Do you invest in self-care in the same way you invest in your education, home, or business?
If not, you may want to reevaluate your priorities.
Just like any other part of your life, your body and mind require maintenance and upkeep to run smoothly. And making incremental changes in your self-care habits now can add up to major transformations later.
From sunlight on your face to social media swaps, we’re sharing 15 habits to invest in your self-care routine for a healthier, more balanced life.
Why You Need a Self-Care Routine
The benefits of self-care extend much further than relaxation. The return on the time, energy, and money you invest in self-care can be immense.
Here are just a few of the many benefits you might experience when you have a daily self-care routine:
- Improved mental health and well-being: Studies have found that people with self-care routines had reduced symptoms of depression and burnout.
- Enhanced focus: By using self-care to eliminate symptoms of overwhelm and restlessness, you can improve your focus.
- Less stress/anxiety: People who suffer from stress and anxiety may find that self-care helps them manage their symptoms.
- Staying healthier for the long-term: Self-care, especially in the form of exercise or stress-reduction activities, helps improve your health.
- Boost in productivity: Taking care of yourself through self-care has been shown to improve productivity. When you feel better, you can perform better.
The Different Types of Self-Care
The key to finding the perfect self-care routine is often trial and error. What works for your colleague or closest friend might not work for you, and that’s okay. Take time to try different routines to determine what changes suit your specific needs.
Here are a few areas to consider when building your self-care routine:
- Physical: Physical self-care includes activities, habits, and routines that center around nutrition, sleep, fitness, detoxification, and hygiene.
- Mental/emotional: If you feel that you need a more internal approach to self-care, try looking for routines related to stress management, creating a growth mindset, improving relationships, setting boundaries, and mindfulness.
- Professional: Since we spend about a third of our lives at work, you’ll probably need to invest some time into professional self-care at some point. In practice, professional self-care may mean prioritizing work-life balance and lightening your workload.
15 Simple Habits for Your Self-Care Routine
Without further ado, here are 15 self-care habits that can make a big difference in leading a healthier, more balanced life. Try implementing the following simple habits into your current self-care routine or building a new one from scratch.
Physical self-care habits
- Get at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight each day
- Do legs up the wall for five minutes a day
- Schedule a monthly massage
- Meal prep nutritious meals at the start of the week
- Work with a health coach or personal trainer once a week
Mental/emotional self-care habits
- Light a candle and do breathwork on your lunch break
- Journal each morning and/or evening
- Use a meditation or mindfulness app daily
- Read one chapter of a personal development book each day
- Unfollow social media accounts that don’t inspire you
Professional self-care habits
- Set a timer to take work breaks throughout your day
- Learn one new soft skill that excites you each month
- Use a daily planner to stay organized
- Save up to purchase a standing work desk
- Set aside time each week to automate or delegate more of your work tasks
How to Start a Self-Care Routine
Like any routine, you need to plan ahead to be successful. Follow this simple process to implement new habits into your self-care routine:
- Set SMART goals: If you’re vague when setting your self-care goals, your results will be vague. Look up SMART goal-setting tactics to help you create an action plan you’ll actually stick with.
- Evaluate your current habits: Take a look at your habits. What habits do you want to build? What habits do you want to break? By determining your starting point, you’ll develop a better understanding of how much work you must do to make changes in your life. Use a technology like Arootah’s Habit Accountability Tracker in order to accurately assess your habits and progress towards goals.
- Write down a plan and schedule in habits: Create a written plan for the habits you want to build. Schedule them into your calendar as if you were setting up an appointment and hold yourself accountable to them.
The Bottom Line
You can achieve significant results even if you only have a short amount of time each day to invest in self-care. The key to reaping the benefits of these practices is consistency.
Many people find that having outside assessment and accountability is an easier way to make the most of the time they invest in self-care. And if you’re looking for additional support, our Arootah coaches love empowering others when it comes to meeting their goals and living their most fulfilling, successful lives.
