5 Simple Ways To Implement Self-Care Into Your Life Today
Updated: Jul 25, 2023
It's said a woman’s work is never done. A hectic work schedule, combined with trying to balance other areas of your life, may lead to you feeling like you're spinning your wheels and going nowhere.
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With kids, family, work, managing a home and business, and all the other responsibilities we have to carry out, there never seems to be enough time to fulfill—let alone think about—our own needs or desires. This can lead to women experiencing depression, anxiety, or a feeling of being worn out. How it affects us personally, also means that our performance and attention to everything else we have to do will suffer as a result. We can become irritated, as we feel overwhelmed and unable to deal with the stress.
Everyone is different, and each of us has our own idea when it comes to self-care and 'me time'. In this last post of this self-care series, I'll give you a guide to how you can implement some simple and easy ways to create some time for yourself. Of course, these aren't the only ones you can do, but they may give you some ideas of how to find space and time in your life to give yourself some much-needed personal care. Also, if you haven't had a chance to read the previous posts in this series, you may want to do that first. You can view them here, here, and here. And as a bonus, at the end of this post, you'll be able to download my "20 Self-Care Ideas for Women". I think you'll like it.
So let's get started with some simple ways you can apply self-care in your life today.
Utilize The Time You Have
If you have errands to run or appointments to keep but find yourself early or waiting around in your car, make use of the time. For example, read a book, pray, or meditate. These activities require a certain amount of tranquility and peace, so why not use your window of opportunity to do them. Of course, you could just listen to some music and relax. Or, if you were in a more productive mood, you could just catch up on paperwork that you have to do. This is your time; you can do with it what you wish. By carrying out this task now, you are freeing up time at a later date.
Make A Date With Yourself (And Keep It!)
Once a week, take time to do the things you like to do alone. To do this you need to learn to say no to the people in your life, or learn to delegate your duties to someone else (specifically talking childcare). This will enable you to have some time to relax.
Go and grab a bite to eat somewhere, get some exercise, or even just disappear to another part of the house. Do anything you can think of to do that would enable you to free up space in that busy head of yours and just relax.
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Treat Yourself
This can simply be an extension of the previous where you make a date with yourself. Once a month, go treat yourself. This can be anything you wish, such as shopping, a spa day, a movie, or even just spending time with your friends, catching up on their lives. This is totally your choice. Go and see the great outdoors, spend a day at the museum. The point is, this is your time and you get to spend it with whoever you want.
You would think these examples of finding ‘me’ time would be obvious. However, this time can often be difficult to find. Studies have shown that 51% of working mothers go weeks without relaxing on their own. When further questioned, nearly 75% of those women felt they lived their whole lives for other people. Ladies, this has got to change for our own mental well-being. Some women are blessed enough to have partners and family to rely on to take the strain; however, others are not as fortunate. But, there are still things you can do to make time in your life.
Learn To Say No
Anyone who knows me, knows that I live by this! No, means setting boundaries and limiting what you're willing or not willing to accept. It's all about tolerations baby! (What we allow those in our lives, and sometimes ourselves, to get away with.) Those who have worked with me know this is the first thing we work on when it comes to mindset and reprogramming the way we think. We're the greatest teachers when it comes to showing others how to treat us. And yes, some people may not like that you'll say no to some things, but considering how much your wellbeing matters, it will be well worth it. And remember... 'no' is a complete sentence. It needs no explanation. Just so you won't feel bad, even Jesus set boundaries. I wrote a blog post about it here
Be Organized
By planning your day and week, you can identify opportunities for ‘me’ time. Making lists and looking at your week ahead will help you see those times where gaps appear in your schedule. Organization can be the key to doing this. The more you practice this the more you'll learn where you can fit things in. Your 'me' time could be as simple as going for a walk for 20 minutes. On that walk, take a look at the world around you. Take in all of God's splendor, whether it's a flower or a beautiful sunset. I find times like this sparks creativity in me. Win, win!
As you know, reading about self-care is great and all, but it will do us no good if we never put it into practice. Make a commitment to yourself today that you'll take care of yourself, I mean really take care of yourself, so you'll be around to enjoy your life and those you care about who are a part of it! Now go get yourself some 'me' time! And don't forget to grab your copy of my download, "20 Self-Care Ideas for Women" filled with some great ideas to get you started. You can download it below.
"Almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."... Anne Lamott
"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."... Maya Angelou
"Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort."... Deborah Day
Ephesians 2:10; 5:29, 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; 10:31, 3 John 1:2, Mark 6:31
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