12 Self-Care Ideas
Self-care is a necessity. If you do not take care of yourself, you will be unable to take care of everything else going on in your life. Taking care of yourself is not easy, though. It can be hard to find the time to do it, and it can be hard to know what to do for self-care. For example, treating yourself to ice cream might sound like self-care, but if done too often, it can lead to health problems. (Every once in a while, ice cream is okay.) So, what follows is a selection of self-care tips and ideas.
1.) Schedule Self-Care
Self-care won’t happen unless you schedule it. We can fill our schedules with so many things, and then we will do self-care if we have time. This is backwards. Try scheduling self-care first if you struggle to find time for it. Make it a priority in your life.
2.) Dance Party
Turn on your favorite tunes and move your body. If you do not have dancing skills, fret not! I don’t really know how to dance, so when I do this, I just flail about in a way that I find fun and enjoy the music.
3.) Sleep
Sleep is crazy important. Get yourself 8 hours of sleep a night, and watch your life improve. Another tip is to make sleep luxurious. Buy all the fancy things you need for sleep.
4.) Sip on a Cup of Your Favorite Beverage
What do you enjoy drinking? Sip on a cup of that. What will clam you will depend on your preferences. For me, I will take a nice herbal tea.
5.) Indulge Your Introverted Side
Spend some quality time with yourself. Watch a movie alone or read a book. Do something with just yourself present, even if you are an extrovert.
6.) Indulge Your Extroverted Side
Spend time with people you love to be around. Enjoy family, friends, or some combination thereof. Even introverts need time with other people.
7.) Play
Have some fun! Playing is a great way to take care of yourself. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is necessary.
Get yourself moving and get your heart rate up by playing a sport! Or perhaps, indulge in some theatrical acting. Explore your imagination like you did when you were a kid.
8.) Pet Your Dog
One-on-one time with your dog is so great. There is nothing quite like receiving unconditional love from your dog. Embrace that love and spend some time hanging out with your dog. I suppose a cat could work too, but I would recommend a dog.
9.) Outside Time
Spend some time out in nature. Allergies or the weather might make this difficult, but when you feel up to it, there is nothing quite like spending some time outside. A favorite of mine is just sitting outside on my patio and enjoying a beautiful day.
10.) Laugh
Laughter is excellent for your health. I try my best to laugh every day. It feels so good to laugh, especially when life is not going well. My go-to show when I am feeling down is Everybody Loves Raymond. This show always gets me laughing. Laughter is key to staying sane in this crazy world we live in. If you find someone who makes you laugh, hang on to them.
11.) Sing
I quite enjoy singing. I enjoy it so much I don’t care how I sound while singing. Whether in the shower or in the car, I belt out my favorite songs whenever I get the chance. Singing is fun! If you cannot sing well, who cares! Sing out anyway. It feels great.
12.) Put Clean Sheets on Your Bed
Am I the only one who finds this luxurious? Seriously, there is something special about having fresh sheets on my bed. It is great.
BONUS.) Do Something – Anything – Just for You
Self-care is directed at the self, so no matter what you do, do it because you enjoy it and it makes you feel good.