Self-Care Routines to Fit Any Schedule

As a counselor working in the mental health field I hear the term self care thrown around a lot. But what is self care really and why is it so important? Well, the practice of self care is truly how it sounds, it means taking the time to do activities or take actions that nurture the self. That is pretty simple right?? What I have noticed however is that most people believe they are in a time famine and they simply do not have the time for self care. This leads to overstressed employee’s and burn out, parent’s loss of patience for their children, marital tension, and feelings of frustration and hopelessness.  

Life is going to throw us up’s and downs that is unavoidable. But we have great power to change our experiences with day to day stressors by making the time to do self care activities. How do we make time when we feel we are in a time famine? We change our thinking (check out my power of thoughts blog) about how we structure our day and make it a priority to set time aside for self care. It is kind of like developing a budget. The most commonly offered bit of advice for saving money is to pay yourself first. Anyone who has done this will attest that once you make the habit of taking a percentage of your pay as soon as you get your paycheck and put it into savings; you will adjust your budget to fit the remaining amount of money to pay your expenses. The same will be true when you designate time for self care; you will fit what needs to be done into the remaining hours of the day.

You likely are very busy and depending on demands for your time may have only a small amount of time to designate to self care. Just like creating a budget to pay yourself first, you will budget what time you can afford. The point is that you do budget time for self care. So what do I mean by self care? Self care activities are actions that simply bring you peace, joy, or relaxation. You can do this for 5 minutes a couple times a day or take an entire day off to enjoy as you see fit.  Check out the idea’s below and choose some that will fit into your schedule and watch your stress levels lessen and your thoughts improve.

5 minute self care activities

1. Take a break and stretch

2. Write a thank you note to someone special

3. Step outside and take 10 deep breaths

4. Walk around the yard

5. Say affirmations

6. Write personal goals

7. De-clutter your desk

8. Jam out and dance

9. Or just Jam out to a favorite song

10. Take an extra 5 minutes in a hot shower

11. Help someone

12. Write out 10 great attributes about yourself

13. Wear something that feels great on your skin

14. Color in a coloring book

15. Close your eyes and put a hot towel across your face (add essential oil for aromatherapy)

16. Walk through a garden or smell a flower

17. Pull out your smart phone and find 5 beautiful things to take a picture of

18. Stand outside and soak in the sun

19. Take a different route to work (bonus points for using back roads)

20. Stare at the clouds or stars depending on the time of day

    30 minute self care activities

21. Take a walk

22. Complete a lingering task on your “to-do” list

23. Connect with a friend (in person or by phone)

24. Get a hair cut

25. Clean out your email and unsubscribe from unwanted sites

26. Take a scented bath

27. Take a dog for a walk

28. Review your personal goals and pick one to work towards

29. Read for pleasure

30. Take a quick nap

31. In a notebook write out on one page all your troubling thoughts and on another page a gratitude list. Then rip out the troubling thoughts page and throw it away.

32. Cuddle with a loved one

33. Be social. Talk to someone at work, the bus stop, or the coffee shop

34. Light candles, play relaxing music, and sit in silence

35. Listen to a motivational speaker

36. Make something crafty (Check pintrest for ideas)

37. Plan a healthy menu to eat for the week

38. Watch videos or look at pictures of your loved ones

39. Fix something that has been bothering you

40. Get lost in your thoughts (positive ones that is) Dream big!

    1 hour or more self care activities

41. Take yourself on a date doing an activity you loved as a child

42. Go out and see some live music

43. Join a fitness class such as yoga, Pilates, or Zumba

44. Join a book club

45. Help someone else

46. Go to a local park and feed the birds (if allowed)

47. Meet a friend for a picnic

48. Take a scenic drive

49. Listen to an inspirational audio tape

50. Get a massage

51. Unplug and go for an overnight trip

52. Do some gardening

53. Go for a swim

54. Get your teeth cleaned

55. Clean your closet of clothes you do not wear and donate them

56. Cut out images from magazines that represent your goals and make a vision board

57. Prepare a healthy meal

58. Try a new restaurant with a friend and order something out of your norm

59. Take a trip to a lake or the ocean and skip stones

60. Go to a public area and smile at passer by’s

Remembering the Importance of Self-Care

Aloha world and good morning! Lately it seems I have heard from a few different sources how unlikely it is for a relationship to stay in tact after one person suffers a spinal cord injury. Many thoughts have crossed my mind since my husband was hurt but one thought that has not crossed my mind is leaving him. This has led me to reflect on what it is about our relationship that keeps us going forward together. 

First and foremost I believe I must credit my dedication to doing self-care. I am fortunate that self-care has long been a priority in my life so that even before my husbands accident I had already established self-care routines to maintain my emotional and mental well being. Of course times are different now and I have had to modify those routines to adapt to our new lifestyle to fit in my routines. While I believe it helped to have a groundwork to build from, I do not think anyone who did not have such established routines has any less accessibility to implementing such routines at any given point into their lives. The thing about self-care is it is more about making a choice than any other factor. I have heard people offer many reasons why they can not do self-care in my work in the mental health field. Most often people speak of not having the time or money. Usually though I find if I dig deep enough it tends to boil down to people don't feel they deserve to take the time for themselves or don't know how. 

This is where perception comes into play. The thing about our beliefs is that we get caught up thinking they are absolute and true but we are never able to get outside of ourselves and be truly objective. We see the world through the meaning we give it with our perception of the information given us. Perception is the sum total of how we choose to make meaning of our beliefs and information (events, circumstances, etc.) that present in our lives. There is a great quote by Wayne Dyer that speaks to this idea that states: "Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change". In other words we have the choice at any time to shift our thinking and see things a different or new way. 

This comes into play hugely in a relationship after spinal cord injury (actually I would say this is true for all relationships:) However, after someone in the relationship sustains a spinal cord injury obstacles and challenges fire rapidly. Making conscious effort to mind your thoughts and make thoughtful choices to perceive those challenges in a manner that serves your growth in the best possible way is critical to staying emotionally and mentally healthy.

You may be asking, so how do I learn to make these changes and get to this place of emotional and mental well being? Ah, and now I get to make the full circle..... The magic happens by taking the time to do self-care.