Self Care 101

Hi Friends!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year it’s the importance of self care. Especially during unpredictable times!

I have recently been trying to carve out more time to do things that keep me happy and content and have found it to be greatly impactful for my mental health and overall wellbeing.

Understandably its not always easy to carve out time so I’m breaking my self care ideas into time frames!

Under 5 minutes
-Deep breathing/Meditation
-Hug a loved one (as long as they are in your household! #lockdown)
-Text or call a friend or family member to say you’re thinking about them
-Make a tea
-Cuddle your pet

Around 10 Minutes
-Quick yoga/stretching session
-Face mask
-Make a gratitude list
-Dance it out to your favourite songs
-Scroll through Pinterest

15 – 20 Minutes
-Read a book (here’s a few book suggestions!)
-Journal
-Take a bath or long shower
-Work on your goals (checkout my tips on goal setting!)
-Knit or Craft

A Half Hour
-Workout
-Go for a walk
-Clean (here is a post about how cleaning can impact your mental health!)
-Take a nap
-Listen to your favourite podcast

An Hour or More
-Watch some TV
-Rearrange a room in your home
-Bake or cook
-Put your phone in another room and just be
-Treat yourself to a mani pedi, or give yourself one since you know #lockdown

Self care will look very different for everyone, those are just a few of the things I like to practice when I feel like I need a little or a long break.

I keep this list of self care idea in my phone to make it easy for me to go to and pick on those days that I don’t need something specific but still want to take some time for myself.

I have also been trying to schedule in my self care! I do my best to give myself at least an hour on Sundays to just do what I feel like I need.

I encourage you to schedule in your self care time, even if it’s only 5 minutes. Scheduling will hold you accountable, you can look at it like it’s a meeting and let’s be honest you wouldn’t skip out on a meeting with your boss, so don’t skip out on time for yourself!

Have you been practicing a little bit more time for self care recently?