It’s no secret that there has been an increased focus on taking time for self and implementing self-care strategies to help you through each day. Simply put, self-care is essentially your role of ensuring or improving your own health. Taking care of yourself is a priority, but what if you don’t know how? I know we’ve all probably seen someone in our lives or on social media who appears to be the poster child for self-care and does it seamlessly. Waking up at 5:00 am to start their routine and settling in early. It can feel daunting if many of us feel lucky enough to get some of our work done throughout our day without combusting.
How do some people seem to have their routine and day-to-day so easy? Well, here are some pointers to check in with yourself:
What are you currently doing? What’s working? What do you like?
How do you view self-care? Is it this big thing that has to take a huge toll?
What are some ways you can do self-care without putting too much on yourself?
Is your self-care adaptable?
Furthermore, after answering these questions, it’s a good way to see where you are at. Everyone’s answer will be different and that’s the beauty of it, there is no correct way to do self-care it is up to everyone. However, it is important to note whether you have 5 minutes or 3 hours any time allotted to self is important. Some ways to take care of yourself include saying no and creating boundaries for self, creating a sleep schedule and maintaining it, do a quick free write (take 5 minutes or less and write whatever comes to your mind, get your thoughts out) or an audio journal, enjoy your skincare routine and add a little extra face mask at the end, have a nice bath or a long steaming shower, start that book you’ve been wanting to read, put your blanket in the dryer for a few minutes before bed to help ease your sleep, or make your bed in the morning before work to give yourself a guaranteed win today, sit outside for a few minutes and take some deep breaths and allow yourself to be immersed in the moment.
If any of these are hard or you’re having a bit of difficulty starting it, pair your activity with something that motivates you, or use a friend or family to help you get started and get through your activity until you feel you’re in a place to continue it independently. Any way you look at it or think about it, just start because self-care is just that, taking care of yourself. That is so important because it is connected to parts of your mental health. Many of us spend a lot of our time putting out into the world and pouring into others, however, that cliché saying “you can’t help others unless you help yourself” reigns true.
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