my clothes. It may sound boring or monotonous but change doesn’t come instantly; the daily bricks we lay become the house we live in.