A Guide To Building A Self Care Routine

You may have heard about the self-care trend that is sweeping the world at the moment. It consists mostly of participating in activities or practices that bring you joy and help you feel more centered in your life.

There are millions of ways in which you can practice self-care, from taking a warm bath filled with your favorite salts or going out to a quiet café on your own to enjoy your favorite hot drink and the new book that you haven’t had the time to read yet.

However, some people have no idea where to start when it comes to practicing self-care. We’re here to give you some help.

Understand Self Care

To practice self-care correctly, you need to understand what self-care is and what it is not. Having a clear idea of this in your mind will help you distinguish between what you can do to help you and what you do simply because you enjoy them.

Self-care is the act of carrying out practices that allow you to feel centered and calm in your daily life and give you energy and satisfaction at the moment. Self-care is a collection of practices that will ultimately benefit your future.

Basics

For many people, all they need to do is get back to basics in terms of self-care. Too many people do not look after themselves at a base level because they are too busy scheduling their diaries until the last second and leaving no time for themselves to relax and unwind.

You may just need to take a day out of your week where you do not plan anything. These are called no-commitment days. You might also need to get to sleep earlier so that your body has more time to recharge.

Simplicity

It is important that when you begin your self-care journey, you start simply with things that will not take up too much time or mental space for you. Doing this will allow you to feel the benefits of self-care rather than feeling overwhelmed by it.

Start by finding a hobby or something that relaxes you and practice that for half an hour once a week. As you get more comfortable with self-care, you can begin doing more self-care and longer throughout your week.

Plan

While there may be days that you need self-care more than others, you should always plan your self-care days. Doing this eliminates the risk of burnout because you will always have a self-care day planned.

Plan your self-care days for the days of the week when you are least busy and have the most time to yourself. You must spend at least some time alone on a self-care day so that you do not absorb anybody else’s energies.

Set Goals

You will know exactly what self-care you need and why you need that type of self-care, so you must set goals for your self-care. This way, you will see how far you have come on your self-care journey.

If your chosen self-care practice is flexibility training because your muscles always feel tight and stiff, find the goal you want to achieve and set it. Each time you practice self-care, you will be aiming for that goal and will be able to reach it more easily.

Evaluate

Once you have set your goals, you can begin working towards them. It is best to set up small goals leading up to your ultimate goal to achieve goals throughout your self-care journey.

After completing a couple of these small goals, you will need to reflect and evaluate whether or not you have set achievable goals and then adjust accordingly so that you do not become disheartened.

Stay Consistent

It is of the utmost importance that you stay focused on your goal and are consistent with your self-care practices during your self-care journey. If you are not consistent, you will end up losing sight of your goal.

If you need to, set the alarm or reminder to carry out your self-care practices and ensure that you always have some time and space to do so, so that you cannot make any excuses as to why you did not complete the practice.

Enjoy

The most important thing to remember when you are on a self-care journey is that you need to enjoy the practice you have chosen; otherwise, you will not be motivated to complete it.

Choose a practice that sparks joy in you and brings you peace and comfort when you are doing it. This way, you will always be motivated to come back to it and achieve your self-care goals.