Starting out on a self-care journey is one of the kindest things you can do for your sense of wellbeing. While it's a word that gets bandied around a lot and often folded into a narrative of buzzword consumerism (AKA have a bubble bath and buy this thing), true self-care is not a new idea nor is it some complex lifestyle.
Simply put, self-care is exactly what it says on the tin - it's the simple small ways in which we take care of ourselves.
Taking care of ourselves isn't always as easy as it first may sound and it can also look quite different for different people. Part of our unique and beautiful personalities is the fact that we all find comfort and joy in different things and part of our self-care checklist should be aiming to take time to do the things we love.
On a deeper level, self-care tips should also help to balance our basic needs, not just physically but emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually too.
Creating a self-care planner can help us to stay accountable to our own well being. It can also grant us ideas that we can turn into actions, help us focus on goals, and give us time for self-reflection when we see on the page where we are perhaps out of balance and where we are falling short of meeting our own needs.
So we rounded up a list of our favorite ways to acknowledge the self and indulge in a little bit of one-on-one love. And to help you get started, we've made a printable self-care checklist for you to use each week.
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Why Self-Care Is Actually Really Important
Self-care is about taking steps to improve our life quality. This article from BMI Healthcare reminds us that when we practice self-care we can boost our sense of self-esteem, we can reduce stress and anxiety, and we can improve our physical health as a result to all this too. Taking better care of ourselves also means that we are better equipped to manage our mental health. With a year of uncertainty, heightened stress, and plenty of social distancing, implementing these small healthy habits can be a really good way of keeping us in a healthy space while we are doing the work of processing these challenging times.
We have a complex relationship with the idea of self-care. For a start, not everyone feels like they have the time to commit because of work, being a caregiver to their kids or family, or a million other reasons that make us feel like taking time for ourselves is a selfish thing to do or is for those who are in the midst of burnout. The truth is that self-care practices are important for everyone. We are all human and as this piece from Psychology Today points out, when we recognize our need for self-care practice it moves us into empathy and humanity for ourselves and keeps us free from the traps of perfectionism.
How to Create a Self-Care Routine
So now we know why developing a self-care habit is important, we need to learn how to implement it. Aiming to create space in your daily life for self-care activities isn't as time-consuming as you first may think. It's all about creating a self-care checklist that is tailored to your personality and using that checklist to develop daily, weekly, or monthly plans to create an environment that nurtures your needs.
The first part of the checklist plan is to think about all the things which make you feel balanced, nurtured, and that contribute to you feeling like your very best self. Write them all down and work out which ideas are actually doable when it comes to creating a self-care activity list you can stick to. For example, if something calls on extra finances, traveling out of town, getting a babysitter, overloading your schedule, and giant swathes of time then it may need simplifying. The goal of the daily self-care checklist is to make it achievable, rather than adding stress to your plate.
When we find the things that bring us a sense of overall wellness, we may find it easier to hold onto inner peace and to find strength in our own mind regardless of what is going on in the wider world. Make sure that when compiling ideas to practice self-care that you are covering all areas of your being, not just the basics of physical activity and enough sleep, but also doing activity that helps build emotional resilience and maturity, attending your sense of spirituality, and keeping your mental health in check too.
Daily Self-Care Ideas
We have penned a few ideas to help you create a printable self-care checklist, have a scan, and feel free to pluck out the things that will work for you.
Emotional Self-Care
- Write 3 things you are grateful for in your gratitude journal
- List all the activities you have to look forward to (no matter how small)
- Don't just text but call up one of your friends or leave them a long voice message
- Show affection to your pet / significant other / people you love
- Binge-watch your favorite show without feeling guilty
- Look at photographs that make you feel happy
- Grant yourself positive affirmations every day
- Write letters to your past self and your future self
- Use a diffuser with your favorite essential oil
- Treat yourself to small things
- Declutter your social media feeds and unfriend those who don't bring joy
- Sign up for a pen pal
- Make a note of all the incredible experiences you have had so far
- Sit down and make a solid financial self-care plan
- Buy yourself some flowers
- Watch a comedy or stand-up show to encourage laughter
- Bake something sweet and comforting
- Have an awesome cry
- Buy a gift for your loved ones
- Drink a glass of wine while cooking
- Feel your feels
- Speak to your body with love and nurture kindness
- Put yourself in the way of beauty (find something beautiful to stare at every day)
- Use your words
- Make a feel-good playlist
Physical Self-Care
- Get some fresh air with a short walk
- Drink a glass of warm water with lemon as soon as you wake up
- Eat at least one nutritious meal a day
- Have healthy food that makes you feel good in the house
- Try and do just 10 minutes of yoga or any other exercise
- Touch your body in any way that feels good (it doesn't have to be sexual, sometimes comfort is king)
- Take vitamins
- Make sure you let the sun touch your skin for that much-needed vitamin D
- Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night
- Show up for your annual health check-ups
- Eat mindfully
- Make a meal plan at the start of the week to avoid last-minute binges
- Practice trusting your body
- Get a massage
- Drink healing teas
- Brush and take care of your teeth
- Stretch when feeling stagnant
- Take a nap
- Drink a smoothie
- Moisturize
- Eat a piece of fruit
- Get a glare screen
- Invest in a bra that fits
- Get cozy socks
- Purge your beauty products for more natural options
Psychological Self-Care
- Take a daily break from social media
- Make your bed
- If feeling a wave of anxiety, take a shower or bath to shift energy
- Listen to a podcast you love
- Carve out a place in your home to become your sanctuary
- Take regular technology breaks
- Share your health concerns with someone you trust (whether spiritually, physically, or mentally)
- Wear clothes that make you feel good
- Go for a drive to get a change of scene
- Re-read a book you once loved
- Spend time with animals
- Declutter your home
- Practice asking for help
- Get a therapist if that is something you are able to do
- Practice saying no
- Cut down on constant reading of the news if it is getting you down
- Form some new micro habits
- Learn to paint or do some adult coloring as a mindfulness practice
- Plan a future trip right down to the detail
- Watch out for critical self-talk
- Cut down on interactions with toxic people
- Cut off work at a certain time to make time for relationships
- Make a cleaning schedule
- Delegate (but really delegate, when you ask someone to do something, let that task go)
- Make a list of all of your favorite things
Spiritual Self-Care
- Squeeze in five minutes of mindfulness meditation at any time of the day
- Make time for space from others for at least 15 minutes a day
- Sign up for a spiritual wellness course
- Learn some breathing techniques that you can turn to as part of your daily routine
- Dance to just one song a day (movement is an amazing healer)
- Learn to set boundaries
- Join a woman's circle (in person or online)
- Get some indoor plants or grow a garden
- Develop a creative practice
- Consider getting involved in volunteering
- Go foraging in nature
- Invest in some crystals for cleansing the chakras
- Play with tarot cards
- Sing (even if you don't think you can, it strengthens your throat chakra)
- Watch the sunrise
- Walk in nature
- Stand barefoot on grass to get grounded
- Smudge your space with sage or another herb you love
- Do one random act of kindness
- Do some power poses
- Change your sheets
- Stop apologizing automatically
- Ask the universe for what you want
- Play for five minutes (with a pet or child, your partner, friend or even just jump on the bed)
- Find community
There are tons of ideas here to help you make a plan for your self-care journey. Feel free to share your own ideas with us in the comments and let's all learn to take good care of ourselves.
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