How do you working women balance the longer parts of your self-care routines with your schedule?

sugarcrush · 2016-03-29T19:41:17+00:00

Honestly, it sounds like exercising in the morning is what's throwing everything off. I would change your routine so that you can go later in the day. Is your office environment one where you could go on your lunch break and then eat at your desk? Another suggestion would be to bring your gym bag with you to work, and then go immediately after you finish work without going home first.

Also sounds like you would benefit from a trip to /r/curlyhair. Check out top of all and see the before and afters of people who went from dry unruly messes to nice waves and curls. There's a lot of tips on wash and go styles as well. If you still feel the need to straighten your hair, then find a good dry shampoo that lets you get 1-2 extra days.

placated_doll · 2016-03-29T15:28:27+00:00

If you don't have a five minute face routine, develop one. Mine is moisturizer with SPF, foundation if I have any visible blemishes, and mascara. Yours will be different, of course, and should play up your best assets.

I love to dry and either straighten or curl my hair, but yeah, time. Make an appointment with a stylist and let them know ahead of time you're looking to develop a quick style that works with your hair's texture and is [professional, flirty, whatever your aim is].

I love to go to the gym, but sometimes my schedule gets crazy. Honestly, the best advice I can give on this subject is forgive yourself if you have to skip. Maybe someone else can be more helpful on that subject.

SuperSlavisWife · 2016-03-29T21:41:00+00:00

My care routine:

makeup

showering and shaving

weights

cardio

mental care

My work day:

flexible work from home

generally a morning shift and an afternoon shift

very busy Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays

I manage this by sorting all my hygiene basics when I get up at half 4 or half 7 in the morning.

Then I go through my day and try and get some cardio in with the dog during my lunch break. Just running round like crazy, or doing pullups, or stair sprints, anything.

I will do weights with Jon when he wakes up or gets home. He keeps me accountable and focused and it takes around thirty to forty minutes to complete a basic weights workout every other day.

Showering and shaving is a night task and shaving has two days a week for it, so I know to make a bit of time!

Mental health really throws me off, I end up with deep depressive bouts or overexcited unfocused spells that make me work less efficiently, so I need to work more and sleep more, leaving less time for anything else. I try and view my week as a total, so I push myself harder when I have the energy, do more exercise and housework when my focus is bad and have a proper break when I am down. Overall, my week adds up quite well, even if I have a bad day!

In short: develop a quick morning routine, get some basic activity in when you can, schedule intense activity every other day rather than mild activity every day, PLAN longer beauty routines and tally yourself on weekly achievements instead of daily ones. It's what works for me, anyhow.

littleteafox · 2016-03-29T17:17:29+00:00

Do you wash your hair every day? You don't need to unless you completely sweat it up. I wash mine 2-3x/week. Dry shampoo on the third day does wonders. Then, I only blow-dry and straighten on one washing day, and the other washing day I let it air dry for a wavier look. Then I'll just wear it long with a side part. If things really get iffy I do a quick side braid. This morning I was so rushed I did it in the car >.> You can also wash your hair at night and then blow it 80% dry so you don't sleep on it wet, then straighten in the morning.

My makeup takes about 5 minutes. Moisturizer, sunblock, bare minerals, concealer if I need it, mascara, blush, done. If I'm super pressed I'll skip the bare minerals.

What about using your lunch break for a nice walk at work to get some exercise in? Can you modify your routine so now instead of before work, you exercise right after? Is there a gym on your way home perhaps?

SirenOfScience · 2016-03-29T17:17:57+00:00

What is your hairstyle? All one length, layers, bangs? How about length? It's easier to find tutorials that will work for your specific hair type by searching for similar hair to yours. I have really thick, straight hair that looks like a triangle all one length so it needs layers. My strong forehead needs some bangs to balance it out. I like to use sock buns, braids, and "half curled hair" for a quick styles. The half curled hair is achieved by putting your hair into one or two ponytails (not pigtails!) depending on its thickness then curling the ponytail with a large barreled curling iron. Take out the ponytail and you have soft curls around your face.

To achieve funky curls for a night out I use a bunch of little braids. The night before I am going out, I wash my hair, put in some gel, put it into 4-6 little french braids, tie a scarf around it, and sleep in it. The next day, I rearrange the scarf so it looks cute, similar to this, so if I have to run errands or do anything in public it looks presentable. I keep my hair in the braids until I'm done with my makeup and dressed. My hair comes out in really nice waves that last throughout the night. I also do this when I travel so I look somewhat cute on the road/ at the airport but my hair is basically ready to go when I arrive so I can just toss on some essential makeup and head out.

Iwilltellyoutrue · 2016-03-29T17:33:51+00:00

If I'm straightening my hair, I usually do it at night, before I go to bed. In the morning, it's still straight, just needs a quick brush and I'm on to skin care and out the door.

Maybe talk to your stylist about some nourishing treatments for your hair? Have you ever been able to let it air dry and look good, or do you have too much texture for that?

DemonConsulting · 2016-03-29T19:23:54+00:00

I usually wash my hair before I go to bed, then braid it or dry & straighten before I sleep and it's in pretty good shape in the morning - my hair is super thin and frizzy and I have A LOT of hair that just takes forever to dry so I don't even try to squeeze this into my morning routine ... I also don't wash it every day but 2-3 times a week and use strengthening/ hair-care -shampoo that works for my hair type since I my hair got damaged a lot during my entire teenage years when I was a competitive swimmer (chlorine + time pressure to blow-dry super hot every time made it suffer)

If you don't have much time to work out in the mornings, could you maybe do it in the afternoon/evening or on the weekend? I know it can be hard to find the motivation or the time but maybe you could make this part of your daily plan - inform everyone that this is your workout time (so more pressure to do it + won't get disturbed) - put it on the calendar - set an alarm on your phone , ... and make it a routine this way? Then you could let your hair dry in a towel or put it in a messy bun after drying it a bit since you don't have to rush to work afterwards

Also what kind of exercise do you do? (running?) Could you have a less "sweaty"/ shorter workout like specific muscle training (squats, push ups, ...) or yoga in the morning/ during any free time and save the cardio for the weekend + 1 afternoon or something like that? I know these will make you sweat too but not as much as running for example and maybe you don't have to go above and beyond in the morning but could save the more intense workouts for the afternoon or the weekend ... This way you might not have to wash your hair every morning

Additionally as for "morning or it won't happen", have you thought about joining a gym or a sports club with your SO or friends for maybe 1 or 2 days a week after work or go running as a group? (If you schedule allows it of course - maybe talk to your SO about arrangements) Then you would have a set time and date that is already planned and people to work out with - no excuses to not go and it's more fun.

scallopkid · 2016-03-29T22:37:47+00:00

So, I can tell you what I do but I'm not sure that it will help all that much since I have very cooperative hair, and I don't do a ton with it (I don't even own a blow dryer or straightener). It's mostly straight/wavy and below my shoulders. I tend to shower in the evening but not right before bed. So I just wash it with whatever generic shampoo, like suave or something. Mostly something that doesn't have a bunch of extra stuff or conditioners in it. I use just a little bit and massage it into my scalp and then just rinse it down the rest of my hair. It shouldn't be enough to get super lathery. I don't use conditioner in the shower. As I rinse I comb through my hair and then I squeeze all the water out and put it in a high bun to keep it from getting more water in it. So I let it start to dry while I do the rest of my shower stuff. When I get out I towel it off and since it's already not soaking, that works pretty well. I comb it through again and put some leave in conditioner in it, starting from the ends. If I feel fancy I put a tiny bit of gel in the roots and comb it through. This gives it more volume and also might help you with the poofyness. Then I put it up in a really high bun, again to give volume and also to make it more wavy. This also might help you let it air dry without it getting unmanageable. Once it's dry you can do whatever with it, I usually just put it in a bun or ponytail but sometimes leave it down.

disposablady · Wed Mar 30 1:23:16 2016 UTC

I ran into a time management thing with my workouts as well, and just learned to play around with my workout routine. A little while ago, for example, instead of working out 6-7 times a week, I cut it down to 5 times a week and just had longer/intenser workouts 2 of those days to make up for it with a rest day in between. It was actually a better move for my endurance. A lot of my runner friends who train for races, etc. run only 4-5 times a week, and get the same cardio benefits as someone who works out for shorter bursts 7 days a week. Likewise, some of those cardio classes at gyms can be MASSIVELY intense. Doing a 1-hr intense group exercise class may burn 600 calories -- that 4 times a week will probably increase your fitness and calories burnt than 6 moderate workouts a week.

Also, travel time can be huge hassle if you're going to the gym. Instead of being in traffic 25 minutes each way, you may be able to cut all of that out if you go on your way home from work, for example. Similarly, if you go out running in your neighbourhood, that's saving a massive amount of time than what it would take for you to get changed, go to the gym, work out, pack up your stuff, and drive home. You can do a lot of home-based fitness that may save you a lot of time.

Anyway, some of these may save you more time for your AM routine.

liftinginthemoment · 2016-03-31T12:30:41+00:00

Personally I get up at 4.20 and am at the gym by 5 when it opens. Previously I went to a 24 hour gym and would get there at 4am. For me exercise is a priority so I make it fit. I also like to be able to go home and get ready rather than go straight to work. But I'll admit my hair routine is super basic. I don't wash it as I don't have time so I'll throw it into a ponytail and just straighten the bottom if needed. I spend more time doing my face and I don't mind my hair up anyway. I get home from the gym and have an hour or so to get ready but that includes making breakfast, packing my meals etc. I do most of my preparation the night before and I always get my gym stuff ready the night before so I can just wake up and go. I then just shower, tie my hair up and do my face which takes 5ish minutes. If my hair is really gross I use dry shampoo lol.

sthutton · 2016-03-31T13:51:19+00:00

I don't have curly hair exactly, but I learned a tip from r/curlyhair that has helped my crazy textured, totally unruly hair (thanks gray hair for making me need to dye it constantly). When you're washing your hair, don't rinse out the conditioner all the way, just maybe 80% rinsed out, and make sure that water is as cold as you can stand it. It helps tame my frizz and tangles a lot.

Have you tried air drying with some "scrunching"-type product? And then scrunching your hair into messy semi-curls? This is my go-to when I absolutely need to wash my hair, but then need to be somewhere soon after. Unless I spend a very long time blow drying my hair like at the salon, it just turns into a big poof, so I've had to learn to work around not blow drying.

BeautifulSpaceCadet · 2016-03-30T04:17:19+00:00

This is my beauty routine:

Take a quick shower in the morning to help me wake up.
Moisturize feet, knees, ankles, face, hands
Makeup, deodorant, perfume
During the day I can reapply deodorant or makeup, if necessary
I brush my teeth after every meal
When I get home, I have another shower or bath, exfoliate my skin, shave legs/armpits, wash my hair, and that's when I take care of other things such as plucking eyebrows, moisturizing my body again, etc. Basically everything that's more time-consuming I do at night, it also helps me to relax.
Usually Sunday is my beauty day, so that's when I go to the salon, get my nails done, and maybe a massage. I always apply a facial clay mask on my skin on Sundays too. Because the mask performs deep cleaning I don't use it very frequently not to make my skin dry.
I don't go to the gym, I don't have time for that, but I eat healthy and try to keep moving and not simply be a couch potato.

Title	How do you working women balance the longer parts of your self-care routines with your schedule?
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	8
Comments	25
Date	March 29, 2016 3:00 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWomen
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWomen/comments/4cfsk6/how_do_you_working_women_balance_the_longer_parts/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWomen/how-do-you-working-women-balance-the-longer-parts.166774 https://theredarchive.com/post/166774

Comments