I was having a conversation with my mom before I wrote this blog and I asked her if she ever participates in any of my challenges. She said, “I don’t see how you find time for that.” LOL!! I told her self-care doesn’t have to take all day. I think a lot of people think that self-care only means spa days and manis and pedis. And yes, those are self-care activities but it’s SO much more than that. Self-care means carving out time for yourself each day to do something for you, even if it only takes a few minutes.
If you’re familiar with my self-care challenges post, then you already know that they include anything from facials to setting a goal for the day. But what does self-care mean? Around the time that I started writing these particular blogs, I came up with what I call my self-care formula which includes the following three pillars:
- Awareness
- Consistency
- Time
Building AWARENESS +remaining CONSISTENT +making TIME =an ACT. Building the awareness around self-care habits, making time for self-care and staying consistent is an act of taking care of ourselves.
Self-care is essential, because you have to put in, in order to put out. In this post I talk about self-care non-negotiable; it’s essentially taking time to do one thing for yourself each day no matter what. I’ve said this before, self-care non-negotiable is the purpose of these weekly blogs. And I basically took the leg work out of it for you by providing a self-care option for each day of the week.
SUNDAY-WRITE A LOVE LETTER TO YOURSELF (emotional self-care): i think this has become low key trendy lately but I have never done it before. I decided to make it one of my weekly challenges because of what I received in my November Birchbox subscription. I love their template so I had to share it.
Here are some ideas for what you can include in your love letter:
- Why you love yourself
- What you’re most proud of
- Forgiveness
- Compassion
- Body positivity
- Be kind to yourself (no criticisms)
Once you finish writing, put it somewhere safe so you can read it on days when you don’t feel as confident. I created a very simple template for you.
MONDAY-CHECK IN WITH ALL YOUR DOCTORS (physical self-care): check in with all your routine doctors and make sure that you’re up to date with all your check-ups. If it’s been awhile, schedule an appointment. Also, if you don’t have a doctor now is the time to find one.
TUESDAY-PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION (emotional self-care): this may not apply to everyone but someone might need it. Often times we are entirely too hard on ourselves. We go down the “I should’ve, I could’ve, I wish, Why did I, I can’t believe” rabbit hole. I’m no stranger to this mindset, but it’s mentally EXHAUSTING and if you can relate to this, then I’m sure you will agree. Lately I’ve been checking myself when I feel this way and instead of beating myself up, I try to accept what is, especially if I have no control. It’s difficult at times but practicing self-compassion shifts the energy away from mental exhaustion to being kind and patient with yourself.
WEDNESDAY-HAVE A HEALTHY BREAKFAST (physical self-care): if you’re a mindless eater in the morning (someone who grabs a donut, a bagel, danish, etc on the run to get you through the morning before lunch). Take a tactical pause this morning and choose something healthy for breakfast. Make yourself a smoothie or oatmeal if you have time or grab some fruit if you’re in a rush. Another option would be egg whites with half of avocado with a slice of wheat toast.
THURSDAY-LEARN SOMETHING NEW (emotional self-care): this does not have to be a new hobby, skill or craft. Maybe you can watch/listen to a Tedtalk on a topic you’re not familiar with. A few of my favorite TED Talks are The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown, Luvvie Ajayi’s Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s The Danger of a Single Story.
FRIDAY-DANCE AROUND YOUR ROOM IN YOUR UNDERWEAR (physical self-care): i’ve seen this a few times in the movies and on television. I remember Cameron Diaz doing it in Charlies Angels (I believe it was the second one) and I loved it when Callie Torres did it in Greys Anatomy. I dance around my room all the time but I’ve never done it in my undies. I feel like there has to be something liberating about something so uninhibited. We should try it. If you have kids and you can’t get that kind of time to yourself, try doing it when you have a few minutes to yourself in the shower (don’t fall lol) or when you put the kids to bed.
SATURDAY-SELF CHECK-IN, HOW’S YOUR MENTAL HEALTH? (emotional self-care): Sometimes I move too fast and I multi-task a lot, I mean A LOT!!!! and that’s not always a good thing. It can be exhausting, stress inducing, mentally draining and it can trigger your anxiety. At some point today, when you have some time to yourself (i.e. when you’re eating, brushing your teething, taking a shower, sitting down, etc) do a mental health check in. Keep a mental note or write down how you’re feeling, where your head is at, what you’re holding on to, are you feeling depressed, are you all over the place, dealing with a lot of anxiety, etc. If it doesn’t look good, you need to work on making the necessary changes. Depending on where you’re falling short, you may need to talk to someone, take a few things off your plate, or ask for help.
These are basic self-care habits that can turn into life long routines if you stay consistent. I’m still working on it, I’ve said it over and over again my self-care routine is not perfect so I’m doing these challenges with you so I can build a better habit. The ultimate goal here is to take care of yourself by always making time for yourself no matter what, even if it’s only a few minutes each day.
Before I end this blog I want to share this with you. I recently found out that my blog has been selected on feedspot (head over and check out who else is on the list) as one of the top 40 self-love blogs on the web!!! Feedspot has a team of over 25 experts whose goal is to discover and rank popular blogs, podcasts and youtube channels in several niche categories. With millions of blogs on the web, finding influential bloggers in a niche industry is a hard problem to address. My blog is still in its infancy so this was a HUGE honor and I have you guys to thank for this. Thank You!!
Did you get you get through all seven? Let’s Chat!
~~Tam33ks
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