I know. You’re busy, and finding the time to take proper care of yourself can be hard. But if you don’t, it won’t be long before you’re battered from exhaustion and operating in a mental fog where it’s hard to care about anything or anyone.I should know.A few years ago, I had a corporate job in London, working a regular sixty-hour week. I enjoyed working with my clients and colleagues, and I wanted to do well.But I had no life.
I rarely took care of myself, and I was always focused on goals, achievements, and meeting the excessive expectations I had of myself. My high tolerance for discomfort meant I juggled all the balls I had in the air—but at the expense of being a well-rounded human being.
So I made an unusual choice. I quit my job and moved to Thailand to work in a freelance capacity across many different countries and companies, which enabled me to set my own hours and engagements.I began to take care of myself better, scheduling in time alone, for exercise and for fun.I got to know myself better and know what I needed—not just to function, but to flourish.
But guess what? At the end of last year, I spent Christmas alone in bed, completely exhausted.Why did this happen? Well, I had been running my busy website and consulting in seven countries in just two months. I forgot to take care of myself again, and I got a nasty case of strep throat.
Self-Care Isn’t a One-Time Deal
The strep throat was a harsh reminder that self-care isn’t something you do once and tick off the list.
It’s the constant repetition of many tiny habits, which together soothe you and make sure you’re at your optimum—emotionally, physically, and mentally.
The best way to do this is to implement tiny self-care habits every day. To regularly include in your life a little bit of love and attention for your own body, mind, and soul.
The following ideas are tiny self-care activities you can fit into a short amount of time, usually with little cost.
Pick one from each category, and include them in your life this week.
Tiny Self-Care Ideas for the Mind
1. Start a compliments file. Document the great things people say about you to read later.
2. Scratch off a lurker on your to-do list, something that’s been there for ages and you’ll never do.
3. Change up the way you make decisions. Decide something with your heart if you usually use your head. Or if you tend to go with your heart, decide with your head.
4. Go cloud-watching. Lie on your back, relax, and watch the sky.
5. Take another route to work. Mixing up your routine in small ways creates new neural pathways in the brain to keep it healthy.
6. Pay complete attention to something you usually do on autopilot, perhaps brushing your teeth, driving, eating, or performing your morning routine.
7. Goof around for a bit. Schedule in five minutes of “play” (non-directed activity) several times throughout your day.
8. Create a deliberate habit, and routinize something small in your life by doing it in the same way each day—what you wear on Tuesdays, or picking up the dental floss before you brush.
9. Fix a small annoyance at home that’s been nagging you—a button lost, a drawer that’s stuck, a light bulb that’s gone.
10. Punctuate your day with a mini-meditation with one minute of awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations; one minute of focused attention on breathing; and one minute of awareness of the body as a whole.
11. Be selfish. Do one thing today just because it makes you happy.
12. Do a mini-declutter. Recycle three things from your wardrobe that you don’t love or regularly wear.
13. Unplug for an hour. Switch everything to airplane mode and free yourself from the constant bings of social media and email.
14. Get out of your comfort zone, even if it’s just talking to a stranger at the bus stop.
15. Edit your social media feeds, and take out any negative people. You can just “mute” them; you don’t have to delete them.
Physical Self-Care
We need to take care of our bodies if we want them to run efficiently. Remember that there’s a strong connection between our body and our mind. When we care for our bodies, we’ll think and feel better, too.
Physical self-care includes fueling your body, getting enough sleep, doing enough physical activity, and caring for your physical needs. Attending healthcare appointments, taking medication as prescribed, and managing your health are all part of good physical self-care.2
“Exercise is a tangible instance where you can observe the payoff of your perseverance towards a goal,” says clinical psychologist Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD. “You can push past the limitations of your mind and prove to yourself you may be stronger than you previously thought. This is one of the ways exercise helps with confidence and resilience.
“When it comes to physical self-care, ask yourself the following questions to assess whether there might be some areas you need to improve:
- Are you getting adequate sleep?
- Is your diet fueling your body well?
- Are you taking charge of your health?
- Are you getting enough exercise?
Social Self-Care
Socialization is key to self-care. But, often, it’s hard to make time for friends, and it can be easy to neglect our relationships when life gets busy.
Close connections are important to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time and energy into building our relationships with others.3
There isn’t a certain number of hours you should devote to your friends or work on your relationships. Everyone has slightly different social needs. The key is to figure out what your social needs are and to build enough time in your schedule to create an optimal social life.
To assess your social self-care, consider:
- Are you getting enough face-to-face time with your friends?
- What are you doing to nurture your relationships with friends and family?
Mental Self-Care
How we think and what we’re filling our minds with greatly influence our psychological well-being.
Mental self-care includes activities that keep your mind sharp, like puzzles or learning about a subject that fascinates you. Reading books or watching inspiring movies might also fuel your mind.
Mental self-care also involves doing things that help you stay mentally healthy. Practicing self-compassion and acceptance, for example, helps you maintain a healthier inner dialogue.
Here are a couple of questions to consider when you think about your mental self-care:
- Are you making enough time for activities that mentally stimulate you?
- Are you doing proactive things to help you stay mentally healthy?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: A Foundation for Self-Care
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, developed in the 1940s and 1950s, offers valuable insight into how we can meet our needs in order to achieve mental and physical health. According to Maslow, our basic needs must be addressed before we can focus on higher-level needs like self-actualization. These foundational needs include:
- Physiological Needs – These are your basic survival needs, such as air, food, water, shelter, and sleep. Ensuring that these needs are met is essential for overall health and well-being. Experts recommend adults get 7–9 hours of sleep per night to maintain optimal health. Nutrition also plays a critical role in mental and physical health.
- Safety Needs – These needs pertain to security, stability, and order in life. Having a stable routine and feeling secure in your environment helps reduce stress. Building predictable routines can create a sense of security and help to manage anxiety.
- Love and Belonging – The need for emotional connection, relationships, and being part of a community is vital to well-being. Taking care of your social needs and cultivating healthy relationships can significantly impact your mental health.
- Esteem Needs – These involve self-worth, respect from others, and personal accomplishment. Self-care practices like self-compassion and positive self-talk can boost self-esteem and confidence.
- Self-Actualisation – This is the desire for personal growth, fulfilment, and reaching one’s full potential. Once your basic needs are met, you can focus on developing your talents, creativity, and purpose.
Practical Self-Care Tips
To help improve your self-care routine, here are some practical tips for using your five senses to create a soothing and fulfilling environment:
- Sight – Take a moment to enjoy the beauty around you. Whether it’s a sunny day or the simple view of the sky, appreciating the world around you can uplift your mood. Engage in creative activities like drawing, painting, or doing puzzles to stimulate your sense of sight.
- Hearing – Listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks can provide comfort and relaxation. Alternatively, try listening to natural sounds, such as rain or ocean waves, to soothe your mind.
- Touch – Comfort yourself with soft clothes, a warm blanket, or a bubble bath. Physical warmth can help release tension and make you feel more at ease.
- Smell – Aromatherapy can be a great way to alleviate stress. Try using essential oils like lavender, chamomile, or bergamot, or simply enjoy the smell of flowers or fresh air during a walk.
- Taste – Eating mindfully can enhance your enjoyment of food. Slow down and savor each bite, noticing the textures, flavours, and smells of the meal. This practice helps improve your relationship with food and promotes emotional well-being.
Self-care isn’t just a luxury—it’s an essential part of living a healthy, balanced life. By practising mindfulness and paying attention to our physical, emotional, and social needs, we can build a routine that nurtures our well-being.
Remember, the key to self-care is consistency and taking small steps toward improving your health. Celebrate progress, no matter how small, and remember that your well-being is important.
Take the First Step:
If you’re ready to improve your self-care routine, Centric Mental Health can provide you with the guidance you need. Whether you’re seeking therapy or just need someone to talk to, we’re here to support you.
What to consider when creating your self-care routine
A self-care routine checklist is a detailed lists of steps you can take to support your:
- physical health
- mental health
- overall well-being
As you get into the specifics of self-care, use the following questions to help keep your plan workable and relevant to your needs.
Do I see myself using this approach?
Your self-care plan won’t have much benefit if you don’t put it into action.
Maybe you’ve read about the benefits of gardening and want to start a garden, but you really dislike dirt, and grubs and worms churn your stomach.
In this case, an indoor garden of succulents or other easy-care plants might be a good alternative.
While you can absolutely work to overcome these issues if you wish to, there’s no need to force yourself to do something you don’t enjoy.
If you truly don’t see yourself sticking with something, remember: You have plenty of other options.
Do finances factor in?
Say you join an expensive gym with the goal of exercising more. If you only stop in once a week, you might end up feeling more stressed by the cost than recharged from the increased activity.
At the same time, it can be OK to spend money on something that really works.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure any costs in your self-care routine don’t increase your stress.
Am I trying to do too much?
While self-care is important, you can-burn yourself with it.
Overloading your schedule with activities meant to boost wellness can leave you feeling the opposite of relaxed.
Too many commitments, even enjoyable ones, tends to increase stress, since they leave you without time to simply sit and process your own thoughts — another essential part of self-care.
When do I have the time?
When it comes to self-care, best practice means regular practice. Self-care should happen all the time, not just when you feel most stressed.
After all, regularly tending to your needs can help prevent you from reaching a point of high stress in the first place.
Try to make self-care goals you can accommodate alongside work and other responsibilities.
Key takeaways
- A personalized self-care checklist is important as self-care needs differ for everyone, and an effective plan must consider your unique habits, time constraints, and financial situation.
- To build a practical self-care routine, assess what you enjoy, what you can realistically commit to, and what has brought you peace in the past, ensuring the activities genuinely support your well-being without adding stress.
- A comprehensive self-care plan addresses both physical needs, such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise, and mental and emotional needs, including stress reduction, healthy boundaries, and meaningful social connections.
FAQ’s
1. What are some simple self-care ideas for everyday life?
Simple self-care ideas include taking a short walk, drinking enough water, reading a book, listening to music, getting enough sleep, and spending time on activities you enjoy.
2. How can self-care help me feel more relaxed?
Self-care gives you time to pause and focus on your needs. Activities such as deep breathing, gentle stretching, and listening to calming music may help you unwind after a busy day.
3. How can I build confidence through self-care?
You can support your confidence by setting realistic goals, recognizing your progress, maintaining healthy habits, and speaking kindly to yourself.
4. How much time should I spend on self-care every day?
You can start with five to fifteen minutes a day. Choose activities that fit your schedule and gradually build a routine that works for you.
5. Does self-care have to be expensive?
No. Many self-care activities are free, including walking outdoors, journaling, stretching, enjoying nature, and spending quality time with loved ones.
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