With World Health Day just around the corner, we want to discuss an aspect of your health that often gets overlooked: self-care. Self-care can be defined as activities undertaken with the intention of enhancing energy, restoring health and reducing stress[1]. Essentially, it’s doing something that’s just for you! It means taking time to fill your tank, recharge and just breathe.
Our society tends to not prioritise self-care time and, because of that, it’s easy to get stuck going through the motions day-by-day believing that the more you get done, the happier you’ll be. We want to challenge this, understanding that while productivity is good, so is relaxation and maintaining your wellbeing. Self-care goes beyond face masks and meditation, it allows you to not only sustain but also strengthen your mental and emotional health.
To get you started, we’ve come up with some tips that will help you build the foundation of a solid self-care plan:
- Self-care should not be a chore! Choose activities that are fun and make you feel good. You can try writing a list of all the things you like to do and pick a couple things you can do each day, as well as a couple things you could do each week (or a bit more sporadically).
- Schedule it in but also be flexible. When you have free time, fill it with time for yourself rather than ‘busy work’. If your schedule is tight, try and fit in at least 15 minutes of self-care time. While it may seem like this is an unnecessary addition to an overflowing to-do list, it can actually improve productivity and put you in a better headspace.
- If you’re busy, keep it simple. The activity you choose does not need to be complex. Taking a moment for yourself can be as easy as having a cup of tea and meditating for 5 minutes.
The best type of self-care activities obviously varies from person to person, but we’ve compiled a list of our favourites! Try these out or add in some of your own:
- Take a bath
- Read a book
- Meditate
- Exercise (the barre is calling your name!)
- Do a face mask
- Write in your journal
- Sing your favourite song
- Spend time outside
- Go for a walk
- Disconnect from technology and social media
- Bake
- Clean
- Dance
- Paint, draw, create
- Go for a run
- Try something you’ve been wanting to try for ages
- Fix something small that’s been bothering you
- Get a manicure
- Connect with friends
- Do a puzzle
- Make a gratitude list
- Write down 5 things you love about yourself
- Try mindfulness exercises
- Say ‘no’ to something if it will save your energy
- Take 10 deep breaths