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Marie Lanen
Head of parenting sections (baby, pregnancy, family), psychology and beauty
With our hectic lifestyles, it’s difficult to find time for a few minutes of pleasure. And yet, establishing a “pleasure routine” is essential for our daily well-being. We reveal 5 rules for integrating pleasure into our schedule.
Preparing the children before going to school, work, household chores, family obligations… Our schedule is (too) often overloaded by these imperatives of everyday life… So much so that we tend to put our desires for leisure and other small personal pleasures on the back burner. And yet, these are essential for our mental health. Here are 5 rules for integrating a “pleasure routine” into your daily life.
What is a “pleasure routine”?
“A pleasure routine is a deliberate and intentional practice of prioritizing activities and experiences that regularly bring us pleasure. It’s about finding time in our busy lives to indulge in things that nourish our senses, ignite our passions, and cultivate a deeper sense of happiness and fulfillment“, explains Rebecca Alvarez Story, sexologist, for Well and Good.
Indeed, several studies show that people who frequently practice pleasant leisure activities have better psychological and physical functioning. They even reported a higher level of satisfaction, fewer depressive symptoms and a lesser impact of stress in their lives. Enough to convince everyone with busy schedules!
Good in his body, good in his head!
5 steps to integrate a “pleasure routine”
According to Rebecca Alvarez Story, to successfully take into account our need for pleasure on a daily basis, five steps are essential:
- Define your profile: this is about knowing your aspirations better. What hobbies give you pleasure? Take the time to write down on a sheet of paper all the little things that make you feel good.
- Integrate pleasure into everyday life: according to the expert, an hour of pleasure daily is necessary to feel good. If this seems difficult, you can split this time or simply start with a few minutes and increase this time as soon as you can.
- Spend time with yourself: If you can’t find a hobby that gives you some pleasure, this time can also be the way to find yourself with yourself. Alone, we can let our thoughts wander and take stock of our current needs and desires.
- Enjoy in full awareness: during this time of pleasure, try to become aware of all your senses and fully enjoy this “timeless” moment.
- Be consistent: initially, it is better to block out a certain amount of time in your diary to indulge in your pleasure activity. Seeing it written down allows you to stick to it until the routine sets in. Regularity is the key to integrating a new habit.
To make the most of the benefits of this new “pleasure routine”, don’t hesitate to write down in a pretty notebook or gratitude journal what you felt and what your goals would be to feel good every day.
Slide: The ritual of the five Tibetans to regain energy and well-being