Being the best version of yourself means taking care of your body, mind, and soul. Practicing a daily self-care routine gives you the fuel you need to feel your best every day. Use these tips and ideas to form a daily routine you can effortlessly stick to.
Have you found yourself feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or unfulfilled lately? If so, it might be because you aren’t practicing (enough) self-care.
Most of us have heard about how important it is to practice self-care, but it’s really more than just a buzzword.
Healthy living involves more than getting the optimal number of fruit and veggie servings or 30 minutes of cardio each day. Healthy living isn’t just about your physical and emotional health. It’s about your social, emotional, and mental health too.
But we struggle to actually implement it in our daily lives. We all juggle many different things at any given time, which often means that we tend to put ourselves at the bottom of the priority list.
How to Implement a Daily Self-Care Routine You’ll Stick to
We don’t have time for “indulging” in self-care, right? Wrong.
While self-care does include taking care of yourself physically, the most effective forms of self-care involve implementing a collection of everyday habits that help you nurture your well-being and overall health, and you’ll start to feel good too.
First and foremost, it’s important to cover what is self-care…and what isn’t.
Most people think that self-care is about taking care of yourself physically such as working out a lot.
Or another belief is that some people think that only Hollywood stars in Los Angeles have the time to pamper themselves with self-care activities (probably because that’s what lots of their social media posts show).
However, both of those ideas couldn’t be more wrong. Just because an activity is good for you doesn’t automatically make it self-care And everyone needs to pamper themselves regularly.
The qualifying distinction is that you need to be able to gain some sense of gratification from spending time doing your chosen self-care activities. If you find fulfillment from meditating or running, then they may be able to be considered self-care
However, if you do them because they’re “good for you” (even if they help you feel great) but you really hate every second you spend doing them, they can’t be considered self-care.
Our lives are so busy with so many moving pieces that we need activities in our days that allow us to slow down and really relax. Take some time to choose activities that help you feel centered and relaxed and try to incorporate them into your day.
Maybe you do some of them as part of your morning routine, and maybe some of them are part of your evening. I highly recommend sprinkling them throughout your entire day!
Daily Self-Care Routine Examples
Here are some examples of types of self-care activities you might want to adopt as part of a daily self-care routine that can improve your daily life. Try and set realistic goals… you could even utilize your phone’s alarm clock to stay on track.
The key to doing them daily (or regularly) is to make them a natural part of your day so that they fit in seamlessly, almost without you needing to think about it.
Reading a Book
First up on the list of self-care ideas is to read a book – or listen to an audiobook. Reading can not only be relaxing but very fun and offer some respite from the stresses of everyday life.
No, I’m not talking about reading textbooks or work briefs. I’m talking about reading a mystery, an interesting biography, or even a romance novel.
Do it while you’re taking a bath, enjoying your morning coffee, or before you go to bed so it’s a natural part of your day. For example, I read for about 20 minutes every night before turning off the light, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the day.
Take a Leisurely Walk
Taking a walk can be a great way to wake up in the morning or get centered after a day of work. Just being outside breathing the fresh air and moving your legs can be not only enjoyable but rejuvenating as well.
Yoga
Take a Nap
There’s nothing like a quick power nap to help reenergize you and freshen you up for the rest of the day. A solid 10-15 minutes is all you really need.
Journaling
Journaling can be an amazing outlet. If putting your thoughts and feelings on paper is enjoyable and cathartic, you can easily incorporate a few minutes of journaling into your daily self-care routine.
Diffuse Essential Oils
Essential oils can bring a sense of serenity and calm to an area. By the same token, they also have the ability to energize you. If you enjoy scents, try diffusing essential oils any time of the day that you want. Try choosing a citrus scent in the morning to energize you and some lavender in the evening to help you unwind.
Cook Your Own Breakfast
Many people find cooking to be therapeutic and enjoyable. If that’s you, pick one meal (breakfast, perhaps?) that you can cook daily. It doesn’t need to be extravagant – the act of cooking is the important part.
Listening to Podcasts
Podcasts are wildly popular for a good reason: they are entertaining and interesting nuggets of media that don’t take up too much of your time. Since they’re relatively short, you can listen to them at practically any time of the day: while you put on your makeup, driving to or from work, while you take a bath, etc.
Conclusion
Whether you’re just starting to implement a daily self-care routine for the first time or you’re wanting to begin one that you’ll actually stick with, it’s important to remember to make it a seamless part of your day so that you don’t need to think about it or make time for it (which can mean that you don’t do it at all).
I hope these tips help inspire you as you choose daily self-care activities that will bring long-term relaxation, joy, and peace into your life!
Recent Comments