CREATE A SELF-CARE ROUTINE THAT ACTUALLY WORKS & 5 (HELPFUL) TIPS
Are you feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or burnt out? You're not alone. In fact, a recent study found that over 70% of women in New Zealand and Australia report feeling stressed or burnt out. This is where self-care comes in.
Self-care has become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, and for good reason. Taking care of yourself is crucial for your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing, unfortunately though, for many of us it feels completely out of reach. So, how do you create a self-care routine that actually works and that you have time for? It's easy to feel overwhelmed with all the self-care advice out there, so here my top 5 tips for creating a self-care routine that works for you.
Assess your needs. This may sound like a silly thing to say, but not all self-care is made equal and different things work best at different times. So, when you’re feeling a little low take a moment to just sit still and work out what it is that you need. Is it the mind, the body or your emotional self that needs the help (maybe it’s more than one!). Next, what has worked to fill up your ‘tanks’ in the past. Is it exercise, meditation, some quiet reading time that you need? Is it organisation? Planning or chatting to someone that can help. Know what is getting you down and burning you out and what will help you to get the best results. Don’t be afraid to write it all down. Make a list of activities that make you feel good and prioritize them.
Make time for self-care It's important to set aside time for self-care in your schedule. Again, this may seem really obvious, but it’s potentially so obvious that it gets overlooked. We assume, often with the best of intentions that we will obviously make time for self-care - I mean who wouldn’t?! But then the day starts, throw in a couple of emergencies, a crisis of some sort, a missed deadline and then BOOM the day is over, you’re strung out and self-care went out the window. Whether it's 10 minutes or an hour, make sure to dedicate time to activities that boost your mind and body. Try adding self-care time to your calendar or setting reminders to make sure you don't forget. I do this daily - I have to make it a diary appt and I keep it in the same why I would a doctors appt. This keeps me playing nicely with others and myself!
Start small. Look, you’re in, you’re ready. You are dedicated to this self-care routine and nothing is getting in the way. You make the PERFECT self-care routine, with all the bells and whistles buuuut it’s a little too big and by god, if you can’t do it all, you’ll do nothing. Now, this is me. All the time. I find that I spend a lot of my time pairing back my great expectations. Repeat after me, you don’t need to do it all! Creating a self-care routine can be overwhelming, especially if you're new to it. Be kind to yourself, start small with outrageously achievable goals and build from there. Begin by incorporating one or two self-care activities into your routine, and gradually add more over time. If nothing else, they’ll be so achievable that you’ll be patting yourself on the back all day for being so clever.
Experiment with different activities. Not all self-care activities work for everyone. In fact, you’ll find that you’re I-can’t-wait-to-share-how-awesome-this-is practice gets a weak that’s nice response from others. You may even find that you need different things at different times. I know that if I’m feeling wonky and a little angry, that I need to stop myself from raiding the pantry, so exercise and major distraction is what I need to go for. If I’m sad, worried or distracted, it’s a good old meditation that I’ll go for. Experiment with different activities to find what works for you. Some popular self-care activities include yoga, meditation, journaling, and taking a relaxing bath. Don't be afraid to try something new and create yourself your very own self-care menu that you can pick and choose from.
Make it a habit Creating a self-care routine is about creating a habit and a habit is all about consistency. It's important to be consistent with your self-care activities to really see the benefits. This is why keeping it simple. keeping it easy and something that you don’t need to think too hard about is so important. Think about ways in which you can cement in your new habit. So, is it piggy-backing off another task (can you do your new fancy self-care after brushing your teeth, this way you’ll remember it). Consider setting a goal to practice self-care every day or a certain number of times per week. Intention is everything.
Here’s your opportunity to make it happen. Grab a post-it, or your trusty notebook and write it down. Now, go on, grab your pen!
I will commit to ___(activity)_____ this week as my self-care activity. I’ll practice it __(how many times)___ times this week and I’ll do it in the __(morning or afternoon - even better get specific on the time or add if it is before or after something else that you are already doing)___.