Create Your Own Daily Self Care Routine

Sometimes when we hear the word “self-care”, we think about pampering ourselves with manicures or long days at the spa. Though, basic self-care is different. It is about doing the everyday foundational things needed to take care of our physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. Things like feeding yourself regularly, drinking water throughout the day, and getting enough sleep, are all forms of basic self-care.

This concept of caring for ourselves is often looked at as selfish or as this “extra” thing, but true self-care is not at all selfish. Really it is a necessity of life in order to be able to function and live in a meaningfully healthy way for our body and mind.

Here are some ways you can put together a transformative self-care routine:

Set Your Intention
When building anything new, it’s essential to first set an intention. Do a deep dive and ask yourself, “What is the reason behind my self-care routine?” Is it to spend more time alone, learn to be more present, allow yourself to decompress from a stressful week, etc? Once you establish your intention or goal, you will find it much easier to build (and stick to) your self-care routine, as you will be building it for the right reasons.

Being able to understand what you and your body need in terms of nourishment allows you to go straight to addressing those needs, and self-care turns into an intentional practice of well-being.

Incorporate Self-care into Your Daily Schedule
Finding the time to truly focus on taking care of yourself can be difficult. Especially if you have a busy schedule and even when you do have a few spare minutes, it might feel like you need to make up for a lost time by cramming in as much self-care as possible.

But if you want self-care to be truly effective, then I suggest incorporating small doses throughout the day instead of trying to stick to a rigid schedule. Doing things as simple as taking a few deep breaths when you feel overwhelmed, or putting on your favorite song and dancing around your bedroom for a few minutes can make a huge difference to how you feel.

Keep it Simple
Self-care doesn’t need to be an all-day event. It can be as simple as going on a long walk, reading, or taking up a new hobby. Don’t try to overcomplicate things that can lead to you feeling overwhelmed. Instead, keep it simple. Remember, your self-care rituals can be as short as you want. So what if your entire self-care routine is only 20 minutes long? If it allows you to reconnect with yourself, reset, and replenish then that is all that matters.

It can seem daunting in our already over-scheduled, high-stress lives to consider devoting time to caring for ourselves. However, through implementation and practice, self-care in our everyday lives can support mental and physical health. Self-care doesn’t have to be perfect, but making it a priority is well worth some practice and attention.