With the pandemic slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past, you might be feeling like it’s time to check in with your consumption habits. 2020 gave us all reason to overindulge—whether from quarantine stress or boredom or both—but now that we’re returning to the normal we used to know, you may not want to partake as excessively as you were. It can be hard to adjust, especially as legalization continues and plant medicine becomes more available, but starting with these four tips for mindful consumption can help you get your cannabis and life goals back on track in this post-pandemic world. If you’re not sure whether you want to adjust your consumption, first consider these questions before diving into the tips:

• How often are you starting a session just for something to do instead of for addressing a specific problem or accomplishing a specific goal? Are you comfortable with that frequency?
• How motivated are you to participate in your hobbies? And in particular, those hobbies that were put on hold during quarantine but are back in action now? Are you comfortable with that motivation level?
• How interested are you in self-care? Plant medicine certainly is a form of self-care, but if it’s an excuse that’s keeping you from accomplishing your personal goals, are you okay with that trade-off?

Sit on those questions for a few days and observe yourself and your habits. To change a behavior, it’s helpful to first notice—without judgment—when and how often you do it. This will help you recognize patterns and habits that aren’t currently serving you and give you an idea of how to break them.  

1. Define Your “Why”

In order to be more mindful of your cannabis consumption, it’s important to set an intention. Ask yourself what your goals are with cannabis and what your goals aren’t. Is it your favorite way to spark creativity? Does it add value to your workout routine by easing discomfort? Is it simply your preferred way to wind down after work? Take the time to consider why and how you’re consuming when you are.

You don’t have to be strapped with just one intention either. Maybe you prefer a CBD tincture to start your day, a Sativa vape at the 3 pm afternoon lull, and Indica flower right before bed. So long as you know your intention behind each time you consume, you will consume more mindfully and find it easier to keep yourself from overdoing it.

2. Write Down the Details

One helpful way to become more aware of your consumption habits and how they relate to your “why” is by keeping a cannabis journal. (One of our favorites is Goldleaf’s Patient Journal—helpful for medical and recreational consumers alike!) There are so many different strains and consumption methods out there, it can be hard to keep track of what works for you and what doesn’t. Writing down your daily consumption can help you learn your favorite strains, consumption methods, and times of day to consume. It can also help you see just how often you’re partaking on a daily basis. Below are a few things to consider recording in your cannabis journal for more mindful consumption.

What to Keep in a Consumption Journal

• The symptoms or situation you’re trying to address with cannabis. Consider rating the intensity so you can then measure how you feel after consuming.
• The strain, its cannabinoid content, and its terpene profile. This will help you learn what works best with your body.
• The consumption method used and time of day you consumed.
• The effects you experienced: energy, creativity, sleepiness, paranoia, etc.
• How long the effects lasted and what the comedown was like.

3. Switch Up Your Routine

This is a good one for the post-pandemic struggle we’re all feeling. It’s hard to break out of the work-from-home-with-no-pants routine. It’s harder to break out of the work-from-home-with-no-pants-and-stay-high-to-numb-the-stress/boredom routine.

After a year and a half of CDC guidelines, quarantines, and curfews, your pandemic routine likely has your body associating certain times of day or certain activities with either being high or getting high. To rewire that association, it can be helpful to pull your body out of its comfort zone by switching up your routine. For example, if you want to cut down on how often you wake up and consume, try waking up and going for a walk twice a week instead. If you want to curb your post-work consumption, set a specific time to do so every day. Reach for your vape pen at 6:30 instead of 5:30. Delaying your consumption throughout the day can add up to reduced usage overall.

4. Reward Yourself

Here comes the fun! Be sure to reward yourself for your progress. Adjusting your intake—especially after the year we all had—isn’t easy. And you’ll likely have a few slip-ups, which is perfectly okay. It’s important to let those slip-ups pass without judgment and to reward yourself for the progress you do make.

Consuming cannabis more mindfully often means you can buy less of it. So use that extra money to treat yourself! Maybe for every week you hit your new consumption goals, you put that extra cash toward a massage or a trip to the movies. (Because we can do that again!) Do whatever feels good to you, but make it a treat. It’ll help you stay motivated to keep up your new consumption habits.

Bonus Tip: Keep It Locked Up

One other tip for more mindful consumption—keep your stash locked up. Out of sight, out of mind is a very real thing! Keeping your goods off the coffee table removes the visual cue to get high. But be sure you’re storing it in a safe place, like our app-controlled cannabis storage furniture. Our pieces are equipped with electronic locks so you don’t have to worry about curious hands finding your flower, and they also feature carbon filters that neutralize scent (removing the olfactory cue!) and keep your cannabis fresh. Pro tip: They're perfect for storing other sensitive items too, like medicines, important documents, firearms, wine—anything you want to keep safe and secure.

Now go out and make the best of what’s left of 2021, because we finally can!