If - like me - in 2020 you've made the decision start looking after both your mind and your body a little more then - like me - you might need a little inspiration, motivation and guidance to get you going.

Luckily, there's an abundance of resources available for free at our fingertips these days and one of my favourite ways to soak up new information has been to listen to podcasts. I was never really a podcast person but over the last 6 months have really begun to enjoy them, especially whilst driving to and from work (as each journey is around 40 mins each).

I thought I would share you with the 5 podcasts I think you need in your life if you're looking to take control of your health and wellness this year, let me know if you take a listen to any of these and I'd love to know your thoughts!

4. Going For Goal
This 'cast is created by Women's Health and is brand new for 2020. The host, Roisin Dervish-O'Kane interviews leading nutrition, fitness and psychology experts each week to discuss their personal strategies for success.

3. Deliciously Ella
You might have seen Ella's products in the health aisle at your fave supermarket, well the health food guru also has a podcast and each episode she discusses a variety of important subjects with various experts from the importance of sleep, how and why we love, sexual health along with discussing food myths & facts!

2. Give Me Strength
Personal trainer Alice Liveing interviews extraordinary women during her podcasts episodes with each one delving into the importance of building mental and physical resilience and how this can empower us to be healthier and happier.

1. Food For Thought
This is my favourite podcast to listen to by far, created by certified nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert (aka Rhitrition), it discusses all of the important myths and subjects around health. She dives into the myths around carbs being bad for you (spoiler, they're not), Intermittent Fasting & so much more. I love Rhi's perspective and everything ultimately comes down to a healthy relationship with food.

Let me know what your favourite podcasts are as I'm always on the look out for something new to listen to! :) 

My Morning Routine: Work Edition 2020

If you read my 2020 Goals & Habits post then you would know that setting myself some new routines was something I wanted to achieve this year. This week I started back at work properly after the Christmas break and I just *knew* it was going to be hard to tear myself out of bed each morning about 3 hours earlier than I was used to so I used the few days between New Year and starting back at work this week to establish a new morning routine.

To give some context, I work from 8:30am to 5pm and my journey to work is around 35/40 minutes drive on a good day, before Christmas I found myself getting out of bed later which meant I hit the heavy traffic on my way into work and I was around 15/20 minutes late every day. Luckily my company is super flexible but I really didn't like how rushed and stressed I felt each morning, so I decided to impose this new morning routine to get me up & out of the house on time (or even early) with zero stress in the mornings!

23:00 the night before - Bedtime
t might surprise you but my morning routine actually begins the night before and ultimately with a somewhat good night's sleep! I've started using the IOS Bedtime feature to set my 'bedtime' as 11pm and my alarm at 6:30am. I have a bath usually around 10pm and read for a bit after that but I try to put my phone down for at least 30 minutes before I go to sleep.

06:30 - Wake Up & Get Up
I've switched the snooze feature off on my alarm so there's no alternative but to get my butt up and out of bed, usually by now though Nellie has been shouting the house down so that enough motivation to get up and feed her!

06:30 - 06:45 - Get My Shiz Together
If I don't have leftovers for lunch then I like to prepare my lunch & snacks for the day during this first 15 mins of the day. I'll head downstairs, feed Nellie & then organise my lunch bag. I'll grab my matcha tea, keep-cup, water bottle, a couple of snacks (usually one for mid-morning and one for mid-afternoon) plus my breakfast & lunch and get it all bagged up and ready to go before I leave. I'll also use this time to put my multivitamins into their little sandwich bags to take later on in the morning.

06:45 - 07:00 - Skincare Routine!
One of my other habits to set this year was to stick rigidly to a skincare routine, I was particularly bad at it in the mornings last year (and by particularly bad I mean, I didn't do ANYTHING to my skin in the morning except splash it with cold water...). Now I use this time to cleanse, tone and moisturise before I apply my make-up.

07:00 - 07:20 - Make-Up, Hair & Get Dressed
We're lucky to have two spare bedrooms at home and each of us have claimed one as our own, I've turned mine into a dressing room essentially with another huge wardrobe, loads of storage and my desk for doing my hair & make-up. I don't wear a huge deal of make-up to work (or anytime to be honest) so it doesn't take too long to whack some CC cream on, brush my hair & choose an outfit for the day.

07:20 - 07:30 - Get Out The Door!
Once I'm somewhat presentable I'll say bye to Rob who is usually still getting ready when I leave & I'll also give Nellie her medication. Then I grab my bags & head out the door, usually I'll stick a podcast on in my car - currently loving Deliciously Ella's - and aim to be at work by 8:10/8:15!

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my mornings, I find that I really enjoy writing posts like this and it helps keep me motivated to stick my new goals and habits for the year ahead! 

My 2020 Goals & Habits

Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's 2020, what the heck? When did that happen?! I hope you all had a lovely festive period and spent a lot of time with your loved ones. I find the time between Christmas and New Year is very good fore some self reflection.

I've always loved a New Year Resolution although maybe I see them slightly differently the older I'm getting; they always used to be 'LOSE WEIGHT' or 'GET FIT' or 'EAT LESS CHOCOLATE' etc and although none of those resolutions are bad if that's what you want to do, I always found them far too vague which in turn made me see them as intimidating and unattainable.

This year I've decided to set some more realistic and achievable goals and also define some new habits I'd like to start this year and I thought in case anyone needed any inspiration I'd share them with you today.

• Eat clean more often - It's slowly dawning on me that I need to be kinder to my body. That means less processed food that contains, well, who knows what in it?! Don't get me wrong, I can't eat clean all day everyday as I love the odd treat now and then but I'm definitely going to make better choices when I can which

• Attend 5 gym classes a week - I'm currently a member of a fantastic fitness club in my local area which is run by one lady - Jo - who holds 9 classes a week including Zumba, Full Body Workout, Barre, AbsTastic and Clubbercise at our local gym. I joined last Jan and I still try to make a few classes a week now but my 2020 goal is to attend 5 each week.

• Take multivitamins DAILY - I've already failed at this one so far but that's only because I can't actually find the multivitamins I pruchased a month or so ago *eye roll* so I need to get to Holland and Barratt and treat myself to some new ones before I can get going. This one's pretty important for me though as I don't really eat any fresh fruit so am missing out on some vital vits! 

• Keep up my daily skincare routine - Since Christmas I've treated myself to some new beauty products and tools to really up my game in 2020 (it's not difficult seeing as my 2019 game was a make-up wipe...) I've bought a jade and rose quartz roller/gua-sha set and am loving using these day and night along with my new Homedics Facial Cleanser. I want to make sure that I keep this up as i'm a week or so in and already seeing a difference in my skin!

• Have more structure/routine - When I told my boyfriend about this goal he panicked but that's coming from him, someone who had practically ZERO routine before we got together. I reassured him though that it was my goal and he didn't have to join in. However, I want to ensure I'm getting 8 hours of sleep each night, making more time in the mornings so I'm not rushing or late for work, keeping the house tidy (putting something away after using it). Basically just having my shit together a little more. 

• Say yes less - By this I mean, stop doing so much stuff that I don't want to do or being worried to say 'nah, I'm good thanks'. Even something as little as staying up late when really I want to just go to bed at 10pm and get a good night's sleep before work or turning down an invite to a party when I'd rather have some time to myself to relax and unwind. The only pressure that's on me to please everyone else is the pressure I put on myself!

What are your goals and resolutions for 2020, I'd love to know! Comment below or find me on social media over on Instagram @laurenefell