5 Easy Ways To Step Up Your Self-Care Game

The Essential Guide To Practicing Self-Care Daily

Guest Post | When you think of self-care, what is it that first comes to mind? Is it #selfcaresunday, taking long bubble baths and putting on face masks? We reduced self-care to one day a week and to activities of pampering our skin and having an excuse to drink wine in a bath tub. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a day devoted to pampering yourself, whichever way you seem fit. But self-care is so much more than that. Self-care is about those small day-to-day tasks and rituals that together add up to huge improvements to your wellbeing and general health – physical, emotional and spiritual. This is why it should not be reduced to pampering your body once a week.

Developing a consistent self-care routine isn’t about reaching a certain destination, rather enjoying the journey of caring for oneself. When we don’t take good care of ourselves, it affects all aspects of our lives – we might feel tired, agitated, like we are always running places, lost in our thoughts, unsatisfied with life in general. It might seem hard to set aside time to take care of ourselves each day, but if we don’t, our wellbeing will eventually suffer.

The beginning of the self-care journey is the hardest, but there is a trick to making it easier. When you incorporate small and effective day-to-day activities into your life, eventually they become a part of your daily routine, a habit, and you simply do them, without giving them much thought (like whether you have time or willpower to do them). They become something you look forward to and your mind, body and soul feel grateful for. It stops feeling like a luxury and starts to be a necessity – as it truly is. Just as you wouldn’t skip a day without water or food, you shouldn’t skip the things that feed your soul, nurture your body and take care of your emotional state.

Whether you already have a certain daily routine of self-care acts and moments, or you are an absolute beginner, here are 5 easy tips that are not time-consuming or expensive on where and how to start, or what else you can incorporate into your daily activities:

Morning stretch or workout

Before reaching for the phone, start your day with movement. Whether you prefer something with some cardio or just a morning stretch, moving your body when you get up energizes you and sets you up for a better mood throughout the day. I personally practice yoga in the morning. I’m usually really sleepy and tense at the same time first thing in the morning. Yoga helps me with both – softens the muscles, the body, while energizing it at the same time. For more inspiration, find out the reasons I love to start my day with a yoga practice.

Meditation and mindfulness breathing

Mindfulness meditation is my go-to in dealing with stress, when feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or when in need of some mind decluttering. Our minds work non-stop and we can often get lost in thought, overwhelmed by emotions those thoughts can bring – and all of this with us barely noticing it. Take a couple of mindful breaths throughout the day. Bring your focus back to the present, on what’s happening right now. Examine how your body feels. When your thoughts take you somewhere else, notice that without judgement, and come back to the present. Notice how you feel after practicing this – I bet you’ll feel better.This takes only a couple of minutes thought the day, and the benefits are priceless.

What I do: I listen to a guided meditation (about 10 minutes) in the morning, starting the day off with more mindfulness. Then, as I lose focus throughout the day, when needed I take a couple of mindful breaths (I simply stop doing whatever it is I was doing, and focus on my breath and the present moment).

Make time to read

Set aside time for reading each day. It can be just a couple of minutes when you have little time to spare, but stay consistent. Choose a time of day – morning, evening, lunch break, whatever works for you. Move your phone away from you, be alone with your book. As time goes by, you will start to cherish those minutes. Regular reading is an amazing self improvement technique. Find books that will help you grow and evolve, but also enjoy a simple fiction novel – for the soul. Whatever works for you really.

Practice journaling

Ways of incorporating journaling in your daily routine are numerous, as are the benefits. You can write a morning gratitude journal (where you write down 3 things you are grateful for every morning), or an evening reflective journal (every night you write down the things that put a smile on your face that day), or even both. Consciously being grateful and looking for what brings you joy is an amazing practice of self love.

When feeling overwhelmed, you can write down what you are feeling, pouring those emotions into words, and letting them go. Journaling can sometimes feel almost cathartic. As with everything else, try out different approaches and find which one works for you.

Unwind with a soothing herbal tea in the evening

Relaxing in the evening, finding healthy ways to unwind is essential to a good night sleep – you can see now why this is important in your self-care routine. A great way to unwind in the evening and get ready for bedtime is having a cup of soothing herbal tea – all you have to be careful of is that you choose a herbal blend that is for relaxing (and not waking up). Whether you drink it curled up with a good book, or simply relaxing by the window, you’ll be enjoying some wonderful me-time. If you wish to add even more zen to your evening unwinding – try diffusing essential oils in the room (look for the ones who are used for relaxing and unwinding).

The most important step: be kind to yourself. Take it slow and progress from wherever you are. If some days you forget something or you’re just not in the mood – don’t beat yourself up. Day by day, it’ll come naturally and you will enjoy pampering yourself more and more.

Post written by Common Unicorn

If you enjoyed this post, read 3 Ways for Some Much-Needed Me-Time and How To Reflect On The Past Year In A Healthy Way