There’s nothing wrong with facemasks, bubble baths or a cup of tea! BUT there’s more to self-care than those things! Self-care literally means to take care of yourself. So yes, facemasks CAN be part of your daily self-care but there is so much more to it!
When we take care of our home, children, pets, we aren’t doing vanity things like putting up wallpaper in the living room and then considering it “cared for”.
Just like our homes, we need more than new wallpaper. As homeowners we need to care for + maintain things like our plumbing, foundation, furniture to truly take care of our home and ensure that everything continues to work for years + years! SO, just like our home we should be taking care of ourselves in a way that allows US to continue to function at 100%.
True self-care is doing something today that will make you a better person tomorrow.
True daily self-care might not be something you want to do, but actually doing the things you know you need to do.
Our society is obsessed with productivity + hustle to the point of working yourself until you get sick, your relationships struggle or you reach a breaking point. Then once we reach that point we’re told that self care (the fluffy bubble bath kind) will make everything better.
Instead, let’s reverse it.
Learn to prioritize yourself first. Take care of your needs first. Because when you are truly taking care of yourself you can show up so much better for the people in your life.
PS – there’s nothing wrong with productivity + a little bit of hustle. In fact, I’m a BIG fan of being more productive with my time so that I have more time for the things that matter most!
CREATING BOUNDARIES TO MAKE TIME FOR SELF-CARE
Over the years I’ve become very firm with my personal boundaries. As an entrepreneur this has been so necessary to see any level of success!
Here are a few of my “rules”:
- No work outside of designated work hours (but DURING work hours I’m fully committed to work and say no to other tasks) – I’m NOT perfect at this but always trying to be better!
- Friday night = date night
- Sundays are family day at home to get things done + spend time together
- I ALWAYS leave room for meals at home (important self-care for me!) when scheduling appointments, errands, etc.
LEARN TO SAY NO
The best form of daily self-care you’ll ever learn is the ability to say “NO“. I don’t know why this has become such a lost skill in our modern world, but it has!
Every time you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to something else.
Saying yes to more hours at work = saying no to more time with your family. Saying yes to drinking too much on the weekend = saying no to feeling good and living a healthy lifestyle. Saying yes to a shopping spree you know you don’t *need* = saying no to investing in a business course.
Of course, there are times to say yes! I’m by no means saying you should turn everything down!
It’s about learning how to say “NO” to the things that don’t align to your values and goals SO THAT you can say “YES” to the things that do.
PRACTICAL DAILY SELF-CARE
Meaningful self-care should be a daily occurence. Again, this isn’t about finding time for an hour long candle-lit bath every evening (although that’s an excellent idea once in a while!). But instead about finding ways to take care of yourself every single day.
UNPLUG
Personally, one of the most powerful forms of self-care is unplugging. Whether this means turning my phone off for a few hours to get a block of work done (I do this daily!). Or spending a screen-free, distraction evening with my husband.
Technology is an incredible thing. You’ll never find me blaming social media or technology for my problems. Because I’m a firm believer that we are in charge of how we use utilize it.
Learn how to use your devices in a way that adds value to your life – even if that means occasionally turning them off!
LISTEN TO AN ENCOURAGING / CONVICTING PODCAST
Truly, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t listen to / read something either encouraging or convicting.
This is one of the most powerful ways to grow as a person!
Instead of watching a mindless TV show all evening, spend some time reading a book about marriage, or listen to a podcast about health.
CONNECT WITH A FRIEND
Write a letter to a long distance (or local ??♀️) friend. Call your mom. Have a friend over for tea. Invest in relationships that fuel you, encourage you and add value to your life!
DO A BRAIN DUMP
Brain dumps are one of my favourite strategies when I’m feeling overwhelmed or unorganized!
When I do a brain dump I grab a blank piece of paper + pen, set a 2-5 minute timer and then just write down all the things that come to my mind.
It’s not about creating an organized or realistic to-do list. It’s about getting EVERYTHING out of your head and onto paper. Ideas, appointments, dreams, concerns, thoughts. It doesn’t matter, write it alllll down.
I always find that once everything is on paper, it’s almost like I give it permission to stop swirling around in my brain. I feel more relaxed and focused!
After your brain dump you can create a daily / weekly to-do list with some of the thoughts you wrote down! A good to-do list is also a great form of self-care in my opinion!
I made a daily / monthly planner complete with a BRAIN DUMP section just for you!! I’ve been using these myself for a few weeks and I’m LOVING them.
MAKE A HEALTHY MEAL
Healthy food is an overlooked but important form of self-care. Don’t ignore the power food has on your overall health, productivity, mood and life!
It might be faster to pick up take-out on the way home from work, but an excellent daily self-care habit would be to take the time to make a healthy meal for your family. You won’t regret it!
MEAL PREP
If you read the previous tips about healthy eating and thought “UGH I just don’t have time for that” – then meal prepping is for you! If you always find yourself rushing through the drive-thru in between commitments, meal prepping could change the game for you.
Healthy eating is one of the most important, foundational ways we can take care of ourselves and meal prepping and/or planning can be an important aspect of that.
SPEND TIME OUTDOORS
No matter what the weather is like, getting outdoors is SO good for your physical, mental + emotional health.
Try to spend at least a few minutes outdoors – preferably barefoot + in the sun – every single day. Nature is a powerful form of medicine!
ORGANIZE A DRAWER / CLOSET
Organizing + decluttering are my favourite forms of self-care! If my house is messy or cluttered then my brain is messy + cluttered.
I cannot thrive in a messy space, so sometimes the best thing I can do with my time is clean up, declutter and organize a space.
Whether you only have time to organize one drawer, or you want to tackle your entire garage is up to you!
For more inspiration on decluttering checkout any of these posts!
150 THINGS TO CLEAN + DECLUTTER
WHY YOUR HOUSE STILL FEELS CLUTTERED
TAKE TIME FOR A HOBBY YOU LOVE
So often we live life on auto-pilot. Work, cook, eat, clean, shower, sleep, repeat. We forget that our life is not all about our work! The reason we work in the first place is to create a better life for ourselves!
So take time to enjoy the things that you love to do. You may even need to invest money into these hobbies, if you haven’t done that yet. Whether that’s going for a bike ride, watercolour painting, board games with your family, or maybe even taking that bubble bath!
Carve out time in your day to do the things you love to do!
SUNDAY RESET
I’m a big fan in having one day dedicated to meaningful self-care. I love to spend my Sunday cleaning the house, doing some meal-prep, writing out my to-do list, and other things that help set me up for a better week!
It doesn’t matter what day of the week you do this, or even if you only have 1-2 hours to dedicate to a reset. But setting aside some time every week to reset your life is a powerful way to take care of yourself!
I hope this post has inspired you to do something TODAY to take care of yourself! Whether that’s a 2 minute brain dump, or a few hours of decluttering. YOU are worth taking care of!
