This glow up check list consisting of things you can do to glow up mentally and physically is just what you need to start the new year right, or to start at any time to be honest (I do realise it’s almost the end of February…).
When we think of changing our lives or starting afresh, why do we think of the 1st January, or the first day of a new month, or Monday. Why can’t we start on a Thursday or two weeks later than we wanted to start?
You can ‘glow up’ at any time in your life, it doesn’t matter what day or date it is. The main thing is that you truly want to make a change and you want to start as soon as possible.
You want to make a change now.
The usual definition linked to ‘glow up’ or a ‘glow up check list,’ is mostly things to do with improving your physical self, or making yourself ‘prettier’ or more ‘attractive.’
That’s fine, but first you need to deal with your mind and give it a glow up.
You need to make sure you are strong and confident within before tackling your physical self. And you need to make sure that when you do a physical glow up, you are doing it for yourself. You want to look better for yourself and not for anyone else.
Mental glow up check list
Build your self esteem (glow up check list ideas):
1. Spend time by yourself
Write in your journal regularly, go on short walks every day, have a pamper session.
In essence, book time to spend time alone. This is one of the best ways to get to know yourself and increase confidence.
Set mini mental health goals and challenge yourself. For example, if you find it really hard talking to new people, one of your mini-goals could be to strike up a quick conversation with the barista as she is making your coffee.
2. Meditation & Mindfulness
If you’re the type of person that suffers from anxiety, take time to focus on your breathing and be present in the moment.
Apart from meditation/ yoga/ exercise, taking walks is a great way to clear your air and re-focus.
3. Identify what makes you feel good and bad and implement it into your routine
Throughout your life, you’re going to find things you don’t like doing and things you do like doing.
So the question is, why, despite knowing that this certain activity is bad for you, do you continue doing it?
It’s something everyone does; whether it be binge eating late at night or waking up really late.
Somehow you’ve fallen into this rabbit hole of bad habits with tunnels leading to further bad habits.
Remove the things from your life that don’t give you joy, no matter how hard it is. The key to do this is to take it slow and steady and not to rush.
Then, do more of the things you love doing!
4. Better your relationships with others
As much as you want to say you’re okay by yourself, you don’t need anyone, you like being alone, you really don’t.
It’s in our human nature to want to be near people.
So, start removing negative influences from your life and spend time with people who make you feel amazing. Who make you feel confident and strong.
Mend relationships that have broken and create relationships that empower you.
5. Make yourself the main character
Stop chasing the idea of success and think about what success means to you.
Success for you may mean surrounding yourself with loved ones rather than having thousands of pounds. Success for you may mean living in the countryside rather than the city.
Make yourself the main character, and look at your life as a journey that will lead you to your definition of success.
Self-development (glow up check list ideas)
1. Read & educate yourself
There are loads of free as well as paid courses to do online to educate yourself and learn more about the world.
There are also loads of free books online to read.
Being more aware about what is happening around you in the world is essential to being your best self. It makes you more self-aware and appreciative of what you have.
I’ve created a list of great, eye-opening books. Have a look here!
2. Invest in quality over quantity
This comes with EVERYTHING. Clothes, make up, skin care, gadgets, ornaments, friends etc.
(Yes, even friends. You’d rather have a small number of friends you completely trust than a crowd of friends you can never trust).
In this point, I specifically want to highlight investing in quality experiences. Rather than spending £20 every night eating out with your friends, why not start eating out only once a week and save the money so you can go on a trip with them eventually?
3. Eat nutritious food & hit your health goals
You may think this point is more related to your physical glow up but it is just as important for your mental glow up too.
Eating nutritious foods and drinking plenty of water will help your body and brain, and will help you function better.
4. Do something new every now & then
It is important to switch things up from your usual routine every now and then, it’s what makes life exciting.
Challenge yourself and test your limits, try fun things like escape rooms, rock climbing and ziplining.
Or enjoy a relaxing afternoon lounging with cats in a cat café, or doing an at-home cinema experience with your friends.
Also, do things that you’ve been really wanting to do for a while but haven’t been able to.
If you’ve been really wanting to start painting for quite a while now, book a painting course right now or buy your paint supplies right now.
Force yourself to begin and you will begin.
The Mind Glow-Up Series focusses on self-love and self-development, you can also find loads more points related to improving mental health here.
5. Charity work
Set aside time to do charity work every now and then. It can be as simple as giving £2 a month to an organisation.
Before you donate to a charity, check that it is a registered charity (for UK people, you can see if a charity is legit here), and educate yourself about the type of work they do. Who knows? You may want to get involved further in the future.
Planning for the future (glow up check list ideas)
1. Have a plan/ goals
For you planners out there, having a 1 year, 5 year and 10 year goal is a great way to make sure you are on track with your goals and dreams.
It is also important to set goals because it is what gives you purpose and drive. So, set yourself a series of goals to achieve throughout your life.
If you’re the type of person that doesn’t like to plan that far ahead that is completely fine. For you guys, I would suggest just making sure you are trying new things all the time.
Of course, take time to rest and rejuvenate, but constantly try new jobs, hobbies and activities. In this way, even though you don’t have a complete plan you may find something you really like and want to pursue in the future – and you’ve created a bunch of memories!
2. Have 7-9 hours of sleep every night
This will not only help those wrinkles in the future but will also keep you feeling refreshed and ready every day. It will allow your body to have enough time each night to reset and recuperate.
3. Manage your money
Managing your finances is integral in planning for the future.
The reality is money rules the world therefore, you don’t want to be in a lack of it in the future.
It doesn’t mean you need to have loads of it, but enough that will help you lead a comfortable life.
Make changes to your life now to prepare for the future such as budgeting, saving money, creating multiple streams of income and investing.
Physical glow up check list
1. Face, hair and teeth
Face
Go to the mirror in a well-lit room and have a good look at your face. Keep a mental note of the areas which you want to target (acne, hyperpigmentation, loads of black heads etc.)
Then, research into products that will help combat those issues. Experiment, but don’t try everything at once. Read the reviews and buy the products that are a good value for money but will also positively impact you.
Before you buy these products, I would suggest researching into organic methods to combat your issues. Lemon juice and turmeric powder have brightening properties, and brown sugar can be a great exfoliator.
See if your skin reacts well to these natural substances and if so, that’s great! Most of these items you can buy in your local grocery so it will be cheap, easy to purchase and more importantly, all organic!
Always try organic products before buying chemical/ harsh expensive products online (only if your skin will not react to it).
Use a lip scrub when your lips feel chapped and coat your lashes with a little oil before you sleep for plumper lips and longer lashes.
Also, wear sunscreen daily to prevent harsh UV rays from entering your skin. Sun light is always present no matter the weather so wear it everyday! It can also prevent wrinkles in the future.
Hair
Go through the same review process with your hair as you did with your face, both when it is clean and greasy.
Does your hair get greasy quickly? Do you have a dry and itchy scalp? Is you hair texture not feeling great?
Again, research into remedies for this and if it is a severe issue disrupting daily life contact your doctor.
If you are successfully able to deal with your hair issues, create a weekly routine so it doesn’t go back to the condition it was before.
Don’t forget to treat yourself as well by booking an appointment at the hair dressers every few months. Looking your best can also help you feel your best!
Teeth
If you don’t already have a consistent teeth brushing routine (basically brushing your teeth at least twice a day), start now. And don’t forget to floss!
Also, don’t brush your teeth too hard, and angle your brush at a 45 degree angle towards your teeth tilting down towards your gum. If you can invest in a tooth brush that oscillates, that’s even better!
Use mouthwash to prevent bad breath, and teeth whitening strips for whiter teeth.
Again, a natural remedy of coconut oil, turmeric power and bicarbonate soda may whiten your teeth naturally (don’t do this more than once a week), and oil pulling is a great way to remove bacteria and toxins from your mouth.
2. Hands and feet
Hands
If you have dry hands and feet, regularly moisturise them to keep them soft.
Take care of your nails by applying cuticle oil and buffing your nails so your nail doesn’t rip.
If you’re not interested in getting your nails done in the salon, create a simple routine at home of trimming, buffing and removing your cuticles. Then shape your nails so they look clean and tidy.
Feet
If you have dry, cracked feet put moisturiser on your feet every night. Even better would be wearing some socks after applying the moisturiser and sleeping over night with it on. You’ll notice that your feet feel a lot softer in one night! Try some foot masks as well to soften your feet.
For more permanent results, you’re going to want to do this every night. Over time, the skin on your feet will become softer again.
Alternatively, more abrasive methods could be having a pedicure in the salon or scrubbing your feet by yourself, and having a foot bath every now and then.
If you combine the two methods above (moisturising and scrubbing), you’ll get results even faster.
Body
Like the other situations, review what you want to improve about your body, research remedies and then buy/ make it.
Body scrubs are really good for exfoliating the skin and removing build up (such as deodorant in your underarms). Having a brush to scrub your back may be a good idea if you have back acne, and creating a lemon juice, turmeric and honey base would be good for hyperpigmentation.
If you’re looking for a new hair removal method, try sugar waxing. Its a natural, cheap way of waxing your body from home! Its a technique that has been used for hundreds of years and is still effective to this day.
It might also be smart to create a shower routine i.e. steps you take in your shower/ bath. Make sure not to forget any part of your body and create collections of things you will always use.
But don’t buy too many things as you don’t want to become a hoarder and buy things for the sake of buying it.
As well as this, create a weekly self care routine for the general maintenance of your body. This could be the day that you do your deep hair conditioning or have a bubble bath or do both!
Other Things To Do For Your Physical Glow Up Check List
Here are some other quick ideas to put in your physical glow up check list:
Make it a point to always smell good:
Have deodorant in your bag and carry a mini perfume with you everywhere you go.
Buy perfumes with long-lasting scents and keep body mists and cheaper perfumes to use at home.
Minimise your wardrobe
That frilly top you currently have will eventually go out of fashion, and you’ll eventually throw it away/ give it away. You can prevent this by buying timeless, staple pieces that you can mix and match.
Exercise/ Be more active in day to day life
If you can’t go to the gym or don’t have time to do an out home work out every day, at the very least walk to wherever you need to go to instead of taking the car (if possible), and take the stairs instead of the lift.
Fix your posture
Whether you’re sitting or standing make sure your back is straight, and you are not hunched. Avoid using your phone for long periods of time as that may make you bend over to look at your phone.
Fixing your posture will help you greatly in old age.
Be on top of general maintenance
If you haven’t had a dentist appointment or gone to the opticians for a while, book an appointment! If you need to go to the doctors, book an appointment!
Wearing loads of make up and the most expensive clothes doesn’t mean anything if your body is suffering.
Personal hygiene
Better your personal hygiene by doing things like keeping a clean and tidy home, cutting your nails, having showers regularly and making sure the laundry gets done!
Have an emergency kit
The emergency kit should have all the things that you may need in an emergency while you are out.
Example of things you can include in this:
perfume
hand sanitiser
hand cream
sanitary products
feminine hygiene products
extra lip gloss
safety pins
etc.
Use your phone less
Come off your phone and be more present. Engage with the people around you. Make the life that you dreamed of rather than watching others live theirs.
Your glow up check list shouldn’t only consist of things to improve your present self. Make sure you do things that will affect you positively in the future too.
Set timers on your social media apps to limit how much time you spend on them.
Experiment with new things
As much as I am telling you to have a much more minimalist approach to life by limiting the things you have, it is also important to be experimentative and try new things out.
If there’s a new skin care trend that you really like and have researched into and think would be good for you, try it out!
Similarly, for your glow up check list it is important to be daring with the type of experiences you have and push your boundaries.
Have a daily kit
As well as having an emergency kit, having a kit of all the things you need every day will save you time and frustration too.
You can put all your skin care in one place together, or the make up items you use the most.
Likewise, you can gather all the things you like to do together. If you like drawing and reading and doing a short exercise in the morning, you can collect your book, drawing pad, pencils and rubbers in a folder so that is ready to use the next day. You can put your work out mat and weights beside that.
Spa day
Occasionally, have a spa day by yourself or with friends!
You can even meet up in one of your friends’ houses (or yours) and do self care activities together.
Exercise
As well as the obvious benefits of exercising helping your body, it also releases endorphins which triggers positive feels in your body.
Whether you want to create a 30 day glow up check list or challenge, these points should give you an idea of what you can do.
I’ve created the Mini Life Planner as well. If you’re looking for a new start in life and want something to help you plan it, you can download it here. It’s free as well!
If you want to some more glow up-related posts, have a read of these:
Tips for Self Care To Create the Perfect Evening
Ideas For Self Care (THAT ACTUALLY WORK!!)
Journal Prompts For Self Love (18-WEEK CHALLENGE!)
How To Be Independent & Gain Confidence PART 1 (Three-Part Series)
How To Be Independent & Gain Confidence PART 2 (Three-Part Series)
How To Be Independent & Gain Confidence PART 3 (Three-Part Series)
