Take care of yourself and create a self-care routine
The media keeps us focused on current events, social media keeps us wanting to see more videos and pictures, and we keep checking our phones for text messages and notifications. Let’s face it, this new digital world is designed to distract us, to pull us in, to hook us. With all the attention seeking items in our world, we often forget about our internal world. By forgetting how to be with ourselves we naturally reach for our phone, the TV, or really anything that will grasp our attention.
In today’s society there is so much busy. If you are feeling stressed or unwell, practicing self-care is a great way to let go of all distractions, and to reconnect with your mind and body. Bringing attention back to yourself is important and should be done on a daily basis. Creating your very own self-care routine can help you refocus on the things that matter most to you.
What is Self-Care?
Self-care is defined as a conscious act that one would take to promote their own physical, mental and/or emotional health. There are many forms of self-care activities such as getting enough sleep, or washing your face in the morning.
The transition from going to work 5 days a week to all of a sudden permanently working from home has been difficult for many. You may have asked yourself …
“What is the point of getting up early, showering, brushing my teeth, applying makeup, etc., when I’m not going to see anyone?”
“And besides, I love how I can stay up a little later.”
Does this sound familiar? This is exactly how my the first 10 months of working from home went. It got so bad that I would go 3 days without showering. I lacked motivation to do anything, and wasted all my spare time playing mindless games on my phone, procrastinating until it was time for bed. It was clear. I was not practicing self-care, and my mood was severely being affected. Something had to change.
Taking the time to spend some quality time with yourself, doing the things that make you feel good, is what this is all about.
How to begin practicing self-care?
It is important to understand there are many ways to practice self-care. The way you practice self-care differs greatly from those around you. Going for a walk at lunch may help you feel refreshed for the remainder of the day. Spending quality time with a love one may bring you joy. Taking the time to unwind at the end of the day may help you fall asleep easier at night. In fact, when creating a self-care routine, there are 5 important categories to consider.
Physical Self-Care
To practice physical self-care, you want to consider engaging in activities that make your body feel healthy, strong, and pristine. By practicing these activities you will feel more and more confident.
Physical Self-Care
To practice physical self-care, you want to consider engaging in activities that make your body feel healthy, strong, and pristine. By practicing these activities you will feel more and more confident.
Here are examples of physical self-care practices:
- Getting adequate sleep at night
- Exercising regularly
- Eating nutrient dense foods
- Attending medical appointments
- Taking medication/supplements
- Going for walks
- Going for a nap
- Showering
- Brushing your teeth
- Washing your face
- Etc.
Social Self-Care
To practice social self-care refers to quality engagement with friends and family. As human beings, we naturally need social interactions. But most importantly, we need to spend quality time with friends and family. Have you ever spent time with a friend and felt so good that you never noticed the time go by? By engaging with friends and family with intent to cultivate and maintain those relationships, you will feel happy and have a greater sense of belonging.
Here are examples of social self-care practices:
- Spending as much face to face time with those you care about
- Calling your parents once a week
- Going on a date with your significant other
- Hosting a game night with friends
- Leaving positive notes in your children’s lunch box
- Cuddling with your pets
- Reading to your children
- Joining group activities
Mental Self-Care
To practice mental self-care means that you are taking care of your mind. Mental health has become increasingly important in the workplace and our society. The thoughts and conversations you have with yourself throughout the day affect how you perceive your surroundings, and affect the way you react in each situation. Reducing the fog in your mind and focusing on clarity helps you maintain the calm when faced with challenges.
Here are examples of mental self-care practices:
- Taking deep breaths
- Making time to meditate
- Engaging in arts
- Stopping negative thoughts
- Practicing a sport
- Reading books
- Writing in a journal
- Focusing on the things you love about yourself
- Letting go of the things in which you have no control over
Spiritual Self-Care
When we think of practicing spiritual self-care, many think of it like practicing religion. Although you can incorporate religion in their spiritual self-care routine, spiritual self-care is connecting yourself to something bigger than yourself, such as nature, or the universe.
Here are examples to practice spiritual self-care:
- Spending more time in nature
- Spending time in silence
- Contemplating about your purpose in life
- Contemplating about your life experiences
- Showing kindness to strangers
- Letting go of the things that no longer feel right
- Praying
- Meditating
Emotional Self-Care
Emotional self-care, simply put, is dealing with your emotions. That can often be easier said than done, because the emotions we most likely do not have under control are the uncomfortable ones. The ones that make us anxious, angry and sad. Your health depends on you to find ways to work through your emotions.
Here are examples to practice emotional self-care:
- Recognizing your feelings and your body language
- Understanding the reasons why this emotion has come forward
- Developing healthy methods to let go of negative emotions
- Taking deep breaths and accepting your emotions
- Engage in activities that make you happy
- Seeking support from a health professional
Creating a personalized self-care practice routine
To begin your personalize self-care routine, start by making a list of activities for each category you would like to engage in. Be as creative as you like. This is your list. You know what makes you feel good. Once you have your list, pick your favourite 5. You can choose one from each category, or you can choose multiple from a particular category you would like to focus on. This is your self-care routine, and you get to choose what you want to focus on.
When choosing your list, keep in mind you do not have to commit to doing every practice every day. You may have some you want to do everyday, and others you do 1-2 times a week. You want to incorporate them in your routine and not just when you think about it. Some practices may help you feel alive and could be added to your morning routine, while others may help you feel relaxed and could be part of your bedtime routine. No matter when you want to practice, decide to commit. Have a plan for when and how you will do them, and prepare the night before so that you don’t put it off. If you forget, don’t panic. Do your practice as soon as you remember. If the timing is not right, do it as soon as you get the chance. If you find yourself unable to stick to your practices, ask yourself why they are not working for you. Is it the timing? Maybe you are unsure how start? That is alright. Try to understand your setbacks and adjust to make sure it works for you.
While we live in a world filled with distractions, it is important to make the time to practice self-care every single day. Creating a self-care routine will help you reconnect with your mind and body. Ideally you want to make time every day because your physical, mental and emotional health depend on it. As long as you are making the time to take care of yourself, you are practicing self-care.
