When you think of taking care of yourself, what do you find it relatable to?
Self care habits are more than taking bubble baths, going to a spa, following a night routine, or a healthy diet.
When you get to take care of yourself, you would want to do it in all aspects, right?
If you want someone to love you truly, you would expect them to love you as you are right?
Similar is the concept of building a daily self care routine for yourself.
You don’t just do it in a limited way, you try to take care of yourself in every aspect possible.
Understanding Self Care
I believe that when you know what you are doing, you find your how to do it easily.
Your reasons become clear and you struggle to go more deeply into it.
So what exactly is self care?
“Self-care has been defined as the process of establishing behaviors to ensure holistic well-being of oneself, to promote health, and actively manage illness when it occurs,” as per Wikipedia.
It also mentions that “Routine self-care is important when someone is not experiencing any symptoms of illness, but self-care becomes essential when illness occurs.”
So when life seems difficult you should take care of yourself.
When life is smooth and feels like a cakewalk, you should still stick to taking care of yourself.
Because mostly, it is the self care routine ideas you unknowingly lived that have helped you reach new heights in life.
If you wish to know more, you can read: what is self care and why is it so important for your life
Benefits of Establishing a self care routine
As I mentioned above, if self care helps you save your life, a daily self care routine helps you sail your life smoothly.
And when you do something consistently, the value of the time you spend taking care of yourself increases.
Qualitatively and Quantitatively.
Because when you follow a self care daily routine, you add to the patterns of self care behavior.
Though, things should be done to enjoy the process and not seek the purpose, here are a few benefits you’re sure to reap if you sow best self care routines.
Shapes your physical self. Skincare, healthy eating, and exercising are some very general self care ideas that people already know, and they try to follow them religiously.
Clears your mental clutter. Habits like meditating timely, recording a gratitude-filled journal, managing stress, and learning different life perspectives, all help in clearing your mental space for a better understanding of life.
Balances your emotional resilience. Self care habits like following your hobby and spending time with your loved ones boost your emotional approach to self.
Increases Productivity. Apart from the scientific benefits to the body, when you are physically, mentally, and emotionally sorted, your approach to things in life refines helping you achieve more targets.
Enhances your sleep quality. When things are organized and you stay content with your life, sleeping gets better. As per SleepFoundation.org, “adults in the U.S. spend 3 hours, 30 minutes on social media before bed every night.” Imagine how many people could add up a self care habit for quality sleep.
Following a Self love routine helps here.
Identifying your self care needs
Everyone can create a self care routine list, but for an efficient one, you need to know yourself well.
That is why I prefer a 1on1 session for my self care coaching to make living better.
Because customizing the self care needs helps you become a better version of yourself.
Here are a few steps that you can follow to identify your self care needs.
Or you can simply connect here, discuss, and pave the way for a vibrant you.
Step 1: Find what all needs your immediate attention
You need to give time to your thoughts.
Identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Let’s say you find your mental side strong but you cannot keep up with your physical self care.
Or you have a strong emotional connection but feel awkward talking to people, thus impacting your social self care.
Identify what works for you.
The idea is to have a self care daily routine that is stress free and helps you in being better than taking a load on you.
For a dedicated self care regimen, let’s talk
Here’s a small idea to start👇
Step 2: Find self care improvement habits for all your needs
How do you decide this?
Ask yourself:
What activities bring me joy?
Which time of the day is the most peaceful for me?
How many hours can I focus on myself?
What emotional triggers do I need to work on?
This way access all the different areas of your life.
Here’s a dedicated guide on questions you ask yourself in physical and mental self care out of the 7 pillars of selfcare.
Physical Self-Care
What Physical Activities Bring Me Joy?
Think of self care activities that make you feel good and what timings suit you.
I used to exercise heavily but it only left me drained and pulling me up.
Think of whether it is group activities like dance classes or gym that work for you.
Or is it solo workouts that you prefer to do in silence?
How does this clarity impact your self care routine?
If you plan to choose a group activity, you have to go as per the general time. But if it is just you then you can adapt as per your convenience.
How Can I Integrate Movement into My Daily Routine?
If you plan to improve your physical self care and you spend 1 hour in the morning for the same. It’s a great effort.
But it is useless if the rest of the 23 hours you remain static or just avoid moving around.
So assess your daily self care routine.
Think of ways to make mundane activities more active, like taking the stairs or stretching during breaks.
Understand whether it is the structured workout routine or sporadic bursts of activity that suit your lifestyle better.
Are There Physical Practices That Also Nourish My Mind and Soul?
A self care routine with activities that give you multiple returns is more important than one giving one return.
So consider activities not only focus on physical benefits but also mental and emotional nourishment.
You can try mind-body practices like tai chi or Pilates that focus on holistic well-being.
Mental Self-Care
What Activities Help Me Relax and Clear My Mind?
Your answer should cover activities that help you unwind and promote mental clarity.
It could be practices such as meditation, mindfulness, or deep-breathing exercises.
Or some of your hobbies that add to your well-being. Maybe drawing, dancing, reading, etc.
Like I read the news every morning, not just for the current affairs, but it gives me a certain kind of mental boost.
How Can I Foster Continuous Learning and Growth?
Some stimulating activities or hobbies that promote personal development should be a part of your self care routine. For eg, cooking somehow builds patience in me. I cook whenever I get time to quench my inner patience.
For a general knowledge grasp – reading books, taking online courses, or engaging in thought-provoking discussions helps. The main advantage of this is to understand that the world is so much more than what is in our heads.
Are There Practices That Help Manage Stress and Anxiety?
There are stress-relief techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation or journaling that might not give results on the first day but go a long way if practiced regularly.
There are some thoughts that only you can clean. So build a self care routine that redirects your focus and alleviates mental tension.
For instance, connecting with nature always helps. Especially activities like gardening, watching a sunrise, and walking in the park, positively impact your mental state.
The more you question your core, the more understanding of life will you seek.
Practice this questioning strategy for all other pillars. Or maybe just focus deeply on mental and physical self care routine for now and practice the others in a lighter mode. Here’s a great way to start: How to Organize Your Life with 5 Dimensions of Wellness
Step 3: Plan on how to incorporate these habits into your daily lives
Once you’ve analyzed the things that work for you conveniently, you might want to stick to them.
Try following it every day.
Though most of us are aware of the reasons of why to practice self care, knowingly or unknowingly most of us lack on its execution.
So your self care routine doesn’t just end in planning and promising to implement it!
There’s so much more you can achieve if you know how to drive to the destination correctly.
If you know how to implement your self care routine correctly.
The easiest way to do it is to diversify your self care routine.
For instance, if physical self-care is a focus, consider options beyond traditional exercises like yoga or gym workouts.
A dance class, cycling, or even a relaxing massage can contribute to physical well-being.
This helps you become free of a monotonous situation without compromising on your self care routine.
Also, try balancing it with your daily activities.
If there are a lot of disturbances around, define your window of tolerance. (Here’s how you can do it).
Because then you sharpen you social self care while working on the other pillars.
And if it is you occupied with a lot of work around, try blending your self care routine with your work regime.
For example, if you drive to your work and spend 30 minutes in traffic, instead of listening to the radio or cursing the population, filter your mind. Focus on driving but also reflect on the cloud of thoughts passing by. Reflect on your habits, why did I think this? What made this thought occur? I won’t watch this from tomorrow. Instead will try reading something informative.
Similarly, you can add to your physical self care by getting down at a distant bus stop and then walking back home. Maybe buy vegetables on the way to cook by yourself. Or catch onto your friends while walking. You know walk and talk? (But only on the footpath, and please no crossing while talking). This way you check your physical as well as social self care routine.
Try creating a checklist like this for a week to track what activities are working out for you👇
Step 4: Keep adjusting your self care routine as per you
Identify self care activities that resonate with you.
For eg, going to the gym might not work for you but a quick walk in nature might. But both add to physical self-care.
So set 3 self care activities for every pillar. (Here’s a guide you can use)
Remember to create a realistic self care routine.
Try imbibing it. But if you think it is not working out for you, tweak the activity. Instead of forcing yourself to follow a certain self care routine, question yourself.
What is not working with you and how can you fill that gap with another activity,
Remember the key is not to fulfill the tasks, the key is to take care of yourself, in whatever way it is possible.
Step 5: Seek support
Talk about the self care improvement things that you are trying with your friends, family, and colleagues around.
Spread the word to your loved ones about how you are planning to improve and brainstorm with them about new ideas that you can incorporate.
Talk to a self care coach for free and seek an understanding of life’s bigger purpose. This way you get a better idea of where you are lacking and how can you go about it.
The idea is to pamper yourself as much as you can
If you still got questions about how to set your own self care routine, or how you should be going ahead in life, let’s talk. I would love to be your divine buddy on the path of making a better life.