What is self-care?

Self-care is how you take care of yourself. It’s all the habits, activities, and choices you make in your everyday life to improve and or support your mental, physical and emotional health. 

Self-care is how you look after yourself, and take care of your wellbeing and happiness. 

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Why is self-care important?

In our society, living stressful and disconnected lives has become the norm. Being stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed has become so prevalent and normalized that no one is surprised that so many people suffer from burnout and health issues caused by constant stress.   

Because we’re so busy living frantic, fast-paced lives, we start neglecting ourselves. We forget to look after ourselves to the detriment of our health and happiness. And if we don’t start looking after ourselves at some point, it’s inevitable that sooner or later we’ll reach our breaking point.  

And this is where self-care intervenes. 

Self-care helps shift your attention and energy back to what matters most.

Self-care helps you slow down to focus on your health and well-being. To feel centered, balanced, and peaceful, to help you reconnect to your authentic self. To feel good in your mind and body. To be more happy. 

Self-care is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. Taking care of yourself is fundamental. 

You cannot live a healthy, balanced life that will fulfill you if you don’t take care of yourself first.

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What are the different dimensions of self-care?

Self-care means taking care of yourself – which means, every part of you and facet of your life.

This includes these seven key dimensions of self-care:

1. Mental

2. Physical

3. Emotional

4. Spiritual

5. Social

6. Environmental

7. Financial

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Where do I start?

With so many methods and habits and activities and tips and guides floating around, it can be difficult to swim through all of it and figure out where to begin, and how to plan your self-care practice.

But it’s actually easy to get started. You start with what you need most.

Notice which part of you needs to be cared for, and start from there.

Focus on this first. And keep it simple.

That’s the key.

Simplicity.

Try new habits and or activities from the 7 dimensions listed above.

Figure out what helps and what doesn’t. 

Notice how activities make you feel.

• Do they help you? 
• Do they make you feel better? 
• Do you notice improvements or not? (for this you might need to wait a bit to be certain)
• Do they have a positive impact?

Keep whatever that works for you. Get rid of anything that doesn’t. 

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How do I develop a plan that works for me?

Developing a plan that works for you is a very personal thing. It means something different for everyone so it will be widely different depending on who you’re talking to, but the key steps remain the same. Whichever plan you’re focusing on, either a daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly one, they all follow the same guidelines.  

Figure out what you need and want to achieve. Be clear. Make list. Follow list.

• Check in with yourself. Notice which part of you or your life needs a little more care or which one(s) you would like to improve.  
• Write down your needs.
• Write down your goals. Be clear about what you wish to gain from your plan. (What do you wish to achieve with your self-care journey? Less stress and anxiety? To be more peaceful? To feel more balanced and focused? To have more free time for things that you love?)
• List down actions and activities that will help you achieve them.
• Go and follow the plan.

Tip: 

Do not hesitate to adjust and adapt — especially for longer-term plans. Because, unlike a daily plan, time passes and stuff happens, so your needs and goals might change and evolve, and thus necessitate some adjustments. 

That’s okay. 

Just go with the flow of changes. 

See: How To Create The Perfect Self-Care Plan In 7 Easy Steps

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I don’t have time – what do I do?

Again. Keep it simple.

Simplicity will really make everything easier. 

Simplify and focus on one achievable goal at a time. One step after the other. (Ideally, the most urgent one.)

Ask yourself: 

• What do I need most today? 
• What is the most urgent thing I should focus on or take care of?

This is your starting point. Go from there.

If you’re busy and have barely any time at all: Do not aim for more. 

Really keep it simple.

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What are the key steps?  

A self-care journey is different for everyone. It’s a highly personal practice, and thus an effective practice is one that is personalized based on one’s own needs, goals, and preferences. And there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. However, there are essential steps that any effective self-care routine should include.

Any effective self-care practice should ideally contain these:

• A morning routine
• Nutritious foods
• Daily movement
• A bedtime routine
• Enough sleep

These are the basics – the staples, really –  for an effective self-care practice. These five steps cover the bare minimum of a healthy lifestyle. 

If you succeed in incorporating these five steps into your daily routine, you’re already doing well. 

Tip: 

Developing relaxing morning and bedtime routines that work for you is more important than nearly anything else. It prepares you for the day, and then helps you let go of the stress and tension at the end of the day for a restful night. 

See: The 5 Self-Care Key Steps

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How do I design a relaxing morning routine?

The key here is to start your day the right way. To set the tone. You don’t want to start your day already feeling stressed or overwhelmed or in a rush so soon.

You want to start your day feeling calm, refreshed, and ready to face the day. 

Key steps:

• Give yourself the time to wake up. Stay away from screens or any stressful activity right after stumbling out of bed.
• Check in with yourself. With how your mind and body feel.
• Figure out your needs and goals for the day. (Not necessarily the self-care ones, the other stuff you wish to achieve as well.)
• Drink water and eat a nutritious breakfast. 

See: 5 Simple Steps To Create A Peaceful Morning Routine

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How do I design a calming bedtime routine?

The key here is to wind down and nurture yourself after the day. For this, you want to focus on activities that help you slow down and release tension.  (You don’t want to jump rope right before bed, for example.)

You want to feel calm and peaceful before you go to bed. You’ll sleep better, and wake up feeling more rested. 

Key steps:

• Set time aside for yourself  and find an activity that will help you slow down and release tension (yoga, stretching, journaling, breathwork, etc)
• Eat a light dinner. Good for digestion and restful sleep
• Avoid screen time at least one hour before sleep
• Breathe and stretch before bed

See: 5 Simple Steps To Create A Calming Bedtime Routine

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3 Last Important Things To Remember 

1. Self-care isn’t always easy. And it isn’t always pretty. 

With all the information out there and the pretty posts,  it is easy to think that self-care is all about the aesthetic and indulgence – but self-care isn’t meant to be an Instagramable trend. 

At least not real self-care.

At some point, self-care will be you taking a shower after days spent in bed. Or making you a simple meal (and not the most nutritious one) because you’re so exhausted you can’t aim for anything more complicated. 

Self-care means taking care of yourself. Especially when you need it most. 

It is not about emptying your wallet to feel good or better. (This doesn’t mean that you should never treat yourself or self-indulge. Everyone needs and deserves pleasures and joys every now and then.) 

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2. Self-care means pushing yourself to do stuff you don’t want to do.  

This is the most unpleasant side of an effective self-care practice. But perhaps one the most essential. 

Sometimes, self-care means forcing yourself to do stuff you don’t feel like doing, but that you have to do anyway. And you have to push yourself and do it anyway because this is what you need. 

Like cleaning your house after weeks, or doing your pile of dishes, finally decluttering your home, or doing administrative and adult stuff. But you have to clench your teeth, square your shoulders, brace yourself, and do it anyway. 

Also, taking care of yourself also means being kind to your future self, so you do unpleasant things now so that “Future You” won’t have to. 

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3. You can’t do everything at once

Although there are 7 self-care dimensions, and a balanced routine focus on each one, it is not realistic to focus on each one every day. 

So how do you prioritize which one you should focus on? 

You start your morning by checking how you feel. 

If you’re not feeling the best physically today, feeling groggy or tired, then focus on physical self-care, and write down a simple goal that helps you with this. If you’re not feeling the best emotionally, then plan for an emotional caring moment, etc…

So that’s it. I’m curious to know how you approach your own self-care practice, so please feel free to share your tips in the comments. 

Have a nice day, and take care of yourself. You deserve it.