Self-care is one of those things that most people know they need to pay attention to, but they get too caught up in the chaos of every day life. Some people claim they have no time for self-care (something I will be able to help you with later in this article!), and some people don’t know what self-care is or how beneficial it is. I’ll break it all down for you.
Audio/podcast version:
Table of Contents
What Is Self-Care?
I like to specify that self-care isn’t complicated, it’s really just certain habits or activities that you do as part of a daily routine, usually at the beginning and the end of the day. This includes hundreds of activities and can be chosen by you to make them something you look forward to every day.
Humans need to be at our best so that we can work, interact with friends and family, and do all the things we need to do every day. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so it’s important to keep yours full, or at least not empty! Think of yourself as a gas tank, and self-care is the fuel that helps give you physical and mental energy to get through life.
Why Is Self-Care Important?
Adding self-care practices to your life has many benefits. More than anything, self-care is shown to reduce stress. Many people also report greater levels of happiness in their daily lives when incorporating self-care practices.
Taking care of yourself can also improve physical health. In addition to self-care on a personal level, self-care is a factor when facing illness, disease, or disability. Many health care professionals are adopting an integrative health care style approach that includes checking in with patients to help them seek balance in all aspects of life. This helps people facing illness or disease recover faster, better, and more successfully overall.
1-minute self-care tips
“I don’t have time.”
How often have you said those words when it came to self-care? You know its good for you. But really, who has hours to spare just to take care of themselves?
Quite simply, you do. In fact, you have more time than you think. The following self-care practices can be done in under a minute. Even the busiest person has time to do all of these every day. Many of them can be done at the same time as other ones, or other activities in general.
Take a Deep Breath
Anytime you are feeling tense, stressed out, or even just a little off, taking several deep breaths will shift you into a higher vibrational state. The key is not just breathing normally. Hold your breath in between steps for maximum impact. Start with inhaling to the count of five, then hold it for the count of five, and exhale to the count of five. If you can stretch out your exhale even longer, that is even better.
Slow Down Your Eating
When is the last time you truly enjoyed your food? The next time you eat anything, pause in your chewing to savor the textures and flavors. By eating slower, your saliva has a chance to do its job which also eases the burden on the rest of your digestive system. And of course, the more relaxed you are while eating, the easier time your body will have with the entire digestion process.
Stop Everything
There is a lot to be said for a moment of silence. Calm racing thoughts, lower your heart rate, and relax fully into the moment by turning off your electronics and just sitting with your eyes closed. Even doing this for just 30 seconds does wonders for your state of mind. You can do many of these short bursts of silence throughout the day.
Look Around
Another great technique for calming yourself but still engaging the mind actively is to take notice of an object near you. Spend a full minute in exploring this object, taking note of everything about it. What does it feel like? What colors is it? How does the light strike the surface? Close your eyes and see if you can recall this object in minute detail. This will actually help in cognition and focus.
Daydream
Having a rough day? Taking a one-minute vacation in your head can help perk things up. Use this as a visualization exercise for an added benefit by picturing a place you’d like to visit or something you want to experience in person someday.
Show Gratitude
A thankful heart helps to shift how you see the world and is really good for your mood and overall mental health. Think of something you’re grateful for. I have a printable and a paperback version of a gratitude journal that give you over 70 journal prompts to help you find things to be grateful for.
Ideas for Self-Care
There are probably an unlimited number of things that would count as self-care, so it’s really up to you what you want to do. As long as you are doing something that brings you joy, relief, calm, refreshment, rejuvenation, relaxation, or happiness, it is self-care.
To help get you started, here is a list of 15 of the most common self-care practices.
- Taking a bath
- Enjoying a cup of tea
- Journaling
- Meditation
- Spirituality Practices
- Getting a massage
- Listening to calming music
- Doing a technology fast
- Getting enough sleep
- Balance your commitments and priorities
- Using a planner for your schedule
- Saying no to optional tasks or events you don’t want to do
- Going for a walk in nature
- Spending time with friends and family
- Yoga
If you want guidance on creating a daily self-care routine, I have created the ultimate comprehensive self-care bundle! It’s a PDF toolkit/eBook that contains everything you need to create a self-care routine of healthy habits:
- 7-Page eBook
- Links to articles about self care and daily routine
- Links to videos about self care and daily routine
- Body, Mind, and Soul Self-Care Planner/Journal (20 pages)
- Morning and Evening Routine Planner (8 pages)
- Daily Routine Planner (2 pages)
- Ayurvedic Daily Routine
- Weekly Self-Care Tracker
If you know any busy people who could use some quick self-care tips, send this article their way! You can also pin an image to Pinterest to help others!
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