Learn an easy approach to self-care to increase your energy and happiness each day, regardless of how crazy life gets.

Ah, self-care.  It’s been quite the buzzword lately!  I hear it in the wellness community, from popular social media personalities, and in the news. 

Oh, did you miss that?  Let me catch you up.  Self-care is a daily practice to preserve one’s health and well-being, particularly in times of stress.  The thought is that one should intentionally take time out for themselves to rejuvenate mind, body, and spirit.

But for me, it’s always seemed to be full of contradiction.  We’re supposed to practice self-care to preserve our health and well-being – and reduce stress – but constantly hearing about it and realizing I’m NOT doing it kind of increases my stress level!  Am-i-right?

Here’s how it plays out for me: I’m supposed to practice self-care, so I add it to my list of things to do, and then when I don’t get to it, I panic, feel guilty, and get even more stressed. 

Anyone else? 

Isn’t that the opposite of what it’s meant to do? 

Over time I’ve come to realize that self-care is really a very broad umbrella.  I used to think that self-care meant getting at least 8 hours of sleep per night, working out every day, meditating, eating a whole lot of greens, and taking bubble baths at night.  No wonder that high bar stressed me out!  Who does ALL of that?

But here’s the thing.  When we don’t have a healthy mechanism in place to handle stress – and remember, stress can be an everyday thing, not just major a fight-or-flight situation – we will cope using the nearest available strategy.  For most, it’s that bowl of M&M’s, the cookies in the breakroom, that bottle of wine that gets opened when we walk in the door, or the next cigarette.  Yup – eating, drinking, and getting that fix is how much of the population deals with stress.  And I think we can all agree that while we all need to live a little, we’ve all regretted those fast fixes a time or two.

So how do find the in-between?  If there’s no time to get all the sleep, fit in the workouts, take the baths, etc., can self-care get done?  And will it actually steer us clear of the candy bowl? 

Yes, it’s possible!  As with anything, if you break it into small chunks, it’s doable.  Let’s reset that high bar of self-care, shall we, and come up with a more realistic approach, one that can be scaled to however crazy your schedule gets.

I like to categorize self-care into mind, body, and spirit  Below, I will throw out some suggestions on little changes you can make in each area.  Pick one to try this week.  Once you master it and it becomes habit, pick another to try.  Before you know it, you’ll be a self-care expert with very little time invested! 

Self-Care: Mind

1. Use your mind in a new way.  So you have an 8-5 job, you come home to feed and bathe the kids, and then do it all again the next day?  That gets old after awhile, right?  Pick something new to do.  Learn a new skill, read a book, tackle a new project or hobby, or take a class.  Yep, this one does require a time investment.  But, you will awaken a new part of yourself and be glad you found time for YOU.
2. Treat yourself to something that makes you feel pretty.  Does that bowl of ice cream make you feel pretty?  Nope, it just wants to give you a stomach ache and maybe a little acne too.  But a new nail polish, or face mask, or earrings – those will make you feel pretty, and they will last a lot longer than junk food.  Even a pretty new water bottle is fun, and it may just encourage you to get those ounces in.
3. Laugh your ass off.  Call that one person that makes you laugh and get a good giggle going.  We all know laughter makes us feel better!  The more the better.
4. Call your bestie.  There’s that one person that always gets you.  Call that person, or grab a coffee or drink, on the regular.  We all need to feel accepted an understood, and putting it on the calendar is one way to make sure that happens.
5. Blast that playlist.  You know, the one that makes you feel like a badass, or brings back awesome memories?  Create a playlist for those moments when you’re totally stressed and need an outlet.  Dance away the stress (oh, and look at that, you’re getting in some movement too!).
6. Declutter.  Have you ever looked around your house and thought, “OMG, there’s crap everywhere!”  It’s hard to NOT feel overwhelmed when everything is in disarray around you.  Take some time to declutter.  Yes, this one is a time investment, but it will pay off greatly.  When things are in order around you, you will feel more organized on the inside too.

Self-Care: Body

Your body is a temple – yeah, I know, blah, blah.  But really, it is!  What you put into your body is what you’ll get out of it.  Here are a few things your body wants:

1. Water.  Simple, right?  The benefits of drinking water are too enormous to list here.  But let me just give you a few: it fills you up, steadies your blood sugar, flushes toxins, improves your skin, regulates your metabolism….I could go on and on.  Aim for drinking half of your body weight in ounces each day.  So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should aim for drinking 75 ounces per day.
2. Movement.  Nope, I didn’t say workouts, I said movement. This one actually falls into body AND mind, because you actually get both physical and emotional benefits from movement.  Movement is a natural serotonin booster, which emits the same feel-good chemicals as that handful of chocolate.  It also balances blood sugar and helps you sleep better too!  So do you need to go to the gym to do this?  Absolutely not!  Pick any sort of movement you enjoy – a walk on your lunch break, rock climbing, gardening, jumping on a trampoline with your kids, Zumba – you name it, if it gets you moving, it counts!
3. Get some rays.  Go outside and am up that vitamin D!  Getting some daily sunshine is a huge emotional booster and helps you get better zzz’s too.  Try doing your movement outdoors to maximize your time!
4. Sleep.  Think you can’t carve out more time for sleep?  Think again.  Look at the productivity counter on your smart phone and see how much time you spend on social media.  We all can find more time there!  But if you can’t quite pull yourself away from that yet, consider improving the quality of your sleep instead.  Here are a few tips, and you can find more here:
   • Make your bedroom as serene as possible.  Eliminate clutter and distraction, and remove electronics if you possibly can.
   • Make sure your room is dark and quiet.  Turn that clock away from you, invest in good drapes, and consider using an eye mask.  Earplugs and a white noise machine work wonders as well! 
   • Take 5 minutes prior to bed to brain dump what you need to do tomorrow.  Also jot down any worries you have – that way, you can get them off your mind before you climb into bed.
   • Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time to help set your body’s circadian rhythm.
   • Sleep with a warm heating pad or water bottle.  This little trick will get you all cozy and off to sleep fast!
5. Get physical.  I mean, get physical.  Don’t underestimate the power of touch!  A cuddle with your kids, passion with your partner, a smooch with your pooch – whatever it is, we crave the touch of others.  Sometimes we get busy and forget to slow down and take those moments to just be with our loved ones.
6. Eat consistently.  Most people need to eat at least every 3 to 4 hours to keep their blood sugar in check.  Some need to eat even more frequently. When you eat on a regular basis, your body doesn’t panic and wonder when the next meal will be, so your metabolism will stay steady. And, if you don’t wait until you are hangry, you’re much more likely to pick something healthy to eat!
7. Get physical.  I mean, you know, get physical.  Don’t underestimate the power of touch!  A cuddle with your kids, passion with your partner, a smooch with your pooch – whatever it is, we crave the touch of others.  Sometimes we get busy and forget to slow down and take those moments to just be with our loved ones.
8. Eat consistently.  Most people need to eat at least every 3 to 4 hours to keep their blood sugar in check.  Some need to eat even more frequently!

Self-Care: Spirit

1. Practice meditation. Taking a few minutes each day to clear your mind can reap enormous benefits. Meditation can lower your stress, make you more focused and productive, and improve your sleep. Worried you won’t do it correctly? Don’t be. Do a quick search on YouTube and you’ll find a plethora of quick videos that will walk you through it.
2. Practice daily gratitude.  Take just a couple of minutes each morning to write down what you’re grateful for.  That’s it!  Starting your day in a place of positive thinking and gratitude will put you on the right foot forward.  And I don’t necessarily mean complex things.  It can be anything – cozy slippers, squishy baby cheeks, and your favorite song playing on the radio.  Don’t overthink it.  Just write 4 to 5 things down as they come!
3. Daily affirmations.  I pair this with my gratitude practice.  What do you want to be today?  Then write them as if you are!  I AM strong.  I AM on my game.  I AM confident.  I AM a boss babe.  I LOVE my body.  I AM AMAZING.  Pair this with daily gratitude, and you will be unstoppable! Want an easy place to start? Check out the Blissful Mind for some ideas on how to get started.

There you have it, a quick-hit list for some self-care. Don’t tackle these all at once!  Pick a new one to try each week, and before you know it, you will have an arsenal of self-care habits already built in, so that you can reduce stress without even trying – and without the M&M’s! 

Drop a comment below and let me know which strategies are working for you!