Self care guide: ideas and tips
Nowadays a lot of us have a hectic lifestyle, therefore, it is important to make sure we find time for ourselves on a regular basis. The keyword to remember is self care. This plays a crucial role in keeping us healthy, satisfied and feeling positive. However, what does the term self care exactly mean? How can you integrate more self care into your everyday life? This guide will answer these questions and give you some helpful information and practical tips on the topic of self care. Below you can find out more about how to take care of yourself and increasing your well-being in a simple and effective way.
What is self care?
Over the past couple of years the concept of "self care" has become increasingly important. Self care is all about finding time to relax and doing things that make you feel good. It’s important that we all have some me time every now and then.
Self care is primarily about finding a routine or an activity that you enjoy doing to help you relax and feel good. You should try and integrate a routine or an activity into your everyday life. This not only promotes our own well-being, but self care can also strengthen our physical and mental health. Stress can have a negative impact on your body and it can cause muscle tension, sleep disorders or even burnout. Self care will help you to feel good and to reduce the impact of stress on your body.
It's never too late to start taking care of yourself! Even small changes in your daily life can have a positive impact on your health, well-being and outlook on the world.
Don’t get self care with self-optimisation mixed up. Self-optimisation is strongly performance based and it tends to focus on how quickly people can achieve their personal goals.
How to find a self care routine that suits you
Self care is something very individual and varies from person to person. While some people enjoy relaxing, others may prefer to switch off with an activity. The most important thing is that you feel good. The tips below will help you to come up with your own individual self care routine:
Finding time: firstly, you need to actively find time for self care. Check your diary to see when you have a free time slot and use it for self care. By doing so, you will get into the habit of finding some me time.
Tip: just a few minutes a day can make a big difference. You don’t necessarily need a self care day, as it is more about finding a bit of time each day to relax.Doing activities that help you to relax: think about what makes you feel relaxed or happy. Have you had something in mind that you have wanted to do for a long time, but you haven’t got round to doing it just yet? This could be things like giving a new recipe a go, being more active or do you have a novel on your bedside table that you would like to read. Self care is all about taking the time and doing things that you want to do and make you happy.
Creating and sticking to a self care routine: find a routine that fits around your lifestyle as this is a great way to integrate it into your everyday life. Having a fixed routine will help you to relax and you don't have to think about when and how to start your routine each time.
Inspiration and tips for finding a self care routine
Morning self care ideas:
Keeping a diary: when writing, we can let our thoughts run free and record what we have experienced. This will help you to process your thoughts and focus on yourself. Sometimes it is even easier to write down an experience than to talk about it. Keeping a diary is a fantastic way of keeping a clear mind and organising your thoughts.
Leaving your phone in flight mode: it is a good idea to leave your phone in flight mode first thing on a morning. This will help you to relax and to focus more on yourself.
Eating a healthy breakfast: having a balanced diet is a great way to stay fit and healthy. A healthy breakfast is the perfect way to start the day.
Meditating: lots of people enjoy meditating in the mornings as it helps them to get ready for the day ahead. This way you will feel relaxed and ready to start the day.
Tiding up: clutter can cause you to feel stressed. That's why it's helpful to set an alarm for 10 minutes each day and tidy up everything you can get your hands on during this time. This will help you keep things tidier in the long term.
Self care ideas for your lunchbreak:
Exercising during your lunchbreak: would you like to exercise during your lunchbreak? During your lunchbreak you could go on a bike ride, go for a walk or go jogging. We will show you how sport and exercise can help you to reduce stress in the following article: " Reducing stress through exercise".
Breathing exercises:use your lunch break to relax and recharge your batteries for the second half of the day. Breathing exercises can help you do this.
Tip: inhale for four seconds, pause briefly and then exhale for seven seconds. You can repeat this exercise as often as you like.
Evening self care ideas
Meal prep: if you don’t have a lot of time to get something for lunch during your lunchbreak then meal prep is the ideal solution. You can either prepare something for lunch the night before or at the weekend so that you are all ready for the upcoming week.
Exercising: do you prefer to exercise in the evening? You can use your free time in the evenings to exercise and to keep active, which you can integrate into your day as part of your self care routine. You can either exercise at home, attend a sports class, go to a sports club or exercise and play sports with friends.
Pampering yourself: after a busy day, you can help your body to relax by pampering yourself. Relaxing in the bath or doing an activity will work wonders.
Watching your favourite series: lots of people enjoy relaxing on the sofa and watching their favourite series.
Stretching: gentle stretching before going to bed can help to get rid of any tension or stiffness in your body and prepare it for a good night's sleep.
Make sure you have a healthy sleep routine so that you can rest well and forget about any daily stress. It is a good idea to relax and drink a cup of tea before going to bed. Herbal teas with lavender, chamomile and fennel are highly recommended. Airing your bedroom before going to bed will also help you to get a good night’s sleep.
Everyone has their own individual needs and ways of reducing stress. We recommend trying out different self care routines at different times of the day. This will help you to find out which routine suits you the best.
In the following articles below we will show you more ideas and inspiration on self care. We will also show you which exercises and types of sports are great for reducing stress as well as meditation tips for beginners and how to have the perfect spa day at home so that you feel relaxed and refreshed. Get inspired and find some me time to help you switch off from your hectic lifestyle!
Reducing stress through exercise
Exercising and playing sports are effective ways to relieve stress and feel more energised. In this article you will learn which types of sports and exercises are great for reducing stress as well as how you can easily integrate them into your everyday life. You can also find out more about the benefits of exercising and keeping active. This article has tips on how to keep active and stay motivated in everyday life.
Meditation for beginners
Meditating has been around a very long time and it has been known as a spiritual practice in various cultures. It helps to clear your mind and focus on switching off from your surroundings. In this guide you will learn how meditation can be used for self care and how you can get started. We will give you some practical tips and show you the most important meditation techniques.
How to have a spa day at home
Everyday life can be quite stressful, but it is very important that you find time to pamper your body and to look after yourself. Having a spa day at home is a great way to relax and unwind. In this article we will show you how to have some me time and how to have the perfect spa day at home. Get inspired and feel relaxed and energised with a spa day at home!
Work-life balance when working from home
When working from home sometimes it can be difficult to establish boundaries between your private life and your job. How do you create a good work like balance and what should you keep in mind when working from home? In this article we have put together some helpful tips on how to separate your work life from your private life. The article also covers the topics of time management, taking a break and exercise.
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References and further information:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/g25643343/self-care-ideas/
(Last accessed on 05.09.2023)
https://www.healthline.com/health/breathing-exercise
(Last accessed on 05.09.2023)
https://journey.cloud/journaling-benefits
(Last accessed on 05.09.2023)
https://www.mindtools.com/apt37nj/avoiding-burnout
(Last accessed on 05.09.2023)
https://www.perimeterhealthcare.com/news/posts/the-importance-of-self-care
(Last accessed on 05.09.2023)
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