How to take better care of yourself

When you are busy or overwhelmed, it can be a challenge to squeeze in quality self-care and way too easy to resort to emotional eating instead.

Overeating can become a substitute for the hidden hungers we really crave — rest, comfort, celebration, or simply a reward for surviving a difficult day. It’s one thing to know that you “should” eat less and you “should” take better care of yourself. It’s another thing to figure out how to squeeze self-care into a hectic life and to make changes with overeating or emotional eating.

Taking better care of yourself doesn’t have to be complicated or all-consuming.

Here are 25 simple ways to take better care of yourself — instead of turning to food.

1. Learn to say no with ease and grace. It makes it possible to say yes to the stuff that you are trying to fit in.

Make an effort to get outside every day.Research shows the time spent outdoors is linked to an increase in energy and a heightened sense of wellbeing.

Stop and stretch once an hour. It’s one of the kindest things you can do for yourself in 60 seconds.

Drink your water. You’ll be hydrated and might also feel less hungry, more energized, and more alert.

Get 7.5 hours of sleep a night. Chronic sleep deprivation leads to increased appetite, weight gain, lack of focus, and productivity. Sleep and you will feel and be better.

Laugh daily. Laughter has numerous health benefits including lowering stress and improving your immune system. It’s cheap and it’s easy.

Minimize night eating. Create a wind-down ritual that includes some nice things for you without including food.

Short-circuit stress eating and overwhelm. Claim 10 minutes at the beginning of your day to get clear on your priorities, identify where to best spend your time and energy, and set your schedule.

List your worries and to-do list on paper. This keeps them from taking up space inside your brain and short-circuiting your productivity and your good intentions.

Collect ways of rewarding or comforting yourself that do not involve eating. Make a list of 25 (more!) ways that you can be nice to yourself.

Practice feeding all your senses — not just taste. Reward yourself with good smells, wonderful lotions, music that boosts your mood, or a massage or a pedicure instead of turning to food.

Give yourself the same compassion, respect, and kindness that you’d give a close friend or family member. It’s time to stop being harder on yourself than you’d be on someone else. Guilt and self-blame fuel emotional eating.

Keep it positive. Focus on what you will do instead of declaring what you won’t do or eat.

Add more music to your life. It can be a mood changer and an energy booster.

Do one lovely thing for yourself — just for you — each day. It doesn’t have to be anything major, just lovely. When you reward yourself in other ways, rewarding yourself with food becomes less tempting.

Practice delegating tasks and asking for help. Get comfortable with this by setting a goal of asking for help with at least one thing every day.

Preschedule your self-care. When you leave your hair, manicure, or massage appointment, schedule the next one so it’s sure to happen.

Stop multitasking and savor the task at hand. When you are fully present, a job like washing the dishes or weeding the garden can feel completely different.

Curb all the justification. Do something — anything — just because you want to.

Have fun in your body. Move, dance, or stretch in a way that makes you feel alive.

Add more color to your life. Spice up your clothes or your surroundings.

Ask for what you need.

Start a list of indulgences that aren’t food. Start sprinkling them into your life.

Accept your compliments. Don’t deflect them. Don’t minimize. The next time someone compliments you, look them in the eyes, say thank you and let it really sink in.

Want more help taking control of overeating and getting off the hamster wheel of trying to lose weight? Start by taking the free Hidden Hungers Quiz, getting clear on what’s driving your overeating, and the smartest, best steps for you to break free.

Whatever your situation, relief is a psychological necessity.

Posted Jan 13, 2015

Many of us feel that there’s a guilty pleasure associated with taking some “me” time. Whether it’s asking for a vacation day, deciding to take a personal day, or just going off the grid for a while, something about time for ourselves just feels wrong. However, knowing how to care for yourself is just as important as knowing how to care for the other people in our lives. You wouldn’t think twice about helping a friend or close relative in need of support. But when it comes to your own emotional needs, chances are you’re a little more reluctant.

Unfortunately, the notion of self-care has acquired a pretty bad reputation. It makes it sounds like you’re weak, needy, or in some way lacking inner strength when you admit that you need some mental “R&R.” The irony is that the very factors that prevent you from caring for yourself ultimately make you weaker and in more need of being “fixed.”

Failing to take care of yourself may also lead to careless decisions that put the people who rely on you at risk. We’ve all heard stories of medical students and residents who, after working two or three days without a break, made fatal or near-fatal mistakes. You can probably recall a time when a child in your care faced a serious risk because your attention was diverted, or you were preoccupied with other responsibilities.

Psychologists know from studies of people caring for an older relative that it’s crucial for a caregiver to recognize and respond to signs of their own stress. However, guilt often gets in the way. They complete their round-the-clock care without taking a break, not realizing that they’re putting themselves at risk of exhaustion, poor health, and social isolation. Fortunately, the perception that caregiving must by its very nature command a 24/7 routine is changing—word is getting out that self-care is in fact essential.

Eventually, as they gain experience, many in the helping professions are able to find ways to leave work at work and attend to their own needs when they’re off the job. However, it may take time and training to learn how to make that adjustment. By finding out what factors facilitate their transition from students to professionals, the rest of us can gain valuable insights into learning the why’s as well as the how’s of getting adequate self-care in high-stress posts.

It was with this background in mind that a team of graduate students in clinical psychology at West Virginia University studying under the guidance of their professor, Daniel McNeil, put out a “call to action” for graduate programs in the field to help their students facilitate the self-care process (Bamonti et al., 2014). In surveying the clinical training handbooks of 136 programs across the country, they could find mention of self-care in less than one-third (32.4%). Only 1 in 10 general graduate program training handbooks discussed possible self-care practices for distressed students. Even the self-care advice they provided was minimal at best, consisting of suggestions that students seek mental health interventions.

If graduate training programs in a field devoted entirely to mental health fail to provide adequate guidance for self-care needs, there’s not much chance that the rest of us are getting the advice we need to handle our own stresses. However, if we take some pages from their playbook, there are some strategies we can translate into terms that can be useful for you, whatever your situation might be:

1. Recognize signs of distress in your mood and behavior. Each of us has a “tell” that signifies we’re at our breaking point. Yours might be feelings of excess fatigue or of frenzy. Perhaps it’s not a feeling for you, but a type of behavior. You might have a case of the “dropsy’s” where you find that you’re falling or breaking dishes right and left. This is a good chance to regroup and figure out what’s causing these uncharacteristic symptoms.
2. Establish a balance between your personal needs and work or family-related demands. It’s one thing to recognize that you’re stressed and another thing to do something about it. You’ll come back to your work-related or caregiving tasks with a much fresher perspective if you’ve gotten a chance to take even a brief mental break. Even before you reach that point of feeling distress, schedule in that opportunity to rest, go for a walk, or just sit down and have a quiet moment to yourself without any distractions.
3. Maintain a sense of humor. We often forget about the role of humor as a stress-buster. Being able to laugh, even if at your own situation (such as those dropped dishes), can help you put your life’s strains into perspective. You don’t just have to laugh at yourself. Watching a TV sitcom or favorite cult comedy known to produce guaranteed laughs will help not only your mood, but potentially some of those stress hormones that have been building up.
4. Spend quality time with friends and family. Being with people outside of the work situation can help bring you back to reality and perhaps establish a mood-restoring sense of normalcy. People who meet your emotional needs through their understanding and concern help you, in turn, meet the needs of others. If nothing else, their presence can take some of the burden off you and your preoccupations, meeting your personal needs in important ways.
5. Develop an alternative, self-absorbing but healthy activity. It’s no wonder that politicians who literally carry the burdens of the world on their shoulders are often the very same people who work the hardest at their play. Even though they may take some ribbing as a result, leaders of major organizations of any kind schedule time into their lives for an emotional outlet. When you find a hobby that you’re truly passionate about, you’ll be better able to throw yourself into it than if you left your free time’s diversions to chance. A self-absorbing activity that promotes your health has the added benefit of making you better able to withstand the stress of the work you do for others.
6. Find a place to work or live that encourages a culture of self-care. The point of the Bamonti et al. paper was to encourage clinical training programs to promote a “culture” of self-care in which supervisors define wellness and help students identify ways to identify and counter burnout. Some of the ways in which workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities can encourage this culture is to schedule time for individuals to share in extracurricular activities, celebrate each other’s successes, provide positive feedback, and find their own work-life balance. Employers may not go so far as to force the use of vacation time, but their examples can serve to motivate and inspire their workers to attend to their own very human needs.

Follow me on Twitter @swhitbo for daily updates on psychology ,health, and aging. Feel free to join my Facebook group, “Fulfillment at Any Age,” to discuss today’s blog, or to ask further questions about this posting.

Reference

Bamonti, P. M., Keelan, C. M., Larson, N., Mentrikoski, J. M., Randall, C. L., Sly, S. K., & . McNeil, D. W. (2014). Promoting Ethical Behavior by Cultivating a Culture of Self-Care During Graduate Training: A Call to Action. Training And Education In Professional Psychology, doi:10.1037/tep0000056

Take the Hidden Hungers Quiz – find out what you are really hungry for (probably not food!).

As an added bonus, receive tips, strategies, and updates.

25 simple ways to take better care of yourself – instead of eating

When you are busy or overwhelmed, it can be a challenge to squeeze in quality me-time and self-care.

Overeating can become a substitute for the things we really crave – rest, comfort, celebration, or simply a reward for surviving a difficult day. It’s one thing to know that you “should” take better care of yourself. It’s another thing to figure out how to squeeze self-care into a hectic life. Taking better care of yourself doesn’t have to be complicated or all-consuming.

Here are 25 simple ways to take better care of yourself – instead of turning to food.

1. Learn to say no with ease and grace. It makes it possible to say yes to the stuff that you are trying to fit in!
2. Make an effort to get outside every day.Research shows the time spent outdoors is linked to an increase in energy and a heightened sense of wellbeing.
3. Stop and stretch once an hour. It’s one of the kindest things you can do for yourself in 60 seconds.
4. Drink your water. You’ll be hydrated and might also feel less hungry, more energized, and more alert.
5. Get 7 ½ hours of sleep a night. Chronic sleep deprivation leads to increased appetite, weight gain, lack of focus, and productivity. Sleep and you will feel and BE better!
6. Laugh daily. Laughter has numerous health benefits including lowering stress and improving your immune system. It’s cheap and it’s easy.
7. Minimize night eating. Create a wind-down ritual that includes some nice things for you without including food.
8. Short-circuit stress eating and overwhelm. Claim ten minutes at the beginning of your day to get clear on your priorities, identify where to best spend your time and energy, and set your schedule.
9. List your worries and to-do list on paper. This keeps them from taking up space inside your brain and short-circuiting your productivity and your good intentions.
10. Collect ways of rewarding or comforting yourself that do not involve eating. Make a list of 25 (more!) ways that you can be nice to yourself.
11. Practice feeding all your senses – not just taste. Reward yourself with good smells, wonderful lotions, music that boosts your mood, or a massage or a pedicure instead of turning to food.
12. Give yourself the same compassion, respect, and kindness that you’d give a close friend or family member. It’s time to stop being harder on yourself than you’d be on someone else. Guilt and self-blame fuel emotional eating.
13. Keep it positive. Focus on what you will do instead of declaring what you won’t do or eat.
14. Add more music to your life. It can be a mood changer and an energy booster.
15. Do one lovely thing for yourself – just for you – each day. It doesn’t have to be anything major, just lovely. When you reward yourself in other ways, rewarding yourself with food becomes less tempting.
16. Practice delegating tasks and asking for help. Get comfortable with this by setting a goal of asking for help with at least one thing every day.
17. Preschedule your self-care. When you leave your hair, manicure, or massage appointment, schedule the next one so it’s sure to happen.
18. Stop multitasking and savor the task at hand. When you are fully present, a job like washing the dishes or weeding the garden can feel completely different.
19. Curb all the justification. Do something – anything – just because you want to.
20. Have fun in your body. Move, dance, or stretch in a way that makes you feel alive.
21. Add more color to your life. Spice up your clothes or your surroundings.
22. Ask for what you need.
23. Start a list of indulgences that aren’t food. Start sprinkling them into your life.
24. Accept your compliments. Don’t deflect them. Don’t minimize. The next time someone compliments you, look them in the eyes, say thank you and let it really sink in.
25. Start a practice of listing three things that went well every day and three things you are proud of. Shift your mindset and create more clarity around all the ways you are effective.

Are there simple or little things that help you feel more nourished or taken care of? What are they?

Take the Hidden Hungers Quiz – find out what you are really hungry for (probably not food!).

As an added bonus, receive tips, strategies, and updates.

A happy life begins, ultimately, by taking good care of yourself. However, often life seems a constant struggle of trying to please other people, juggling work commitments and generally not having much time to think about yourself.

If you want to start living the incredible life you deserve, you need to start taking better care of yourself beginning today. That doesn’t mean waiting until tomorrow, or the day after, or even the week after to start. Your life is now.

To make sure you don’t waste a moment longer, keep reading for our top list and guide on ways to take better care of yourself today!

10 Ways To Take Better Care Of Yourself

1. Breathe Deeply

How often do you pay attention to your breathing? For most people, the answer is typically not enough.

In moments of stress or difficulty, your breathing can become shallow and strained. You may remember a time where you’ve been under immense pressure… perhaps in an interview or sitting an exam… and once you’re finished, you hear yourself let out a long breath? That’s because somewhere during that stressful moment in time, unknowingly, you’ve been holding onto your breath.

So remember to take deep, steady breaths throughout the day. Doing so will not only improve your emotional state but also your health. So if you want to be healthy, start with a deep breath!

2. Enjoy The Present Moment

If you regularly read this blog, then this should be something you’re already very familiar with. But you can never hear this too many times, so let this really sink in; the greatest gift you can give to yourself is the present moment.

So let go of your past. Don’t concern yourself with your worries for tomorrow anymore.

Instead, try to learn to make the most of what you already have, the right here and now.

3. Forgive Yourself

Even when you are great at offering forgiveness to others, forgiving yourself can often be a lot more difficult. You’re human, you will have made mistakes. We ALL have.

However, until you are able to let these things go you are denying yourself the potential and happiness that is possible for you. Take ownership of your mistakes, forgive yourself and move on.

4. Forgive Others

It is equally as important to forgive others who have wronged you. Why? Well, when you still hold onto that hate or pain that someone has caused you, you are keeping the connection between you and that person alive and strong.

The only way to break those binds for good is to forgive them fully. This takes time, so be kind to yourself. One great quick tip is every time you find yourself thinking about or feeling resentment towards that person, in your mind send them love and let them go.

5. Give Up Judgment

Become more tolerant towards yourself and others. Judgment clouds our ability to see the good in things; whether that’s ourselves, another person or a situation. And this may prevent you from making the very most of any opportunities that come your way. Judgment can hinder your success and move you further away from your goals. Judgment is optional, so be judgment free and choose success!

6. Expect Great Things

Are you a glass half empty or half full kind of person? Training your brain to expect the very best from everything will transform your day, even your life, for the better. Expect the best and that’s exactly what you’ll get.

7. Invest In Your Relationships

It is in our very nature to be sociable and want to seek out the company of others. So consider how much time you are spending with the people who love and uplift you most. Are you spending enough quality time with the people that add joy to your life? Set aside more of your day for the nurturing of relationships that are important to you.

8. Say ‘Thank You’

Get on board with an attitude of gratitude! The benefits of gratitude for a happier, better overall quality of life cannot be underestimated. Appreciation for what you already have makes it possible to start being happy with what you’ve got, right now.

9. Let Go Of The Old

Until you are able to lose all of the things that no longer serve you, how can you expect the things you want most to come into your life? If you’re struggling to see any positive changes in your day, look at your current life and ask yourself ‘what things are holding me back or keeping me from achieving what it is I want most?’ Create room in your life.

10. Show Yourself LOVE

Last but not least, if you want to make the very most of every second of every day, you’ve got to start loving yourself. Fuel yourself with absolute love for the mind, body, and soul and really treasure yourself. Do this and accept yourself, and I can guarantee that the course of your day will naturally reshape itself into something you can get excited about.

Take better care of yourself and your life will take better care of you. Simple!

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It’s not uncommon to struggle to take care of yourself when you have so much on your plate. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by trying to balance your responsibilities and obligations, we’re here to help. You won’t have to neglect self-care any longer — get ready to prioritize your mind, body, and your professional life on a regular basis.

Here’s our list to show you how to take better care of yourself without missing a beat. We’ll help you look and feel better in no time. Not only will these tips contribute to your overall health, but none of them will take up too much of your time.

Try these self-care tips, today:

Knowing When to Ask for Help

Putting your career first doesn’t have to be a negative thing, as long as you’re also taking advantage of the resources you have. One of the best self-care strategies is learning to acknowledge when you have too much on your plate. That’s when it’s time to call for backup.

Whether you’re looking for help taking your business plan to the next level or you need an extra hour before work to get some exercise in, ask for help. Seeking assistance doesn’t make you weak, it’s practicing self-care on of the best ways possible. This also helps you to maintain a realistic to-do list and prevents you from burning out.

Make Sure You’re Eating Well

It’s necessary to pay attention to your nutritional needs by eating well. This is one of the most basic aspects of taking care of yourself. Have a couple of go-to meals you can rely on whenever you’re too tired to figure out what to eat.

You can keep the ingredients simple with fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and lean protein . Or find a nearby restaurant that you can easily get to when you don’t have much time. Having your go-to meal already stashed away eliminates the stress of having to find something to eat when you need fuel.

Learn How to Properly Multitask

There’s nothing wrong with multitasking, but it should always be balanced. Why not exercise while walking your dog simultaneously? Take a couple of things off of your to-do list and see what can be consolidated.

You won’t have to beat yourself up for clearing up your schedule, instead, you’re making a new self-care plan that works for you. Got a dental implants service appointment? Bring a book with you so you can decompress in the waiting room instead of pushing that to the end of your day.

Try Meditating

Knowing how to take better care of yourself includes moments when you can take a breather. Meditation is a great way to tap into your intuition and listen to yourself. Many successful people credit meditation as an integral part of their daily routine.

Get Enough H2O

Dehydration can cause medical complications , including joint pain, weight gain, headaches, high blood pressure, and fatigue. Getting enough water is important but that doesn’t always mean you have to drink it. Cucumbers, spinach, strawberries, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, and watermelon offer plenty of hydration.

When you’re not able to have a gallon of water by your side at all times, consider getting your H2O in other ways.

You should always come first. Combine your responsibilities with your self-care is the key to remembering how to take better care of yourself. Keep these tips in mind and you’re on your way to a healthier and much more prosperous year!

posted on August 29, 2018 | by Chelsea Becker

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about my thirties is the shift in prioritizing myself. I might not have as much time and more responsibilities, but I’ve learned to spend my free time in a more impactful way. This means looking after my health and wellness, releasing toxic friendships, and learning to actually love myself. Bottom line, caring for myself is a priority!

Whether you feel like you take good care of yourself in this decade or aren’t there yet, I hope this list serves as some sort of inspiration.

1. Say ‘no’ to something every single day aka do less!
2. Turn your phone on Airplane Mode an hour before bed.
3. Remove unrealistic expectations of other people and yourself.
4. Apply SPF every. single. day. (Don’t forget that neck and your hands!)
5. Prioritize sleep – even if that means skipping that episode of Real Housewives.
6. Try to get veggies at every meal (here’s how!).
7. Drink a big ass glass of water when you wake up, and one before bed.
8. Give yourself grace every single day. This means forgiving yourself for not hitting everything on your to-do list or not making that workout class.
9. Floss! I started setting my floss underneath my toothpaste to finally form a habit.
10. Care less about what other people think.
11. Have ‘you time’ every day – find a way, even if it’s 10 minutes.
12. Unfollow people who make you feel bad about yourself. On social media and in real life. (Here’s a little inspo on who I like to follow.)
13. Stop after that second drink. Your hangover will thank you.
14. Quit gossiping and jump off the negativity energy train.
15. Limit processed foods. See if you can go more days than not without it.
16. Incorporate weight training to maintain muscle mass that we naturally lose as we age.
17. Drink hot lemon water before your coffee for better digestion and as a natural energy boost.
18. Learn 5-10 simple, healthy meals, and rotate them for ease.
19. Tell yourself three things you like about yourself before getting out of bed and work on replacing negative thoughts with positive ones (this will help!)
20. Eat breakfast – and one that keeps you energized and full. For me, that’s a mix of protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs.
21. Stop apologizing for things you’re not actually sorry for.
22. Stretch!
23. Plan something you’re looking forward to every week.
24. Do your best to have a weekend day with no plans – chores included!
25. See your doctor and dentist at least once a year.
26. Stop comparing your life to others’.
27. Let your phone die.
28. Volunteer, and make it a regular thing.
29. Move your body a few times a week, if not more.
30. HAVE FUN!

Please do me a favor and let me know how you take care of yourself in this thirties!

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about the author

Chelsea Becker

I grew up in San Diego and have spent my adult life living in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area (though my heart is still with SD sports teams). Most of my days are spent working with clients via becker editorial, but on top of that, I’m just trying to survive life as a new mama and sneak in wine nights with my husband or girlfriends!

The Advice Column for the Modern Woman.

Welcome to your 30s! If you’re thinking you should magically have your life together by now, guess what? NOBODY DOES! And that’s okay! Stick around & enjoy some honest, down-to-earth advice you can actually use in your daily life.

When you think of self care, you may think of getting a massage or a mani/pedi. That is alright, there is nothing wrong with getting those things. But, what self care means is taking care of your mind, body and soul.

Learning to take time out when you need it, is the core of self care. In today’s world everyone is busy. You are driven to work more and do more. If you keep up at this pace, you will end up feeling depleted and empty inside.

Take better care of yourself, now.

Unfortunately, practicing self care isn’t always easy. I have found that a lot of people feel guilty when they put themselves first. Even when this means they are exhausted. Which means you are going to burn out. This can lead to many other problems.

This puts both your emotional and physical health at risk. But, it’s not until one of those is at risk when people begin to do something.

Here are 10 tips to help you take better care of yourself:

1. Exercise daily as part of your self care routine. I see a lot of people neglect this one. Exercise helps you physically and mentally. I think a lot of people know this, but this is the first one you remove from your calendar. If you can’t get to the gym everyday, then go for a walk. If you can get fresh air, even better. Try a yoga class. This incorporates both mind and body. Start to make time for exercise, you won’t regret it.
2. Eat nutritious foods for self care. The food you eat can keep your mind alert. Not to mention it is good for your body. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. Stick with a low carbohydrate diet. You don’t want to eat high sugar snacks or food that will weigh you down.
3. Take a self care trip. Getting away for a weekend can help you disconnect and relax. Even if you aren’t feeling particularly stressed out. Make sure you spend within your means. It doesn’t feel good to get back and realize you have a bunch of debt from your weekend getaway. Visiting with family or going camping can help cut costs.
4. Take time to get outside. Getting outside can help lower your blood pressure, reduce stress and help you be more mindful. If you go for a walk, slow down. Actually feel your feet hit the ground. If there are trees or flowers around, stop and look at them. Notice any small details they may have. Getting outside can also help you sleep better at night.
5. Let a pet help you with your self care. Your pet will give you unconditional love. Make sure you spend quality time with your pet. Hug your pet and enjoy spending time with your pet. They have actually been known to help decrease depression and help with the symptoms of PTSD.
6. Get organized to help your self care. This means organizing the space you live in. You want to be able to find your keys and wallet easily. You don’t want to have a lot of clutter around. You will feel weighed down. When you bring new things in, clear old things out. This is good for your mind.
7. Make sleep a priority. This is one I see people cut a lot. When you don’t get enough sleep you are more forgetful, and it is harder to focus. Start by taking a close look at your night time routine. Are you drinking a lot of liquid before bed? Are you drinking caffeinated drinks or eating high sugar snacks? How about electronic gadgets? These need to be shut down an hour before bed. Make sure your room is dark, and that you have darkening curtains over the windows. This way you won’t be awoken by early morning sun.
8. Plan regular self care time. This may sound impossible right now. If that’s the case, then start small. You can schedule 10 minutes for yourself in the morning. You may play with your pet, or sit down and drink a cup of coffee while writing in your journal. Spend time with friends watching a movie or a comedy. Just take time for yourself regularly.
9. Set boundaries and say no to others for your self care. This means stop saying yes when you mean no. I know this can be really hard for some people. You may feel like you are letting others down. The truth of the matter, is you are letting others down. But, if you don’t start saying no today you will end up feeling resentful and burnt out. It may take a little practice, but after a while it will feel natural.
10. Stay engaged in your self care plan. There are many ways you can stay engaged in your self care plan. Begin by making your self care plan a priority. Have a friend or family member keep you accountable. You can also read about self care strategies.

When you start your self care plan, you are starting your happiness journey. Right now, self care may seem like a new concept to you. This is something you can learn. How did you learn to bake your first cake? You read a recipe. How did you learn to solve a math problem? You took a math class. A self care plan uses the same logic. This is something you can learn and get better at over time.

If you like what you read, there is more in Taking Care Of Yourself. There are many tips that can help you start your self care plan today.

Let’s be truthful here; just how many days in a row have you been wearing the same pair of tracksuit bottoms while in lockdown? While there’s no shame at all in living that loungewear life, it is still important to take care of yourself.

There are little adjustments you can make in your daily routine to help improve your wellbeing, whether it is your skincare routine or making sure you get enough sleep. Here are some of the practical ways to do so without having to take one step outside your front door.

Avoid eye strain

I don’t know about you, but the amount of time I’ve been spending on my phone has skyrocketed in these last few weeks, and that’s with working from home seeing me stare at a laptop all day long too.

If you find your eyes started to stray in the evening, it might be worth doing some research on blue light blocking glasses. The non-prescription glasses are meant to alleviate the level of blue light we’re taking in all day long, with some brands like Kanturo making frames that luckily don’t look like your parent’s reading glasses.

Anyone who knows they’re spending an excessive amount of time looking at screens should think about it, as they can help your body get back into rhythm when it’s time to go to bed — and speaking of bed!

You’re a reader now

Even with more free time on your hands and nothing else to do in the evenings, are you having trouble getting to sleep?

This is mainly due to a lack of inactivity (which I’ll talk about next) and you not allowing your brain to switch off. Not looking at your phone in bed is a hard habit to beat, but being able to ignore it at night and form new habits will prove beneficial.

The simplest way to do it? Replace that spot on the bedside table your phone usually sits on with that pile of books you promised yourself you’d get stuck into. Reading is a tremendously low-key way of alleviating stress and helping your brain power down in the evening. If you can stick with it every night for a few weeks, the urge to use your phone in bed will die away, and you’ll never look back.

Train like a prisoner

Feeling like a prisoner because you’re stuck at home? Then start acting like one… sort of.

There is a trending buzzword for fitness fanatics and gym lovers who can’t get to the gym: convict workouts. These are exercises that improve conditioning in limited space; something we all have right now. You can find these types of workouts on YouTube, and they’ll usually be equipment free.

While you’ll not end up with that perfect summer body when this is all over, if you make it a new habit and give it a go every few days, you may end up wondering if the gym was worth the membership price.

Nail your skincare routine

If staying at home is going to see you feeling better, then it’s time to shuffle through the bathroom cabinet and experiment with your skincare routine. With nowhere to go, there shouldn’t be a big need to put on makeup every day. This gives us the ideal time to let the skin breathe and get it feeling as fresh and fantastic as possible.

And remember what I said about forming habits? For any guys out there who struggle with starting and keeping a skin routine in place, buy some sample kits and get those stuck at home with you, who know their stuff, to help you out. There are some brands out there like Clarins, Brincnell and Facetheory which sell skincare sample kits for men. These kits will have samples you can play with to see which works best, whether you have dry, oily or sensitive skin. Give it a go, and you might end up with better-looking skin.

Are you trying to improve your personal care routine?

Read the latest personal care posts from the blog right live Enhanced. Recent posts include tips for improving dental health and simple exercises anyone can do to avoid knee pain.

It’s 7:30 a.m. and your alarm is blaring. Squinty-eyed, you reach for your phone, fumbling to swipe that horrible noise off, sinking back into the mattress, your eyes fading to black again… until you shoot straight up, eyes wide open, realizing you’ve already pushed snooze three times. You’re late. So you bolt out from under the covers and, like a blur, get dressed and go to work.

You’re at the office (finally), and a million emails have rudely generated in your inbox, so you start shooting off responses, only to reply to the ones that come back seconds later. You only get up when nature calls and your stomach yells for food. Another blur and it’s already dark. Time to climb back under the covers…

Sleep, wake up, work. And repeat. That’s a daily grind that will have you burning out the next time your alarm goes off. There’s more to life than work. How can you make sure you’re getting a healthy dose of “me time”?

We asked the Young Entrepreneur Council, “What is one thing you can do every day to take care of yourself, before your work?” to find out.

1. Set specific time slots when you don’t work.

Focusing on work is a great excuse for not taking care of yourself. I have set specific time slots where I won’t work and will instead spend time on my family and me. These slots are first thing in the morning (before 8 a.m.) and dinnertime (5 to 8 p.m.). Except for events I must attend, these slots are sacred times for me to spend with my family and not work. Setting this up has been life-changing.

2. Start your day off with meditation.

I start every morning with a short 5–10-minute meditation using an app called Beditations. The meditation helps me visualize the things I’m most grateful for and allows me to minimize negativity and distractions. I find that early morning meditation increases my self-awareness and helps me put into perspective what really matters. I also tend to be much more positive, energetic and happy.

3. Work out.

I get up early most mornings and head to a free, outside workout called F3. Aside from obvious health benefits, it clears my mind and gets me in touch with the outdoors and in the company of good friends to start the day.

4. Get enough ZZZs.

The scientific benefits of sleep are innumerable. More sleep equates to more happiness, better health and improved decision-making. Not to mention that it detoxes the brain. In order to do your best work, it’s critical to consistently recharge your batteries.

5. Write a poem.

It sounds silly, random even, but this is something I’ve done every day that has dramatically reduced my stress while simultaneously opening my mind to many details in the world and opportunities that I would not have otherwise noticed. Start your day by writing a poem—even something as simple as a haiku.

6. Keep a journal.

Life is very busy. My journal is in bullet-form so I can jot down things I did, people I met, how I felt, etc. It’s been a great outlet to help me be present, remember the little moments and sort out challenges in both my personal and professional life.

7. Talk to friends and family.

Your friends and family are your biggest supporters. Even if you are having a very stressful and busy day, pick up the phone for a few minutes just to say hi to Mom or your best friend, and just talk about the good things that are happening in their lives. It will keep you grounded.

8. Wake up slowly.

It’s not unusual for me to answer 10 to 15 emails before even getting out of bed in the morning. But starting the day off like this often sets a negative tone for the day, and truthfully most issues can wait. I’m learning that I’m much happier when I take 30 to 45 minutes to wake up slowly and shower before checking email.

9. Read something fictional.

Refresh your mind by taking an afternoon break from your workflow and escaping to another world. Reading fictional stories stimulates the right side of your brain, sparking creative thought. That stimulation can make your day go a little smoother by thinking differently, solving problems in abstract ways and, most importantly, rejuvenating your soul.

10. Do yoga.

I have always been a very active person. I played water polo, swam, surfed, tried every sport out there. But in the last few years I started doing yoga a few days a week and it has changed my life. It’s the only place my phone is completely off and my mind is focused on myself only—no clients, employees or projects. It’s the easiest way to reset your mind and body in 60 minutes.

11. Listen to a podcast.

I find that one of the best practices to get fresh air and stimulate my brain is simply to take a walk and listen to a podcast with the podcast app that now comes standard on the iPhone. Do yourself a favor and listen to something non-business-related. For a little health or mindfulness, my favorites are Bulletproof Radio and Buddhist Geeks.

12. Put yourself on your schedule.

When you put yourself on your schedule, you won’t have meetings and appointments that prevent you from taking care of yourself. I prefer to put myself as my first appointment of the day to make sure I don’t get caught up in the day and decide to skip out on important things that keep me grounded, like exercise and meditation.

13. Make time for play.

Before becoming a father, I would have given an answer like many others: workout, meditate, yoga, etc. These are all exceptional ways to nurture yourself. After becoming a father, the greatest joy I can experience is playing with my children. It’s like taking that deep refreshing breath of sea air after a hard workout, but better.

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprising the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2015 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness.

How to take better care of Yourself

The honest truth is that most of us don’t know how to take better care of ourselves. We have far more compassion and patience for strangers, our friends and our loved ones, than we do for our own self. We compliment other people, admire their gifts and talents but how rarely do we say something nice about ourselves or pay ourselves a complement?

We have got so used to being our own worst enemy that we don’t even realise when we criticise ourselves or put ourselves down. It has just become our natural way of being. Our dominant habit. Many of us don’t even believe we deserve our own love and kindness. We often neglect ourselves, our time, our bodies and our self esteem. Sadly, we often treat ourselves in the same way as we may have ( often not deliberately ) been treated by our love ones during childhood.

How to take Better Care of Yourself

When is the last time you spoke encouraging words to yourself or soothed yourself when you were upset or sad? The chances are, you are more likely to beat yourself up than build yourself up!

When did you last give yourself a pat on the back or told yourself what a blooming fabulous person you really are? Sadly, we are more likely to compare ourselves unfavourably to other people than we are to praise our own self.

Learning to treat yourself with love and respect is the highest gift you can give yourself. Surely you deserve your own love and kindness?

Here are a few of my favourite tips to Learn how to take Better care of yourself:

Remember…..You don’t have to do them all at once, just commit to doing one or two.

Action Steps:

• Commit to learning how to treat yourself with patience and kindness. If you can just say a few nice encouraging things to yourself every day then this will start to build up that self-esteem muscle.

• Each evening, write down 2 nice things about yourself. Start a ‘ Self Love’ Journal. This will help you look at yourself in a more positive light.

• Praise yourself every time you look in the mirror. Even a ‘Well done’ for a good day at work is sufficient! You don’t have to have run a marathon or pass an exam in order to give yourself some praise. Praise yourself regularly for all the little things you do.

• Treat yourself like you would a five year old child. Listen to yourself. Respond with encouragement and kindness. Build up that inner child within you.

• Give yourself compassion and encouragement. Have compassion with yourself. Look at yourself through eyes of compassion, not eyes of dis-like and frustration.

• Feeling scared about something? Soothe yourself and tell yourself you will be ok and you will handle it.

Life Coach, Corby, Northamptonshire.

Lisa Phillips has over 20 years experience as a Leading Life Coach, Confidence Coach and Wellness Speaker. She has won several awards for her leading edge techniques. Lisa’s work appears regularly in the media and she is the author of ‘ The Confidence Coach’ book. Lisa works with clients in her local area and also offers Skype Life Coaching sessions. She also holds Group Life Coaching sessions in Corby, Northants.

Let’s be truthful here; just how many days in a row have you been wearing the same pair of tracksuit bottoms while in lockdown? While there’s no shame at all in living that loungewear life, it is still important to take care of yourself.

There are little adjustments you can make in your daily routine to help improve your wellbeing, whether it is your skincare routine or making sure you get enough sleep. Here are some of the practical ways to do so without having to take one step outside your front door.

Avoid eye strain

I don’t know about you, but the amount of time I’ve been spending on my phone has skyrocketed in these last few weeks, and that’s with working from home seeing me stare at a laptop all day long too.

If you find your eyes started to stray in the evening, it might be worth doing some research on blue light blocking glasses. The non-prescription glasses are meant to alleviate the level of blue light we’re taking in all day long, with some brands like Kanturo making frames that luckily don’t look like your parent’s reading glasses.

Anyone who knows they’re spending an excessive amount of time looking at screens should think about it, as they can help your body get back into rhythm when it’s time to go to bed — and speaking of bed!

You’re a reader now

Even with more free time on your hands and nothing else to do in the evenings, are you having trouble getting to sleep?

This is mainly due to a lack of inactivity (which I’ll talk about next) and you not allowing your brain to switch off. Not looking at your phone in bed is a hard habit to beat, but being able to ignore it at night and form new habits will prove beneficial.

The simplest way to do it? Replace that spot on the bedside table your phone usually sits on with that pile of books you promised yourself you’d get stuck into. Reading is a tremendously low-key way of alleviating stress and helping your brain power down in the evening. If you can stick with it every night for a few weeks, the urge to use your phone in bed will die away, and you’ll never look back.

Train like a prisoner

Feeling like a prisoner because you’re stuck at home? Then start acting like one… sort of.

There is a trending buzzword for fitness fanatics and gym lovers who can’t get to the gym: convict workouts. These are exercises that improve conditioning in limited space; something we all have right now. You can find these types of workouts on YouTube, and they’ll usually be equipment free.

While you’ll not end up with that perfect summer body when this is all over, if you make it a new habit and give it a go every few days, you may end up wondering if the gym was worth the membership price.

Nail your skincare routine

If staying at home is going to see you feeling better, then it’s time to shuffle through the bathroom cabinet and experiment with your skincare routine. With nowhere to go, there shouldn’t be a big need to put on makeup every day. This gives us the ideal time to let the skin breathe and get it feeling as fresh and fantastic as possible.

And remember what I said about forming habits? For any guys out there who struggle with starting and keeping a skin routine in place, buy some sample kits and get those stuck at home with you, who know their stuff, to help you out. There are some brands out there like Clarins, Brincnell and Facetheory which sell skincare sample kits for men. These kits will have samples you can play with to see which works best, whether you have dry, oily or sensitive skin. Give it a go, and you might end up with better-looking skin.

Are you trying to improve your personal care routine?

Read the latest personal care posts from the blog right live Enhanced. Recent posts include tips for improving dental health and simple exercises anyone can do to avoid knee pain.

I n today’s modern world, it’s easy to get swept up in the way things are portrayed. It’s safe to say that the world has changed a lot in recent years, and that we all definitely tend to place too much authority on the idea of outer beauty . Of course, this isn’t always a bad thing – as it can make you feel great. But at the same time, without countless amounts of gorgeous people online, lots of celebrities getting surgery and ‘glowing up’, and the rise of influencers, it’s hard not to feel inadequate. Yet, this is totally not how you should feel. It’s okay to take a look at these things and appreciate them, but you do still need to take them for what they are. And to do that, you’ll want to be sure that you are putting yourself first. Do not compare yourself, do not judge yourself – instead, appreciate, but then work on yourself. This is always the best policy.

Because that’s the thing about beauty – it’s more than just skin deep. And not only that but you should definitely be sure to prioritize taking the best possible care of yourself over anything else. It’s great to look good – but feeling good is better. And this is why you have to make inner beauty more of a focus. When you do, you’ll be less concerned about changing yourself to fit the mould, and more interested in improving yourself to look and feel your most confident, happiest, and healthiest. Here’s how.

The very first thing that you need to do here, is make sure that you’re just not comparing yourself to others. It’s easily done – we all do it, but it really doesn’t help you at all ! And so, this needs to stop. If you want to change yourself and feel beautiful in who you are, you just can’t compare where you are in life now to an idea that you have of others. So just be sure that you nip this in the bud now!

Stop The Comparisons

Focus On Your Own Goals

So now that we’ve gotten than out of the way, you are going to want to make sure that you are focusing on you. If you want to embrace your inner beauty, love your life, and feel happier every day, you have to be selfish. Not in a mean way, but you have to focus on your own gaols and what will make you happier. You cannot be focusing too much on what others are doing. This also ties in nicely with putting an end to comparisons, so can be pretty liberating!

So the very first active thing you can do to boost your inner beauty, is to drink more water. Hydration is always so key to your beauty and health. And so, you’ll want to make sure that you’re staying as hydrated as you can. It can feel difficult to try and drink more water each day , but there are lots of different ways that you can make this easy. And you will see the results of this really quickly.

How to take care of yourself and get better mental health from home

In fact, a recent Consumer Reports survey found that 38 percent of adults have experienced depression or anxiety as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

MILWAUKEE – With so many people sick from COVID-19, you may not have as much time to focus on the toll the pandemic may be taking on your mental health.

But many people are experiencing a range of stressful problems, including feelings of isolation, concerns about personal finances and politics, and worry about their kids and their future.

In fact, a recent Consumer Reports survey found that 38 percent of adults have experienced depression or anxiety as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

As Consumer Reports explains, there are ways to get affordable mental healthcare even if you’re staying home.

Numerous studies have shown that teletherapy can be as effective as in-person care.

And it can offer you more scheduling flexibility, convenience, and privacy, and a bigger pool of potential therapists.

If you’re interested in finding a therapist who will see you virtually, a good place to begin is by asking for a referral from your primary care provider, family, or friends.

A number of websites are a good resource as well, like the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association.

If you have health insurance, you can also look on your insurer’s website for a list of therapists covered under your plan.

There are also free options out there.

You can call 211 or go to 211.org for a referral to a provider who offers support at no cost or on a sliding scale based on your income.

You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and talk anonymously to a trained mental health professional free of charge.

To get the most out of a virtual session, it’s important that you feel comfortable with the therapist.

When talking to a prospective therapist, ask about his or her years in practice, specialties, therapy techniques, and fee.

And if you or someone you know need immediate help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or send a message to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

Both programs provide free, confidential support 24/7.

All Consumer Reports material Copyright 2019 Consumer Reports, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consumer Reports is a not-for-profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site. Fo

You may be looking for ways to take better care of yourself because maybe you have not been doing that lately. We all are guilty of that sometimes but if it lasts too long, we get in a slump. So make sure you are focused on doing as much as possible to improve the process of getting healthier and fitter. There are so many ideas you can use that will play a part in this, and this is something that you are going to need to work on as much as possible. Try to do your best to work on this as much as possible, and there are so many ideas that play a role in helping with this right now.

Your health and fitness are such important components of living the life you need to be living, and that’s why you should try to come up with tips and ideas that are going to help you make the most of this. There are a lot of factors that you should keep in mind right now, and this is something you are going to need to work on. Try to focus on these amazing health tips that will help you work toward being your best self.

1. Exercise

Try to make sure you do as much as possible to focus on improving your life through a number of different ways, exercise being one of the best. Make sure you come up with ideas for getting the best exercise you possibly can on a regular basis. There are plenty of ideas you can use to help you with this, and it is important that you work on a positive exercise regime that you can use to get fitter and healthier, and this is a really important ingredient in living your best life. Do as much as possible to keep fit and try to enjoy regular exercise as much as you can right now.

2. Eat Better

Eating healthy is one of the best ways of being able to slim down, get fit, and make the best decisions to take your life forward. Not to mention, its one of the most important ways to take better care of yourself. There are a lot of different diets that can be used to make you fitter and healthier, and it is something that plays a massive part in the process of getting this right. Try to make sure you think about the different factors that play a part in your healthy eating, and start by cutting out the junk food as much as possible in your life. Whether you choose fad diets or you simply look to have a more balanced diet moving forward, there are plenty of ways to make the most of what you are eating.

3. Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is one of the key facets of improving your life, and there are a number of ways you can go about achieving this moving forward. If you have been injured there are a lot of things that you need to make the most of moving forward, and this is something that you need to work on. Getting your body back up to the right levels, and making sure you are repairing and strengthening your body once again is really important, and can make a massive difference to the future.

4. Relax Body and Mind

Relaxing your body and mind is really important and there are plenty of great ways of being able to achieve this. You have to try to make sure you focus on what it takes to make the most of this, as well as how you can improve your life as a result. Taking steps to help you be more relaxed in terms of your body and mind is really important, and this is something you are going to need to work on as much as possible. Positive mental well-being plays such a big role in helping you to live your best life, and this needs to be a major focus for you right now.

5. Kick the Habit!

There are a lot of habits that we need to look to cut out in our lives, and one of the big ones is smoking. Luckily, there are plenty of processes you can go through that will help you to kick your smoking habit, with vaping representing a positive alternative. You should try to take a look at Smoko, the world’s first carbon negative e-cigarette brand , and a wonderful way of being able to improve your health and well-being.

20 More Ways How You Can Take Better Care of Yourself

1. Tackle your to do list
2. Do one thing today that makes you happy
3. Take a nap
4. Get 15 minutes of sun
5. Do some deep breathing
6. Try an outdoor workout
7. De-clutter one room, one drawer, anything
8. Pick someone and cuddle
9. Try daily affirmations
10. Purge negative people from your life
11. Ask for help
12. Eat dessert
13. Practice focus and gratitude
14. Learn to say “no”
15. Start your day with a glass of water
16. Create a weekly meal plan
17. Stay of social media for a day
18. Take care of a plant
19. Don’t eat kale (if you don’t like it) eat spinach if you do
20. Do some planks

These are some of the key ideas you need to keep in mind that are going to help you get fitter or healthier as a person. Living your best life is all about looking and feeling great as much as possible, and trying to better yourself in as many different ways as you can. Make sure you follow these ways to take better care of yourself and try to use them to make the most of things moving forward right now.

Follain Founder Tara Foley and Jenna chat about health and wellness as a state of mind, simple ways we can all take better care of ourselves, and the keys to navigating personal transformation.

Tara Foley

How To Take Better Care Of Yourself

As a pioneer of the clean beauty industry, Follain Founder Tara Foley is at the forefront of all things health and wellness. When she said, “It feels good to take care of yourself,” in our latest podcast, the truth of her sentiment made me question why we not only don’t prioritize taking care of ourselves, but often view self-care as time that would be better allocated elsewhere. Tara’s insight unravels the prevailing misconception that our daily responsibilities, often fueled by our quest for success, leave us little, if any, time to take care of ourselves; Despite the fact that prioritizing your wellbeing elevates every aspect of your life.

The equation is simple: When you take care of yourself you are happier. When you are happy, you are more present. Presence leads to higher productivity, which in turn, amplifies your success.

Tara’s the perfect example. Making the daily decision to take care of herself has equipped her with the stamina to launch Follain, build a thriving online business, open six stores across the country, travel almost weekly to meet their brand founders, lead their growing team, and most importantly, build her family, welcoming two beautiful children along the way. She’s achieved all of this in five years and as she prepares to lead Follain’s expansion, has placed an even higher premium on taking care of herself to ensure she has the energy and creativity to reach new heights in life and business.

“You have to schedule taking care of yourself to remind yourself that it’s just as important as any other meeting on your calendar,” she says.

I’ve long admired Tara, and learned many lessons from her over the years. Here are a few I’ve been reflecting on from our most recent conversation.

— On cultivating a health and wellness state of mind:“Health and wellness isn’t just the physical input and output of what you’re eating, how you’re moving, and what you’re putting on your body. It’s evolved into a mind-body approach and a state of mind for everything we do in life…For me, with the stage of my family and business, it’s more mental right now – making the choice to be happy and present where I am rather than being stressed – and that’s okay. Health and wellness needs to meet you where you are in life.”

— On routine, spontaneity, and taking breaks: I loved the way Tara articulates finding a good balance of maintaining a daily routine and mixing it up with activities that replenish your energy and stimulate your creativity. She commits to taking a small break during the day to ensure she’s approaching her work with her highest levels of attention and enthusiasm. You can do this by taking a walk, doing a short meditation, walking up and down the stairs, eating a quiet meal. Anything that gives your mind a break.

“Both having a routine that your brain can anticipate and feel safe in and also breaking that routine is really important. I get my best ideas when I break away from my daily schedule throughout the day and get my blood pumping,” she says. “Creativity doesn’t come easily. You have to work to get the opportunity to be creative.”

— Get more sleep! Tara changed her whole routine to fulfill her 2019 intention of getting more sleep, and after our chat, I’ve been inspired to do the same. Studies show that how long you sleep determines how you long live, with sleep deprivation being linked to increased risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s, poor mental health, and more. She’s committed to no longer working late nights, using social media before bed, or choosing exercise over sleep to maximize the number of hours she’s getting every night. A month in, she shared that she’s operating on a significantly higher level and feeling more confident, present, and productive. (PSA: Go to sleep early tonight!)
— On transformation: Tara sums up the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people who expand your ambition and focusing on your own intentions, rather than the opinions of others, perfectly:

“Throughout every transformation you go through there will be people who point a finger and say that you’ve changed. I used to take that really personally. Once, I changed my mindset and came to peace with the fact that change is a really good thing, I acknowledged that people who aren’t on board with your growth as a person and business aren’t the right people to surround yourself with. Evolution is a good thing, especially when you know in your gut that you’re doing the right thing for your life and work.”

Six changes, which helped me feel better about life and myself, I thought I’d share with you. I know how hard it can get sometimes, struggling with anxiety and panic attacks has been my life for a long time, but I did find ways to cope with it and since I have been having a harder time with it than usual, I thought sharing these ideas on how to feel a bit better would help me again and hopefully some of you too.
The pictures I put in between are unedited photos of Ischia I took while we were on vacation there.

Stop saying Yes to everything and everyone. This might be an obvious change to make, but somehow all of these are and it did take me a while to figure that out and in cooperate it in my daily life. You don’t need to be available all the time, what you do need is time for yourself to recharge your batteries. You don’t need to help others out every time just because you could, what you do need is the courage to say, I have some free time, but I want that free time to be me time. Which leads me to the second point.

It’s very important to understand that being egoistic isn’t a bad thing in any way. Only when looking after yourself gets to narcissistic levels you should maybe take a step back on it, but since the problem with narcissists is that they don’t understand how much they’re hurting others with their behaviour and hence don’t care that probably won’t happen. But back to the point. Don’t let others run all over you, just because you’re a nice person or a kind person or an empathic person. You can be all of that and still say, I don’t care. I don’t care and I don’t want to know because it hurts me. Or say, I do care and I want to talk about it because I have every right to talk about things that are important to me. No matter how different your opinion on that matter might be. All these things are legitimate things to do as a nice person as long as you’re being respectful and thoughtful with your counterpart. That’s the recipe to co-existing peacefully, respect and mindfulness.

1. Do things mainly for you and feel everything

And with that I mean, stop thinking about other people’s opinions. I recently bought myself socks with Minnie Mouse printed on them, that’s something I wouldn’t have done a few years ago, because guess what, I only thought about what others might think about that. And since I have dropped that mind-set I started getting ridiculously happy about the littlest things. I don’t care if people look at me weird because I can’t stop smiling and talking about that sausage dog that just walked by me. I don’t care if someone thinks I’m weird when I start crying while watching The Lion King (or thinks I’m weird for even watching it, I love the hell out of my Disney movies) I don’t care if someone stares at my Minnie Mouse socks and shakes their head about them. I LOVE these things and I refuse to let anyone limit my happiness or feelings. I want to be unbelievably happy and fantastically sad about all the things that touch me, because that’s life and that’s living and life as it is, is limited.

1. Cut out bad influences

For me, this lesson was a hard one to learn. Cutting out people without a “real” reason isn’t easy, but in life and especially when you become an adult, your values and morals change and manifest and you start to see that people who might have been in your life for years have a completely different take on life than you do. And sometimes that leads to arguing, fights and negative energy. And that’s the bad influence I am talking about, bad influence doesn’t have to be someone saying “Do drugs” or “Drink more alcohol” all the time, it can also be someone not valuing you enough and constantly putting you down (maybe not with confronting you for it, but also with jokes and a certain behaviour) for the kind of person you are or aspire to be and that’s when you need to cut those people from your life.

There are days when the bad mood literally wakes me up. I can’t stand anything from the moment my eyes open and nothing has happened to make me feel like that, but it does stop me from being productive, motivated and happy when I have no reason not to be. That’s when I stop a minute and start talking to myself. Yep, you read that one right. I start telling myself all the things I was looking forward to today, like yoga or that amazingly delicious oatmeal I’m going to eat for breakfast, and it changes my whole attitude instantly. This might sound like a fraud, but just try it once and you will see it does make a difference.

1. Push through your bad habits

Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. Of course, it’s important to do whatever you like, but it’s even more important to acknowledge all the bad habits and wrong actions you let yourself go through. You know not sleeping till 3 a.m. is awful for your health and psyche, but you still do it. And it’s not bad to do it once or occasionally, but when it becomes a habit it affects you more than it should and that’s why it is so important to find a balance between doing everything you like and still caring for your body and health in the process. Because it will eventually affect your psyche in a bad way.

You might have noticed that this post was not planned and therefore seems a bit messy, but if you have anything to add or would like to talk about something, I’m happy to do just that!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope it is a little nudge in the right direction if you’ve struggled with some of these points like me.

What is Self-Care and Why Is It Important to Better Take Care of Yourself?

One of the misconceptions about self-care is that it is selfish. On the contrary, it’s actually very giving. The more you take care of yourself, the more you can give of yourself to others. If that makes sense. But first, let’s define self-care. Self-care is defined as providing adequate attention to one’s own physical and psychological wellness (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001) as published by the American Psychological Association.

In this day and age, we can get pulled towards many different directions. We are sometimes forced to wear many hats or we may have intentionally subjected ourselves to do so without realizing it after the fact. But whatever the case may be, it is important to have a self-care routine to keep your overall health and wellness intact.

Self-care affects your mental, emotional, and spiritual state of being. It also can affect your work and relationships. Without establishing self-care habits, no matter how enduring you are, you will eventually hit a breaking point.

Self-care means setting boundaries towards people so you know when to say no and when to say yes.
It also means setting boundaries for yourself so you know not to overextend yourself.
Taking care of yourself means it’s okay to indulge yourself in the things that are pleasing to you mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Here are 6 Simple Ways to Better Take Care of Yourself:

1. Meditate

If you meditate, great! Meditation is such a great part of my mornings and nights. Some people think that meditation is a complicated routine of crossing your legs, sitting up right, burning candles, and reciting a chant. While there are people that do that, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Meditation is simply calming your mind and focusing on positive things.According to scientific studies, our brains think 70,000 thoughts per day. That’s an insane number of things to think about! Granted we don’t always remember all 70,000 thoughts but those thoughts that we often arise from physical circumstances or those thoughts that we focus on are the ones that obviously get magnified and tend to linger.For me, a meditation can simply mean taking several deep breaths, speaking positive affirmations or repeating in my mind Bible scriptures that I know will help me get through the day. My favorites are the Psalm 23, Isaiah 58:11, and 3 John 2:1, just to name a few.

Meditation as part of your morning routine will set the tone of your day. Anyone who meditates everyday can attest to this.

2. Listen

Listening to some preachings or feel-good podcasts that will elevate you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually is also a form of self-care. Whatever brings you peace, joy and good vibes so to speak means that you care enough about your overall well-being to feed it with good things.

3. Pamper

Women, most especially moms, often feel guilty for having a “me” time and pampering themselves a little bit.

Here are some ideas for pampering yourself:

• Get your nails and hair done.
• Make it a point to get a full body massage every month or every two months. Massage releases harmful toxins from your body caused by stress.
• Turn your bathroom into a full spa and indulge in a nice relaxing bath while reading a good book and drinking wine.

Check out some of the products below from Amazon that can easily turn your bathroom into a mini spa:

4. Eat Good Food

While eating good food should be a given, sometimes, we forget about this. We tend to just get fast food because we’re always on the go. We also need to actually take the time to sit down, relax, and take the time to chew our food fully. It helps our digestive system in processing the food and it also helps in our metabolism. A well-fed body makes for a well-functioning mind.

5. Get Enough Sleep

Our body needs at least an 8 hour sleep. For a lot of people, this is not always possible. Especially those with kids who have to be tended first. However, better time management and setting a schedule for yourself and everyone in your family can help you prioritize getting good and enough sleep at night.

If you normally have trouble sleeping, try the following tips:

• Drink Celestial Sleepytime Herbal Tea. It is a concoction of chamomile, spearmint and lemongrass. My mom has an insomnia problem and swears by this.

• If you have an oil diffuser, burn some aromatherapy essential oil. My favorite is lavender. If you don’t have any, you can get an oil diffuser and a set of essential oils for less than $40 from Amazon. Essential oils have health benefits and lavender in particular can help relax your nerves and calm your mind.

• Put on some relaxing instrumental music from YouTube. There are others that loop for 4 and 8 hours.

6. Indulge

Know that it’s okay to indulge every now and again as a form of self-care. Does shopping for a few items make you happy? Do it. Eat that dessert that you loved. Go to the movies with some girlfriends. Whatever indulging means for you to take better care of yourself, do it.

Hope you find these tips helpful. I can’t stress enough the importance of self-care. While it is noble to serve others such as our family, it is also noble to love and take care of ourselves. Life is short and if we are not well overall, it is more challenging to give of ourselves.

You’ll feel better if you prioritize self-care during the winter.

Self-care is always important

Self-care includes all the things we do to maintain or improve our wellbeing. We all know how important basic self-care activities such as adequate sleep, exercise, healthy eating, hobbies, and spending time with friends are. And we know that when we don’t prioritize self-care, we feel lousy. Our health suffers. We get sick. We’re irritable, lonely, sluggish, and unfulfilled.

Self-care for the winter

As the seasons change, we often need to change our self-care routines to accommodate the weather, amount of daylight, our schedule, and so forth.

The winter months can be particularly tough on us both physically and mentally. We’re more prone to colds and flu. some of us suffer from seasonal depression (the winter blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD) because of the lack of sunlight. And it’s hard to get out and be active. So, we need some self-care activities to meet the specific needs we have in the darker, colder months. Below, you’ll find 10 of my favorite self-care activities that are well-suited to winter.

1. Write in a Journal

It’s the beginning of a new year and a perfect time to start writing in a journal. Journaling is great for your mental health. It provides a place to dump your feelings, process and reflect, and clear your head. Even if you’ve already got a journal, you may want to consider starting a new one. I hear from many avid journalers that there’s something uplifting about the fresh, clean-start feeling of a new journal.

2. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty

Yes, winter can be cold and dreary. But it can also be beautiful – fresh snow on the trees, icicles hanging from the roof, red cardinals at your birdfeeder, a full moon. When we’re mindful and take the time to look, there’s a lot to take pleasure in.

3. Go to Therapy

Have you been thinking about starting therapy? It can be daunting to find a therapist you feel comfortable with, get yourself there consistently, and pay for it – but most people find the results are well worth the effort. And since we’re already inside so much during the winter, it seems like a good time to start or resume therapy. And if the weather or transportation are significant barriers, there are more and more options for online therapy, as well.

4. Get More (Sun)Light

Exposure to light (sunlight or artificial light) improves your mood and energy. So, if you’re living in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter, you’ll probably feel better if you spend an extra 20-30 minutes outside when it’s sunny. Even opening the curtains and turning on the lights in your office or home can help.

5. Relax and Get Cozy

On a cold winter’s day, there’s nothing better than staying home in your pajamas, cuddling up with a good book (or your significant other or your cat!), sitting in front of a fire, or binge-watching your favorite show. Occasionally, give yourself permission to stay home and just relax.

6. Connect with Friends

We all need to socialize, connect with others, and feel like we belong. And yet, spending quality time with friends or your spouse may end up at the bottom of your to-do list. How about meeting this self-care need by planning a game night, potluck dinner, or hosting a party to watch the Oscars with your friends? Not only is spending time with friends good for our mood, doing so may encourage us to relax, laugh, do something active, or try something new. And again, if it’s hard to get out and do things in person, have a virtual coffee date on FaceTime or Skype, or schedule a time for an old-fashioned phone call.

7. Enjoy a Hot Drink

A hot drink on a cold day is so comforting – a true simple pleasure. I’m a big coffee drinker, but I can easily overdo it. So, I try to mix things up with a collection of herbal teas and homemade sugar-free hot cocoa (just warm milk and a little cocoa powder and your favorite sweetener). Maximize this self-care practice by slowing down. Instead of gulping it down in the car, take a few minutes to sit and relax and savor your drink. This is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to pamper yourself.

8. Get a Flu Shot

Getting a flu shot isn’t necessarily enjoyable, but that’s true of a lot of self-care. It’s something you do for your health. And it’s not too late in the season to get one. So, speak to your doctor or pharmacist about whether a flu shot is a good choice for you.

9. Exercise

Many of us need to change our exercise routine or physical activities to accommodate winter weather. If you don’t have a regular exercise plan for the winter months, consider adding some winter sports (skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing, winter hiking) to your routine. Alternatively, there are lots of indoor exercise options such as yoga or dance classes, exercise equipment at a gym or home, or using exercise videos on YouTube or television. Don’t let winter weather be an excuse – you know you’ll feel better if you get a little movement into every day.

10. Encourage Your Creative Side

If you’re stuck inside, tap into your creativity. Did you know that arts and crafts are good for your mental health? Benefits such as reduced stress, depression, and anxiety, a sense of accomplishment, increased confidence and self-esteem have been reported. Crafts are nice because they can be done alone or in a group. And there’s something for everyone – everything from painting, scrapbooking, knitting, quilting, woodworking, jewelry making, and more. Pull out an old favorite or try something new this winter!

Put self-care on your calendar

Now that you’ve got a few ideas for your winter self-care, it’s time to put it on your calendar. Self-care (like most things) is much more likely to happen if you create a plan for when and what you will do to take care of yourself. Where will you begin? Perhaps, just add one new self-care activity to your schedule this week.

Other articles about self-care

©2020 Sharon Martin, LCSW. All rights reserved.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

This is a sponsored post

The new year is always a great time to reflect on how you can take care of yourself better.

It’s also a great time to make some changes in your life – especially if you’ve just come through a crappy year!

One of the most important things you can do is to focus on taking care of yourself and improving your health and wellbeing.

So, here’s some of the best ideas to motivate you to take care of yourself and be the best YOU in 2020.

Take Charge of Your Money

Believe it or not, taking charge of your finances is a big component to effective self-care.

Simply put, the more financially stable you are, the better your mental state and quality of life is likely to be.

So, set yourself a goal to work toward getting a better handle on your money this year.

From cutting down on unnecessary spending, budgeting and saving, through to paying off – and cutting up – your credit cards, with a little bit of focus each month, you’ll find yourself less stressed and feeling more in control of your money.

Be the Boss of Your Mental Health

When people talk about mental health, they often speak to mental illness. However, mental health isn’t just the absence of illness. Mental health includes social, emotional and psychological wellbeing, as well as the ability to maintain relationships, cope with stress, contribute to the community and enjoy life.

Your mental health needs to be an important focus in your life.

Take the opportunity to prioritise your mental health for the year.

If you’re feeling down, fatigued and stressed, why not start the new year by talking to someone about it? This could be a trusted confidant, a stranger on a helpline, or a professional.

By prioritising your mental health for the year, it will help you to build resilience. You’ll also become a happy and healthier you as a result.

Keep Your Body Healthy

Keeping your body fit and healthy is important, and 2020 provides the perfect occasion to focus on this.

Sit down and put together a list of ideas to help you look after your body in 2020.

From incorporating more movement into your days, to meal planning and prep and seeing the dentist, you can also check out places like Longueville Road Chiropractic Centre and get your back seen to. After all, we all need to pay more attention to our backs!

Aim for Work-Life Balance

There are a lot of elements at play in helping you to get rid of stress and worry in your life. Making sure there’s a sensible balance between how much time you spend at work and at home is one of them.

However work-life balance is something you need to continuously focus on, as it’s so easy to lose balance!

So get clear on your priorities, including what you will say yes and no to.

Furthermore, be regimented in switching off after work. It will allow you to focus on where you are and who you are with in your home life, and to most importantly, relax.

Lastly, be honest with yourself if things get out of whack. That way you can reassess and refocus as you go, instead of ending 2020 overwhelmed and burnt out.

In 2020, spend some time thinking about the different elements that are involved in looking after YOU. There are a lot of things that can help to play a role in taking your life forward, with self-care being one of them.

We are all so harsh on ourselves. I’ll be the first one to admit I struggle with constant negative mental chatter, directed at myself and others. It’s easy to be critical and dismissive, and stay living in that shadow waiting for your “someday” self.

Recently I heard Dr. Sarah Gottfried and Cynthia Pasquella both refer to this quote from Dr. Jen Landa:

Think about that. It makes —-SO—-MUCH—-SENSE. You fly through your day resenting everyone you have to talk to, and everything that you have to do, and just hating life and waiting for the day to be over so you can start the hamster wheel all over again tomorrow.

And here’s where SELF-CARE comes in. It’s a simple concept based on small gestures that you make toward yourself. It’s like your right-now self being considerate toward your future-self. Your partner and family and friends can support and take care of you to a certain extent, but there are certain things you can really only do for yourself.

And those things can be pretty fundamental.

Only you are going to make sure you eat enough good nutritious food, drink enough water, get some movement into your day, get to sleep on time. These are things we have to be responsible for as adults, but too often these hugely important priorities get pushed aside by all the other “STUFF” flying around in our day.

Then there are the other “less vital” things that can still have a huge impact on how you feel and behave. Only you are going to go get that haircut that is going to score compliments and put you in a great mood. Only you can decide to take 7 minutes in the evening and take a lovely lavender bath. No one else is going to tell you do these things, or help you make the time for these things.

It’s incredible how showing your future-self a little love with small gestures can completely change whether today is another humdrum-normal-crappy-whirlwind day, or a sparkly-shiny-fun-happy day.

So how to take better care of and show love toward yourself?

I found this lovely, heartfelt graphic created by Lucille Zimmerman on Pinterest. I don’t know much about her practice but I really like what she is sharing.

Print this out and post it somewhere, or keep it on your phone to refer to, or write down the points in your notebook. Make sure you do at least one of these things EVERY DAY. Show yourself a little love, and resentment, stress and negativity will have less and less power over you and your day.

How do you show yourself love? How do you ensure you make time for self-care in a busy day? Please leave a comment so that we can all help each other out! I know a lot of people struggle with this…how have you found success?

On our most recent Free For All Friday show we had a listener question come in. We love listener questions, and in particular this one.

The question was….

“So what if you’re depressed don’t even want to start taking care of yourself when you know you should?”

I thought that’s a genius question. On our show we talk a lot about strategy development. We talk about how to implement these strategies into your life. We talk about which strategies we should use at what times.

We talk abut why certain strategies should be used in place of, or before other ones. We talk about building certain strategies on top of another to develop momentum that propels you to a new life.

But we all have times when we’re down and feeling depressed. You know you should take better care of yourself but you don’t even want to. As a result, you beat yourself up because you know you shouldn’t be thinking like that.

[spp-tweet “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”]

Finally after beating yourself up, you’ve taken any motivation out doing something that’s uplifting.

I completely understand…. but how do break the habit and create a new cycle? How can we get the snowball rolling so we can actually gain some momentum?

That’s the million dollar question.

Think of all the power, thrust and force that has to happen for a rocket to launch or an airplane to actually lift off the ground.

It’s an incredible amount of energy but eventually the amount of energy needed to fly gets exponentially less for every few feet it ascends into the atmosphere.

Every time it goes higher and higher the less and less energy it needs to expend in order to reach its final destination.

That’s where you want to be.

So the bad news is that if you’re going to break the downward spiral and chart a new direction for your health and for your life, it’s going to be really hard at first.

Old habits don’t die easily.

So you have two tasks ahead of you…

1. Manage your existing patterns (and try not to emotionally attach to them)
2. Start putting energy into new habits

So here are some tips that might help you create new healthy habits when you don’t feel like it.

Set small achievable goals

If you want to lose 100 pounds for example, don’t focus on that. Map out a transformation plan that has an end date. Say you want to lose 100 pounds within 12 months. That means each month you have to lose 8.3 pounds or about 2 pounds per week. You’ll have 7 days to lose 2 pounds.

Think about small goals that you know you can achieve.

The other way to look at it is to work your way up in terms of goal setting. Pick other goals that may or may not even be related to the goal you’re trying to set because you know you can achieve them. This will help you feel better about yourself subconsciously.

Which brings me to my next point…

The power is in the habit not the results

What people need are better habits that they can accomplish in their sleep because they’re fun. The power isn’t in losing 100 pounds. The power is that you created habits that make you value yourself.

Achieving success with your health or in any other area of your life is easy to do, but the problem is that it’s also easier NOT to do these daily habits. You want small mini successes that make you feel good which will motivate you to take even more action.

Which brings me to my final point…

Stay True To Your Word

You see when we tell ourselves we’re going to get up early and go to the gym and we hit the snooze button on our alarms, in a very small way we’re disrespecting ourselves. We don’t hold a high amount of honor for our word and our actions. How *could* you be motivated if you don’t even believe in yourself?

When you know you lie to yourself on a daily basis, how can you have any kind of legitimate respect for how you live your life? When you honor your word (to others AND yourself) you build life force energy. You’re building the structure and framework of the launching pad for a new life. You’re actually building the foundation that will eventually become the snowball that will keep growing and growing as it gathers momentum down the snow hill.

When you say things, you mean them and they happen, no matter what. There’s honor in that. When you honor and respect yourself you begin to be confident in who you are and who you’re becoming.

The question is, do you honor yourself enough not lie to yourself?

[spp-tweet “Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, others make it happen – Michael Jordan”]

Do you ever feel like you have more to-dos than time? As busy wives and moms, that is often our norm. We often wake up with our feet hitting the ground running. Both trying to manage and accomplish all the things we know we need to do and addressing all the unexpected things that pop up. In the midst of all of this, where are you supposed to find time to take care of yourself?

The truth is you will never FIND the time. You have to MAKE the time. You have to choose to not just put yourself on your to-do list, but to make you a daily priority. This is something I know for so many of us moms is not so easy. I struggled with this for a long time, especially right after having my twins. Their needs were just so great and I was just stretched so thin, that the thought of adding anything else to my plate was just overwhelming.

It was not until someone pointed out to me; surprisingly that person was my husband, that I was not able to give him or our girls my best continuously running on half empty. Now I want to be that person for you!

Consistently putting caring for yourself last is not the best way to care for your family. Now I am not talking about the occasional spa visits or trips to the nail salon for a mani/pedi. Although those are great ways to take better care of yourself and things I do for myself as well. I am talking about simple things you can do every day.

There are five simple and easy ways that you can choose to do today to start taking better care of yourself.

1) Choose To Get Up Early

Now hear me out. I know we are all often running on fumes and trying to get more sleep is often our goal. I agree that getting quality sleep is important. Yet, taking the time to not have to hit the ground running the second your alarm clock goes off will benefit both you and your family.

Choosing to wake up before your kids or your husband gets moving allows you to peacefully easy into your day. While giving you the time to do the things you need and want to do just for you. How much time you give yourself and what you do with that time is up to you. I personally get up between 30 minutes to an hour before my family and love to exercise early in the morning.

Over time, I have found myself not even needing my alarm. I have developed my own internal alarm clock that allows me to get up. I no longer wake up dreading my list of to-dos, but now I look forward to the opportunity to get some alone time to take care of the things I need and want to for me. If you need a little extra motivation or some other great benefits to getting up early, check out this post about becoming a morning person.

2) Choose Daily Quiet Time

Now, this goes hand in hand with getting up early. I know you can spend quiet time with God at any time and anywhere, but there is just something special about getting a little quiet time with God before your day starts. Before the needs of others and unexpected things of life need your attention.

We all need this quiet time to take better care of ourselves and our families. I know for me when I start my morning praying for, sitting in, and looking at the beauty and grace of God, it is so much easier for me to convey that love and grace to others, especially my husband and daughters. The same can be said for you by giving yourself that time in the morning.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8a (NKJV)

Whether 5 minutes, 30 minutes or all points in between. The amount of time is not what matters most. What matters most is that you are making a choice daily to do something to strengthen your faith and take better care of yourself all at the same time.

3) Set Three Daily Goals

This is something that I just recently started doing and it has been a real game-changer for me. By setting three goals every day, you are able to better prioritize the things you do each day in order for you to achieve those goals. While also giving yourself a sense of accomplishment each day as you check those goals off.

Each day your goals can be different and can be as big or as small as you want them to be. I try to make sure that my three goals consist of one personal goal, one goal focused on my marriage or my family, and one focused on either ministry or professional growth.

By setting three goals daily to accomplish, you are making sure to take care of the things most important to you and also working towards long-term goals. Whether those are the goals you set at the beginning of the year or the more long-term goals you set for your marriage.

Setting three goals each day helps you to keep your priorities in line while helping you to prepare for a better tomorrow.

4) Choose To Read A Book

We all often start the year off with a lot of goals and often reading is on that list. Whether it is a certain number of books or a certain list of books. We all have that list. However, as the year goes on that list often gets lost in the shuffle or we just cannot find the time to get to it.

So stop waiting to find the time and start making the time. Whether the book is to help you grow or simply for pleasure, taking the time to read daily is a great way to practice self-care.

I happen to love reading and making time to read is my favorite way to end the day. There is just something so comforting and peaceful about curling up on my couch with a good book and a cup of tea. Reading also gives you the time each day to sit and be still. Something we often wish we could take more time to do.

5) Choose To Wear Something You Love

This may seem minor, but how you feel you look often affects how we feel. Even when you are dressing for comfort and the practicality of your life, you can still feel good about how you look and what you are wearing.

I love to get dressed up and I also love a good sweatsuit. I love to shop, so I always had options for getting dressed up, but my causal clothes often leave a lot to be desired. So one day I decided to do something about that and invest in myself. Buying some quality sweatsuits was one of the best investments I could have made for myself.

So now on the days, I want to get a little fancy I can. Then on the days, I may not need to leave the house or need to go to my girls’ soccer game. Those days I just want to be comfortable I can. On both days taking the time to look good and feel good in whatever I wear. Regardless of the day, choosing to put on clothes you love and that make you feel good about you, is a great way to take better care of you.

It is often said that you cannot pour out of an empty cup. So in order to make sure your cup is not empty, you have to take the time daily to fill it. By using these five simple and easy tips, you can fill your cup mind, body, and soul every day.

I’d love to hear which of these five tips you are choosing
to add to your daily routine in the comments!

Daily tasks, work, children, house cleaning, and more rule our daily routines. Things that are important to us fall to the wayside as we complete necessary tasks. Focusing on oneself and what makes you happy—something big or small—is very important in daily life. To keep your mental, physical, and emotional health in good shape, practice good habits of self-care. Below we’ve come up with some self-care tips you should add into your life.

7 Ways to Take Better Care of Yourself

1. Establish a Morning Care Routine

Rather than shove all your self-care on Sunday, establish a self-care routine for each morning. Maybe it means waking up a bit earlier so you can journal for 10 minutes. For some, a good routine involves morning meditation, some exercise, and journaling. Take the time to begin each morning with a focus on bettering yourself—it can do wonders for how the rest of your day goes.

2. Plan a Vacation…And Take It

There’s a big difference between thinking about a vacation and actually taking one. Think about when the last time you took a vacation was—if it’s been over a year, you deserve one! Whether it’s a weekend trip to a relaxing spa in Napa, or a week-long vacation to Tulum, plan your vacation and take it. You’ll come back refreshed and revitalized.

3. Reward Yourself

If you just finished a tough project at work, give yourself a little reward. Whether that be dinner at your favorite restaurant or a night of watching the newest rom-com—do it! Giving yourself those little rewards will help get you through rough patches. Besides, if it makes you happy, then that happiness will flood into other aspects of your life.

4. Learn to Say No

This is an important one. So many people struggle with saying no, and task after task piles on top of their already busy schedule. Saying yes to everything can lead to burnout, stress, and anxiety. Practice saying no to the small things and slowly you’ll get more confident in recognizing that you-time is more important than giving your time away.

5. Exercise Daily

Get moving for at least thirty minutes each day—it does incredible things for your mental, physical, and emotional health. It will boost your strength and reduce stress; even if it’s just a walk around a few blocks. That movement will also help your body produce chemicals that make you happier.

6. Make a List of What Makes you Happy

Take the time to sit down and make a list of things you can do, places you can go, and songs you can listen to that make you happy. Compile this list, and when you’re having a hard day, pull it out, and do one of the activities that brings you joy.

7. Drink More Water

More water leads to more energy and less exhaustion. There are many great benefits of drinking the correct amount of water each day. Headaches can often be relieved by getting more water in your system. So, pop a few lemon slices into your glass and get refreshed.

Do you often feel completely stressed? Can not you sleep, often tired during the day? Do things always seem to prevail over your health and happiness? If so, these are signs that you need to take better care of yourself.

Many of us spend our time making sure others are safe and that everything is done with our work. However, we often forget that we care about our physical and mental well-being. Ignoring your own needs can lead to depression, resentment, poor health, and general neglect.

Most people in this boat probably think it’s impossible to find time for themselves, but that’s just not true. To find time for yourself, you need to make some important (but simple) changes that will give you more time to enjoy life.

Here are 5 characters you need to take better care of yourself (and how to do it)

1. Feeling tired all the time

If you feel constantly tired without a chronic medical problem, your body tells you that something is wrong. Constant fatigue can certainly be a symptom of an underlying health problem. You should definitely do a thorough assessment.

Chronic fatigue is also a sign of an unbalanced life, which can lead to various health problems.

You could work 60 hours a week in a job you do not like or have too many tasks at home. Maybe you do not sleep well at night. Maybe your family is causing stress. All of these factors can lead to chronic fatigue.

If you are constantly tired, be sure to evaluate the underlying case and make the appropriate changes. Do you have to work on your sleep habits? You may need to eliminate some of the time requirements that are not currently required. Anyway, there is an answer and it is up to you to evaluate and make the necessary changes.

2. Emotional Explosions

Another sign that you are not paying attention to yourself is a frequent or unstable emotional explosion. We often deny that we do not behave in an ideal way. So, if it’s you, pay attention. It’s a clear sign and it happens to the best of us. We can make changes.

If you are, it is time to make some serious changes. The answer is different for everyone. Take the time to find out what needs to happen and point out that the priority is the highest – it’s not an option.

3. Chaos and disorder

If you have a cramped home, it can waste time and wrench your nerves. A house full of displaced things makes it difficult to find what you need every day. If you have to dig through the mountains of newspapers to find an important document, you know it’s time to get rid of excess documents from your home.

For many of us, this is not intended. On the contrary, life is too busy to follow. If this is the case, a serious review of your time is acceptable.

Anyway, use boxes to sort the items you want to discard, give away or sell. Store the papers and items you need to keep in a plastic bag for later sorting. Depending on the size of your home, this process may take a few days or weeks (sometimes longer). However, when the job is done, you will feel calmer.

Remember to keep up to date after the review.

4. Changes in body shape

If you increase or lose weight quickly without changing your lifestyle, it may indicate that you are not taking good care of yourself. Often, when we are stressed and moving, we do not eat properly – and we do not notice it at all.

If soft drinks and fast foods are part of your normal life, you may want to reevaluate them. Even if you take caffeine or need sleeping pills at night, this is a sign.

The solution is to take the time to eat well. Limit your intake of sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Fill up on nutrient-rich foods. If you only change your eating habits, your feelings can be very positive.

5. Accidents and frequent mistakes

If you do not lead a balanced life, you have more accidents and mistakes. If you find that you often make silly mistakes, drop objects, or your balance (literally) is not what it was, it’s time to reevaluate. Make sure you do not have any unknown health problems at first.

Then make changes to take the time to become more self-sufficient. It may simply mean slowing down, involving physical activity, freeing yourself from unnecessary obligations, or spending more time sleeping. Everyone is different. Find out what you need to do to take better care of yourself.