We live in a world where being busy seems to be everyone’s goal. If you’re not working, you’re wasting your time. Who the heck can focus on self-care every day?
The answer is: you can. We all can. Because if we don’t take the time to take care of ourselves, we won’t have enough energy to take care of everything else.
Now, adding self-care into every day can seem daunting. You don’t have enough time. You’ll never get everything else done that way.
But that’s not the case. In reality, self-care is a little bit like magic. If you spend time on it, you suddenly gain more time. Or energy, to be precise, but that amounts to pretty much the same.
You theoretically agree, but still don’t believe that it’ll work for you? Then discover 5 extremely simple ways to add self-care into every day.
Create a morning routine that’s just for you
Everyone seems to talk about morning routines. But if you listen to all of those super-productive people out there, you quickly get the impression that you should wake up at 5 am every day. Go to the gym, then meditate and have a healthy breakfast. And that’s great – theoretically. But it doesn’t work for everyone.
In reality, you might wake up feeling like a zombie. Even though it’s 8 am already. The gym sounds like the last thing you want to do. And on top of everything, you have nothing in your kitchen to actually make a healthy breakfast. But that’s okay!
No matter what you do: create a morning routine that’s just for you. No work, no productivity required.
All you have to do is find a way to start your mornings on a positive note. A calm, stress-free note.
Even if that routine just consists of having coffee in bed while scrolling through Instagram!
Schedule 1 self-care task every day
A great way to add a bit of self-care into every day is to just schedule it on your to-do list. Again, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy!
Washing your hair, epilating your legs, getting a manicure, doing a facemask… The important thing is that it takes your mind off work. And that it helps you relax in some way.
You can also adapt your self-care task to your schedule. On super busy days, you might just take 15 minutes to do some yoga. If you have more time, you might opt for a full-blown pamper session.
But no matter what it is, try scheduling a small self-care task on every day’s to-do list.
It will help you clear your head, make you feel a lot better and reduce stress and tension. And don’t we all need to wash our hair and take care of our bodies anyway?
Light a scented candle while you work
Even if you really don’t have time for self-care today, try making your work environment calm and relaxing.
Surely, you can spare 5 seconds to light a scented candle. It takes less time than going to the bathroom, so there’s no excuse here!
But doing this one little thing to take care of yourself can make a huge difference.
Lighting a scented candle will instantly make you feel cosier and less stressed. And that’s what self-care is all about, isn’t it?
Get ready – or don’t
So many people suggest getting ready in the morning, even if you don’t plan on leaving the house. This is bound to make you feel more productive and awake. Unless it doesn’t.
For me, getting ready in the morning can feel like I’m putting on my superhero suit to face the day. And sometimes, it feels like the most dreaded task ever.
What if I don’t want to fuss over my eye make-up and prefer to rub my eyes if they get tired? What if I want to be a potato and hide under the covers while concentrating on my work?
If you’re not in the mood to wear make-up or worry about putting on nice clothes, don’t do it. Just go with whatever feels best at that moment!
By simply allowing yourself to be either a superhuman or potato, depending on your mood, will add that little bit of self-care into every day!
Don’t watch Netflix up until you go to bed
An effective way to add self-care into every day is to carve out an hour before bedtime. During this hour, you could meditate, read… or just daydream for a while whilst listening to music.
However, this requires you to turn off your TV and phone earlier in the evening. Which, to be honest, you should do anyway! It’s been proven that the blue light in screens can mess with your sleep. And if you don’t sleep well today, you’ll be less productive tomorrow.
I do know how easy it is to get stuck behind a show until you’re so tired that you fall right into bed. But this usually makes me dream crazy things and generally lowers my sleep quality.
If you find yourself doing the same thing, try setting an alarm an hour before bedtime to remind yourself that it’s time to wind down. Without looking at a screen.
Make yourself some tea, dim the lights and signal to your brain that you’re going to bed soon. Just try it and you’ll see how much more relaxed you’ll be in the evenings!
Now, let me know your favourite ways to add a bit of self-care into every day! And don’t forget to share this post on social media if you liked it. 🙂