While self-care is an extremely important habit, it’s often overlooked and not prioritized. Self-care is any activity that reinvigorates and re-energizes our mind, body, and soul. With a positive self-care routine, you notice an increase in your physical and mental health. If you’re interested in reading more about the importance of self-care, I recently wrote about it in this blog.
Today, I want to talk about five self-care habits that you can start as early as today. These habits will be easy to implement into your daily life. Once you continue to keep up with them, they will become part of your routine.
Self Care Habit 1 – Exercise
We’re all told to exercise both for our physical and mental health and for a good reason. Spending just a few minutes being active every day can really make a difference in your life. Find any exercise that speaks to you, whether it’s yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, weightlifting, running, or what have you. Even going for a walk in your neighborhood or in your local park can help you feel reinvigorated afterward. It’s completely up to you which exercise routine you would want to do. You can even switch it up day to day, doing different routines. This can often make exercise a little more fun rather than an obligation.
My favorite exercise is yoga and there is one yoga routine that I usually stick with. However, I will switch up my yoga routine with different poses whenever I’m wanting to change things up a bit.
Self Care Habit 2 – Meditate
Meditating is a simple self-care activity that you can do every day even for just 10 minutes. By meditating, you are practicing mindfulness which can help you feel more grounded and more relaxed. Not to mention, you’ll have less mental clutter the more you practice.
There are many different kinds of meditations from guided meditations to silent meditations. Find one that resonates with you and try it out. While I prefer silent meditations, I do enjoy a guided meditation once in a while, particularly one that involves imagery. If you’re interested in trying meditating, I recommend sticking with meditation for at least 2 weeks to see how it benefits you.
Self Care Habit 3 – Be Creative
We are all creative beings and therefore, the act of creating can be a self-care habit by itself. Crafting, baking, woodworking, painting, playing music, the list goes on and on. The point is, we all enjoy doing something creative, and being creative can feed the soul. Try spending an hour or two every week doing something creative.
Being creative is absolutely an outlet of mine. I spend a good portion of every day tapping into my creativity in one way or another. It is a huge part of my self-care routine. I find that being creative not only helps me relax, it increases my focus, increases my positivity, and helps me feel re-energized.
Self Care Habit 4 – Learn Something New
It’s so easy to slip into our daily routines and obligations without noticing it. This is where learning something new comes into play. By learning something new, we are actively engaging in activities we find interesting. It’s fun, exciting, and can be a very rewarding experience. Maybe there’s a hobby you want to try, a new language you want to learn, or a class you’d like to take. Find something that interests you and that you would love to learn about.
Depending on what you choose, you can spend a little bit of everyday learning it or spend some time each week on it. If you’re like me, you may want to learn quite a few things all at once. At the moment, I’m learning how to play the piano. I’m also learning how to create different recipes and I spend a bit of my time learning about random fields of science such as neuroscience, marine biology, ecology, and even botany.
Self Care Habit 5 – Spend Time with a Loved One
This may be one of my favorites habits to start. A loved one can be anyone from a spouse, family member, or friend to yourself or your pet. Whoever makes you happiest, spend some quality time with them. You may find that just by being present and enjoying their company, you begin to unwind and relax. The best part is, you can do this as often as you like! Enjoy your own company for the evening or have a game night with family or friends.
These five habits are a great way to start a self-care routine for you. They’re flexible, easy to begin, and just fun! Self-care is extremely important and by implementing self-care habits, you’ll find an increase in your mental wellness. What do you do for self-care?