Self-care isn’t a priority for millions of people. Putting friends, family and work before themselves. And, while noble, it can be detrimental. An epic self-care routine is good for your mind, body and soul. But it only works if you make room for it in your life.
Let’s cover the basics.
What is Self Care?
Self-care is any activity that you do to improve your mental, physical or emotional wellbeing.
Why Does Self Care Matter?
Most people have busy lives. Work commitments, family commitments, cleaning, bills, cooking, children and more. After taking care of everyone and everything. It is common to not feel like taking care of yourself.
The saying goes though that you can’t pour from an empty cup.
Self-care reduces your stress and anxiety. The impact that has is better relationships, better rest and feeling rejuvenated. When you feel good, you are naturally more fun to be around. And, you will feel lighter and ready to get back to it.
Self-care gives you some space to unwind and recoup.
It is important not to look at self-care as a long list of things that you have to do. But rather a commitment to just care about your needs. Self-care is not an indulgence either. Creating habits that support you for the long term. Achievements and success give up a sense of purpose, and while it is nice to serve others, it is important to serve yourself too.
Planning
To find the best types of self-care for you, you should start making notes. What does your day look like? Where is there space in the week for it? What do you have on your plate right now?
Think about where you want to make improvements because that is self-care too.
Here are a couple of things to ask yourself:
- What do you want to change?
- Where do you want to improve?
- What are your bad habits?
- Are you getting enough rest?
- What do you enjoy?
- If you had three days off, what would you immediately want to do with them?
Once you have answered those questions, it’s time to start looking deeper.
Name the things in a list that you want to change or achieve.
Action Plan
Now you have a defined list of goals, you will be able to think about the steps you need to take to reach them. You might need to add smaller goals along the way to reach the bigger goal.
Reward system – self-care is the process of increasing your wellbeing. And sometimes there needs to be a reward when you take a step. For example, if you are putting off something like the dentist. You know you need it, and it is good for you, but it scares you. The reward could be your favourite movie or a new book. Something to help you take the step.
Toxic – If you have toxic people around you or a situation that makes you feel unhappy or anxious. Then it is time to let it go. Anxiety and stress put your body into fight or flight mode. The longer we stay in that mode, the more detrimental the impact. Say goodbye.
Routine – build your self-care routine around your real life. Many people make the mistake of trying to snatch time from one place and add it to another. All this will do is force you to ditch your self-care in favour of more pressing things. Look for at least 30 minutes per day.
Holistic – Self-care is for your whole life. It is taking time to read a book, learn something, cook healthy food, take a bath, book the doctor, order your glasses. Emotional, physical and mental.
No – This is going to be one of the most powerful tools. When something doesn’t make you happy, it is not essential or takes time away from your routine. Say no, and mean it.
If you have five minutes, you can:
- Listen to your favourite song on your playlist.
- Listen to a short meditation on the Calm app.
- Drink a glass of water.
- Moisturise your hands.
- Spritz your face with a tea tree spritz.
- Apply lip balm.
- Write down three things you are grateful for today.
- Stretch your legs
If you have 30 minutes you can:
- Dance it out to your favourite playlist
- Read a few pages of your book.
- Listen to a short podcast.
- Use the Calm app 30-minute nap timer.
- Make a warm tea.
- Use a face mask.
- Paint your nails with quick-dry polish.
- Write 6 things you are thankful for.
- Donate 3 items you don’t wear.
- Prepare your next meal ahead of time.
- Balance your books for this week.
- Write a blog post or journal entry.
Got a few hours?
You can do a combination of things with more time.
- Long bath – including body scrub, and moisturising
- Hot drink and the book you’ve been meaning to read
- Call the people you ‘keep meaning’ to call
- Watch a movie or watch a few episodes of current favourite show
- Go for a long walk, and take your camera with you
- Find some YouTube tutorials for the skill you want to learn
- Clean your desk, bedroom or area you most often like to relax in
- Bake bread or a cake
Mindfulness
Mindfulness isn’t something that you can do straight away. It takes time and commitment to slowly learn the practice and where it fits into your life. There are a number of phone applications that can help you ease yourself into mindfulness, and learn a range of applications for it. From eating mindfully and enjoying your food more, to learning how to properly relax before bed. App options:
- The Mindfulness App
- Headspace
- Calm
- Sattva
- Simple Habit
In the end, self-care is important; and if you want to have a life well-lived, and feel as content as possible, then do this for yourself. Start with 5 minutes and work up to longer. Do the activities that you love and make you feel good. Uplift yourself.
