It's time to put an end to writer's block. Our magazine's creative writing prompts assist authors generate remarkable ideas. Writers can submit their work and promote it.
Writing prompts assist authors generate fresh ideas and practise their writing on a regular basis. You may submit your own or request one from us. Simply send us an email at hello@weekendreads.me and we will send you the one for poetry, long form essay, or article. Use "writing prompt" as the subject line.
What do you mean by creative writing prompts and how it works?
Creative writing prompts are prompts or cues given to writers to inspire them to create a story, poem, or other written work. These prompts can come in many forms, such as a sentence, a word, a picture, a scenario, or a question. The purpose of these prompts is to spark the writer's imagination and get them thinking creatively, helping to overcome writer's block and stimulate new ideas. Writing prompts can be used in a variety of settings, including classrooms, writing groups, and individual writing practice.
The procedures of submitting writing prompts in i'mBiking Magazine is easy
You can ask us for writing prompts or choose from the this list and start writing. Once the prompt is finished, you can follow the guidelines below.
The draft must be above 1200 words long in word format if you are sending it through email. You can submit to submission@lekh.co or sign up and submit through the website.
Creative writing prompts submission | Photo by Andrew Neel on Pexels.com
BEFORE YOU HIT SUBMISSION (MANDATORY*)
Before you hit the submit button to send to the editor through email or submission tool, please read the following rules.
The incomplete submission will not be reviewed and will be returned to the draft with action points.*
Read below rules and points to consider for submission.
Attach a Word document with all the information.
Don't miss writing your author bio up to 20 words in second person at the bottom of the article. Sign up on Gravatar* to upload your photo, ignore if you have already signed up.
You must have min 1 social media link in the bio, (Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter). It brings authority to the article and avoids duplication of the article in the search.
The article should be at least 1200 words and maximum of your wishes (except poetry).
Attach the appropriate images if required (optional). You may find images free from copyright from Pexel.com Wikimedia commons, or search on Google for "free stock images".
Do not forget to add two lines sub-heading to the title (to provide readers with an overview of the article) or you may call it meta description (in SEO terms) including your keywords.
Your keyword should be present in the title of the article, meta description, first paragraph, and H2 and H3 headings.
What happens next after your article (prompt) is published in i'mBiking?
Create an article about this achievement in your blog/website and link back to the original article. This provides authority and the finest approach to follow the normal SEO strategy and assist search engines in better understanding. This is the final, mandatory and most important guideline for this "No Cost Article Publishing Programme." (except sponsored and paid guest post).
If you have any questions about submission, use our submission guidelines page to know about the rules for article submission.
I am seriously, When I tell you I’m a Poet | Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com
Read the poem | When I tell you I’m a Poet
When I tell you I’m a poet-
please take me seriously
don’t think I’m some cute girl
who writes a few verses in her room
about how your kiss is a new kind of heaven
Poetry for me has a much deeper meaning,
poetry is how I bleed out all of my emotions
I hold within
When I tell you I’m a poet-
please don’t laugh at me or mock me
don’t berate the simplicity of my words
I weave into verse
It’s how I make sense of my explosion of thoughts
It’s how I express what I can’t say out loud
When I tell you I’m a poet-
don’t try to cure me of my poetic nature
and prey on my insecurities and try to kill
my dreams of making my art seen
I know how the odds are stacked against
someone like me
I don’t do it to make it to the mainstream-
I do it so other women like me
can be seen, can be inspired to dream
And finally when I tell you I’m a poet-
Appreciate the artist in me,
make yourself a sanctuary to put my poetry in-
I’m not asking for endless compliments or an ego boost
I’m asking for a safe space in you to love
the poet I hold within
Poem: Waiting For Something | Photo by Adrien Olichon on Pexels.com
Poem: Waiting for something
Bring back that light,
that used to shine inside of me,
make me all a glow,
I don’t want to feel like a robot,
not anymore,
my life is like pilot of a TV show,
waiting for that long over due exciting incident,
for the story to really take off,
that adventure destiny has install for me,
when will that be,
I’ll never know,
one thing I do know,
I’ll be ready
It was cold, I was told
He was a dick I already knew,
Though I was going by toeing
He was cruel I was sure
But he was one of my best friends.
We were heading into the dark
Like sitting on a cold iron tank.
A gutter dumps us leaving the scars
Alone on the way in the midnight,
Where there no bikes and cars.
We headed to his girlfriend's house
Like two dark shadows walking slowly like mouse
He whistled near the gate when the colony was asleep
On the 1st floor
Dim light coming from a window dear
Quickly flung opened,
He looked at me when a waiter gates amount in token.
She threw a rope and descend
I saw her in front of us, she handed him cash
Who was every time on her depend?
While returning hungry stomach made me ask
I am hungry, can we have some snacks
He tapped on my back and said let's go jack
We came back to our home
Too late at 4 am
"Time Will Tell" explores the characteristics of human beings. Pretending to be someone else should not be done. You will eventually be seen in the real light and in real time.
Time Will Tell | Photo by Jason Morrison on Pexels.com
Poem "Time Will Tell"
No point in pretending to be something you’re not,
you may think you’re a top cat in and around the street.
What goes around comes around, no matter how long it takes,
It will always catch up to you eventually,
Be aware that people talk and they will listen,
When you stand and smile and wave, not everyone is your friend.
That’s all make believe, some merely tolerate you with kindness,
Sooner or later that mask you wear so well,
will slip and fall and only then will they see the real you in the real light,
It’s all a matter of time
Julie has unique ways of telling the stories, in this interview with i'mBiking Magazine, she talked about her book, “The Poetry Mouse” and for her readers, she read her favourite poem. Moreover, there is good news for writers who love to write about horror and suspense. She talked about how her books ends leaving the readers astonishing, in a twist. Kusma also put her thoughts on difference between thriller and suspense according to her. Thus, she believes, unknown outcomes create a tension in any story. Therefore, learn from her why both, thriller and suspense are correlated to each other.
Her paranormal, supernatural, and horror stories contain simple truths about our human experience, and she shines a light on shadows with weird situations, unexpected themes, and twist endings. She holds a Master of Health Education, a Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness, and a Master in English, Creative Writing, fiction.
No matter what medium art takes; canvas, clay, or words on paper, the message isn’t so much what it means to the artist, but rather what the piece says to the observer. I hope my work speaks to you.
Julie Kusma
Moreover, every writer has his own way of gathering ideas. However, Julie get inspires is something unique.
What made you write about the book, “The Poetry Mouse”
The idea for “The Poetry Mouse” emerged in a conversation with my writing partner, Derek R. King. He shared several poems he wrote about hedgerow creatures and the idea of a mouse, Evie, anthropomorphized, took hold of me. I saw her living her ordinary life of doing what others thought best for her, and I realized this story had the potential to speak to children on so many levels. It is a story about authenticity and pursuing our talents and passions.
What was the first thought came to you before you begin to write the book?
For me, my first thought was the visualization of Evie holding her notebook with Derek’s poetry written on each page. I then formulated a storyline and wove Evie’s tale around his poems. At the end of the story, Evie sends her work to a publisher in the city, so there’s a sequel underway.
How many books you have written until now?
Wow, I’ll have to look… I have short stories in three anthologies: one with two stories that won publication in a contest, one with a horror story from a contest, and the third with four horror short stories. I also have two meditation CDs, three solo children’s picture books, two children’s picture books written with Jill Yoder (my amazing editor), three children’s picture books written with Derek R. King, eight more collaborations with Derek, and finally, three horror collections of my own.
So, the short answer is, I currently have 22 published works and 2 CDs. Additionally, three collaborated children’s picture books are slated for publication yet this year, along with another Keepsake book, Our Halloween all in collaboration with Derek, and a solo project of mine, The Crooked Crone & Other Mystifications, all scheduled for 2022 publication.
Does each of the books reveals the suspense at the end? Would you like to share your experience behind writing the suspense?
I do fancy a twist ending. My solo work, which is mainly paranormal or psychological horror, quite typically ends in this manner. I love taking the reader along on a ride and making that sharp turn at the end which reveals the destination is somewhere entirely unexpected. I love that.
For me, writing suspense is about layering your story, and this is accomplished through the writer’s voice and the literary tools and devices employed. Diction, syntax, figurative language, and the tone in which the story is told, offer many layering options for themes and symbolism— all creating the story’s motifs. So, with diction, for example, when writing horror, choosing words that are morose and macabre pull the reader in. All part of setting up the story’s suspense.
How do you distinguish between thriller and suspense?
Thriller is a genre where danger is present from the onset of the story: The thrill of the ride, reading the story. Suspense, although categorized as a genre, is really a technique where the unknown outcomes create a tension, a suspensefulness as the reader anticipates what happens next. Any story can be suspenseful, but not all stories are thrillers.
Are both of them correlated to each other?
Sure, a great thriller is suspenseful, and in a non-genre definition way, suspense is thrilling.
Are you currently writing any book? If yes, would you like to tell us more about it?
I am. This week, I will write the final chapter of The Crooked Crone, which began as a solo short story. I’ve expanded this into a novella by the same name, and it will release yet this year. Other than that, I always have at least a dozen projects going at the same time. Current open projects include two children’s books, a keepsake book— Our Halloween, and the above-mentioned solo project of mine, and dozens more just waiting to materialize. I seem to work best this way, as I can perform various tasks for the different stages of progress as suits my mood on any given day.
How do you get suspense ideas, what are the major sources, and why?
Just depends on, really. Sometimes, nature inspires. Other times, it’s people. The things people say and believe are excellent fodder for stories. For example, I saw an appointment reminder card stuck to a drain pipe with cobwebs, and Derek took a picture of this for me. A creepy horror story began to emerge as I asked myself how long has that been there and why. Additionally, my current stay in Scotland has inspired an entire series of micro fiction pieces titled Scottish Gothic and is available on my website here.
What is your favorite poem you ever wrote?
Probably “A Lover’s Silence.” I love the voice of this piece. It has been recorded for me by Jacqueline Belle and a video to compliment by Daniel Lacho of Guru Art Official. You can listen to this on my YouTube channel at A Lover's Silence or for all of my recordings, visit YouTube.com/c/juliekusmaauthor
But I’d love to share one of my published 50-word micros from my Scottish Gothic collection. This piece, along with a few others, is available to read on my website.
Do you love travel and meeting people?
I would have answered no before, but last year I met my amazing writing partner, Derek R. King. He lives in Scotland and I visited him last December. We have an amazing creative spark and exchange between us that is very easy and enjoyable. I believe this is why we are able to produce so many books in such a short amount of time. I’m currently in Scotland, and have been here since the end of March. I head back to the states in September, but while I’ve been here, I have travelled, met many people, seen a lot, embraced new ways of living and being, as well as created a volume of writing.
Would you like to tell us about your travel experiences that occurred funny, relevant to your writing or any sort of it, and eventually helped you a lot?
I don’t know if I’ve had anything particularly funny, but that’s subjective, right? I find life in generally humorous, so there’s that. However, walking through a grocery store in Scotland is quite entertaining for me. Seriously, no salad dressings to speak of. No pickle relishes. What? Pancakes are freshly made in the USA, not precooked and sold in a package on the bread aisle. And ice, don’t get me started on drinking soda room temperature without ice. Lots of funny stuff regarding food and lifestyle tickle my mind while staying in a foreign country. I highly recommend venturing outside one’s known territory and truly seeing how others live, especially if you’re a writer.
Every writer enjoy book on their weekend and on any occasions. Therefore, reading books teach us every day, and that is a time when most of our learnings occur. Every day is a new and special for us.
However, in case of Jackie, her education actually happened when she joined IBM. In 1972, during her schooling, everywhere was violence, the protesters, and the Vietnam War. Jackie also shared how her mother used to read romantic novels and enjoy her life. Jackie has also written a poem, “Out from the Shadows” accidentally, upon reading, it brings power to the one's selfness.
She believes, marketing is writing and selling an idea. Therefore, she took one more step and started investing more in writing romance as an endeavour to get lost in love stories.
About Jackie Lynaugh
Jackie's passion is writing, and her favourite place is the ocean. Besides, she loves painting landscapes, collecting sunglasses and crave sunshine like there's no tomorrow. She has worked as a marketing manager at IBM, writing technical spec-sheets for computer engineers. Now retired from the corporate world and writing fiction, family saga, and romance full-time. She is currently living in South Carolina.
Tell us when did you find interest suddenly evoked in you for reading or enjoy book, and at what age you got your first book and its name?
The first book I read at a young age was “Gone With the Wind”, by Margaret Mitchell. I read it again in a different mindset at 40 years old. The genre I gravitate to is romance and family saga. I also write in that genre. I don’t write historical romance. I write what I know.
My mother was a romantic bookworm. I watched her get lost in her paperback romance novels growing up. Some of her books, she would tape a brown paper grocery bag over the book cover. I remember the first time I pulled off the brown paper to see what she was hiding on the cover. It was like unwrapping a present. I would read her romance books when she was out of the house. From then on, I dreamed of riding off on a white horse with the shirtless hero my mother was hiding on the cover of the book.
Reading books for enjoyment is a luxury I never had while raising my children and during my corporate career, and as a business owner. Life was too busy to just relax and get lost in a great novel. I know I missed out, and I am making up for lost time reading for pleasure.
Where did you finish your schooling, and what experiences of life counted in your writing career, loving and enjoy book?
I don’t believe we ever finish our schooling. Life lessons happen every day. I dropped out of high school in 1972, went to night school, and later took the General Educational Development Test (GED), which took me nowhere. In the ’70s, racial tension and school dropouts were high, and the Vietnam War and protesters were on every corner. The world was on fire as peace signs, tie-dye t-shirts, and standing up for our rights were the thing. The '70s is a future novel in the making I hope to write someday. Life lessons in a small southern town are on my bucket list for my seventh novel.
Fast-forward to the 90s, I returned to the classroom at Winona State University in Minnesota. Short-lived but productive. In 1994, I began my corporate career with IBM in marketing. This is where my education began. I learned more on the job than I ever learned in a classroom. Later IBM relocated us to North Carolina where I wrote technical spec sheets for computer engineers. The documents were online and sent with the product for the customer to read and learn how to use their new computer and software.
Would you like to tell us when did you write your first poem and read it for us?
I fell in love with poetry in college. In the summer of 1993, I wanted to add credit toward my marketing degree and took a poetry class. It felt beautiful to hear words flow, and Walt Whitman turned me on to poetry. The first poem I wrote was by accident. I was writing notes for my novel, At Her All. The main character Lara Faye Edison is a college student. I was trying to get inside the main character's head. In my past novels, if I wanted to get into character, I would paint with oil on canvas the location's scenery.
Also, I sketched the scene on paper with a pencil and the character’s faces helped my creativity flow. It was like I could talk to the character, and they could talk to me. I am a visual writer. By doing this, the story would flow out of me like turning on a faucet, and the characters came alive. The poem in the novel At Her All is about Lara and her hovering parents.
Poem, “Out from the Shadows” by Jackie Lynaugh
“I wasn’t born to spoil under anyone’s shadow
and rot like an unhatched egg.
I wasn’t born to follow orders.
I wasn’t born for boredom.
I wasn’t born to satisfy someone else’s needs,
to take care of them
or they take care of me
or hide in their arms
or to be taken for granted.
I wasn’t born to follow ideas of what truth is
or to live according to someone beliefs
or to think along their lines
or to learn their facts.
I was born to think independently
I was born to find my own truth
and make my own rules
and find my own way.
I was born to meet life full throttle.
Walk the Appalachian trails.
To be seduced by an alpha male.
Kissed a thousand times
and loved for a million years.
To meet different faces, travel,
and learn other cultures.
Watch the stars at night.
Take long walks
dance on the beach
be swept off my feet
be taken by storm
to be heartbroken.
Stunned.
Shocked.
Devastated.
Lost
and found again.
I was born to get my hands dirty and
plant a garden and watch it grow.
To get sand between my toes.
Mud on my face.
Sand spurs under my feet.
I was born to jump into the ocean.
Pick up seashells and find starfish.
To go beyond time and space.
To welcome miracles.
To share a wishbone
and make a wish.
To totally lose myself.
I was born to feel everything
and to experience everything.
The bitter taste of sorrow.
The foul taste of hatred.
The sweet taste of love.
I was born to learn how to be grateful.
I was born to know the truth
and learn how to give to I have nothing more.
To work hard and play hard.
To pray.
I was born to learn how to speak the language of love
and unlock my heart.
How to take care of my health.
Learn how to let go of all expectations
and let the future unfold like unwrapping a present.
I was born to learn how it feels to lose everything
except for the things that matter.
I am born to spread my wings
fly towards the sun
burn into ashes
fall to the earth and rise again.
I will be proud of my scars and my wrinkles.
My stories.
My memories.
My wisdom.
My freedom.
I was born to be free
and therefore, time will let me live my
life out from the shadows.”
What circumstances made you to choose career into the field of marketing than going for writing? Could you please share with us in detail?
I’ve been in business for many years, and I was always marketing something. Marketing is writing, elaborating about a product, service, retail, wholesale, or selling an idea. In any trade, you have to write to market. It’s a labor of love.
Writing romance is one of the unlimited endeavors to get lost in a love story. To be invited into another human’s world of romantic thoughts and read stories about falling in love is the greatest triumph for a romance writer. I want the readers to question, cry, laugh, hope, feel emotion, fall in love, and dream you are the one and only. An overall feeling you belong in the story rescues optimism. Romance starts with an invitation into the most beautiful thing, love. Writing about love is personal.
The first manuscript I wrote was about health, and I mailed it to a publisher in New York in 1987. Motivated by the women who exercised at my health salon called Slender You in Winona, Minnesota. As a business owner of an exercise salon, I learned how important it was for women to support women. The manuscript was written to inspire women to exercise, with motivational quotes, and a diary to track success and healthy recipes. Six months later, it was rejected.
I filed the manuscript in the closet for safekeeping. I sold my business in 1989. The computer industry took off, and I knew IBM would change my life. I kept writing stories and frequently drew inspiration from my own experiences in the corporate world and private life. My career ended with a buyout at IBM. I reinvented myself and did something I had dreamed of for years. I took the real estate test and got my license to sell homes in North Carolina. I found success in real estate for 23 years. I am now a retired broker and writing romance and family fiction novels full-time.
I witnessed my son pass away tragically at the age of 45, in 2017. I learned he was also a closet writer, and he loved writing about his hunting and fishing trips. Heartbroken by my son’s death I learned writing was helping me with my grief. It was time to be the author I dreamed of being. In 2018 I wrote romance while working full time and as a caretaker for my mother who died at my home under the care of hospice.
I self-published my first novel, Plantation Hill in October 2020. Never planned to write a series, but I just kept writing. The next novel, Nectar (2021 second series) and then Hart to Hart (2022 third series) in Plantation Hill. The novel Inside Glass Towers was published in May 2021. I began writing Inside Glass Towers when my beloved husband was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and treated with radiation and chemo at UNC Cancer Center. My latest novel At Her All was published in February 2022 and the story would never be complete without At His All (second series) out in 2023.
Life squeezed every ounce out of me. My books have been my recovery from life’s blistering truths, turbulent trials, inner turmoil, overwhelming grief, and a maze of absolute chaos through the healthcare industry during the pandemic. I am a caretaker's survivor and I came out on the other side stronger and wiser. It was time to come out of the closet, and share my novels with the world.
Today, my husband is cancer free. A comeback story all in itself for a future novel. Since retiring in 2020, I have published five novels in two years. Stories that have been buried in my brain for years came alive. To write and publish you cannot be a wimp.
Do you currently write as a full or part-time, and why?
I write full time. I am currently writing the novel At His All, the second series in At Her All, a bottle of lies. A Her and His (ladies come first) family saga. I have been patiently waiting for this stage in my life to open up and be who I was born to be, a storyteller. I came from a long line of storytellers.
Over the years, I was inspired by all the characters I met while growing up in a small, close-knit agricultural town in Belle Glade, Florida. The Glades motto is, Her Soil is Her Fortune. My grandfather Walter and my father Douglas were both incredible storytellers and role models for my future craft and my desire to write stories.
Which book you have written for the first time? It is fiction real life inspiriting? Moreover, tell us which character is your favourite one from the book and its journey, creating the character making it to live.
My first book is Plantation Hill. A Florida location from 1990-1992. Inspired by a southern family in the citrus business growing oranges. The family lives in an old southern white mansion tucked behind large oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from the trees that looked like an old man's beard. A typical Florida scenery of the old south.
My favorite character is Tee Hart. The readers tell me they fell in love with Blossom Hart, Tee’s daughter. The Hart family goes on different journeys, but with this family, blood is thicker than orange juice. And money grows on trees.
What struggle aspiring writers face? Could you please share your journey with us, when you were being an aspirant, what learnings you got as a first-time writer?
I was born an aspiring author. Two years as a self-published author have been exciting and challenging. If you are not ambitious, curious to learn, and thin-skinned, I’d find another industry to tackle. If you don’t like marketing yourself, social media, technology, and the ever-changing secret world of publishing, it might be a better option to work on your craft and keep writing and keep your day job.
The World Wide Web is still the Wild Wild West. The publishing industry has been like stepping back in time to find the secret code. To me, the most important thing is to entertain the readers.
Sometimes, it can be easy to slip into habits that do not benefit our well-being or mental health. Our habits and routines can easily make or break us. I understand how challenging it can be to overcome certain habits. However, I’ve also felt the joy that comes with finally putting my foot down and deciding to change the old repetitive patterns that were keeping me stuck in a feeling of hopelessness. Continue reading my self-care routines below.
Once I zoned in on my daily habits and began to weed out the ones I no longer needed and replaced them with better habits, I felt lighter, more confident, and more willing to go after my goals and dreams. It all started with changing my routine and caring about myself as I would care for a friend.
These tips may or may not work, but I hope they do. Especially, if you are someone who feels stuck in life. We are creatures of habit and patterning. Once we find out what our patterns are we can then figure out how to move forward with greater awareness than prior.
One of the first things I changed was my morning routine. I used to wake up, check my phone (scrolling for an hour or more on social media before getting out of bed), and then go to the bathroom and prepare for the day. Checking my social media right when I first opened my eyes was setting me up for information overload, comparing myself to others online, and losing a whole hour to mindlessly scrolling.
Once I took a step back and evaluated how I truly felt after doing this, I came to the realization I was causing my own unhappiness. In October 2019, I deleted all social media that was not related to my writing or art. I began to feel a little better after 2 months. At first, it was hectic, and I wanted to check my feed constantly.
I replaced scrolling social media with waking up, thinking of 3-5 things I was grateful for, spending the rest of the hour with my son, and getting dressed for the day. My son also started having fewer tantrums.
I didn't realize he was throwing tantrums because he needed more time with me. While I did spend time with him, it was in small spurts, 10-20 minutes here and there. I hate looking back and realizing how much time I lost with him, all because I was too focused on a silly social media app.
I also started writing out a list of things I needed to do in a day the night before. Seeing the list and crossing out the items gave me a sense of direction that I did not have prior. I’ve been doing this method for 2 years, and it has helped me accomplish a lot of the things I thought I never would.
It’s important to set up your day for success. There may be challenging situations, but when you set yourself up in a positive manner you are more likely to handle the situation with a clearer head.
Your morning routine may look different from mine. You know what works best for you.
Here are some ways to see how your morning routine is affecting your day:
Write down everything you do within the first hour when you first get up.
Ask yourself how you feel after the hour.
Ask yourself if you are charged and ready for the day, or are you dreading the day to come?
Ask yourself if there is anything that you may need to change or add to help you feel your best.
Listen to your body and emotions, they can be your best guides if you learn to pause and reflect for a moment.
Write down things you want to try to implement into your day and give yourself a month to try it out to see how you feel.
We all have our morning routines. Personally, I think how we start our day is very important for the rest of the day. Setting ourselves up for better days is highly beneficial for our future selves. After all, one day we are going to look back and see how far we’ve come, or we are going to look back and regret we didn’t take the steps sooner. The time is going to pass either way.
Alone Time
Another influential self-care routine is how we spend our alone time. Which can be hard if you are a parent. Still, there needs to be a time when you can breathe and relax, even if it is after the children are in bed.
When we don’t allow ourselves alone time, we can become overwhelmed, stressed, and burnt out from day-to-day life. This can lead to depression, anxiety, and even physical symptoms can appear.
Here are some relaxing ways I, personally, enjoy alone time:
Take a relaxing bath with Epsom salt. Lavender is one of my favorites
Reading a good book.
Playing video games
Writing poetry
Sitting in silence and just being
Yoga
Getting in my portable sauna box
Drawing
There are many ways to enjoy alone time. When you do things you enjoy that are relaxing to your mind and body, you begin to fill your own cup in life. We cannot pour from an empty cup. We need time to recharge, do things we like, and take a little time to nurture ourselves, so we can nurture those around us fully.
Nightly Self-Care Routine
Nightly routines are just as important as morning routines. Setting ourselves up for the next day by getting into a routine before falling asleep can help us feel more refreshed in the mornings. Before I made my own nightly routine, I would be on my phone… You guessed it, scrolling through social media until my eyelids could not stay open any longer. I would wake up so groggy and unmotivated.
To combat this, I started plugging my phone into its charger around 7 pm in my craft/workroom. This helped with not being tempted to grab it and redownload social media just because I was bored.
I then began to add things like 30 minutes of meditation before going to bed, reflecting on the day, while figuring out if I needed to be doing something different to better optimize my days, and I would write down the next day's tasks. This helped set the foundation for the following day, so I could spend the mornings with my son with no interference.
Ways you can start a nightly routine:
Evaluate where you are and if you feel as if you wake up refreshed and recharged
Ask yourself if there are any habits that could be making you feel drained
Start by replacing one thing at a time, if there are multiple things you wish to change
I started small by taking away a bad habit and replacing it with a better one. I let myself adjust, and then I would add more. I did not want to overburden myself with so much change at once. In the past, I would go all in and not let myself unwind the patterning naturally. This led me into giving up soon after I started something new. Another pattern I had to let go of.
Occasionally, we take on too much and give up before any real change takes place. It’s significant to pace ourselves.
Conclusion
As you can see, these changes in my own routines have helped me greatly, and I hope they can help others too. It starts by becoming aware of our own patterning and then figuring out a better pattern to fall into. It’s not easy and there will be times when we fall back into old patterns, but that is okay. Once we become aware of it, we can continue to move forward.
Getting into better self-care routines can benefit mental, physical, and emotional well-being by helping us build healthy habits that propel us forward in life instead of going in circles with old unhelpful habits.
