No matter how busy you are, how stressed you may be, or how un-needed it may seem, self-care is something everyone needs to incorporate into their daily lives. It plays a significant factor in promoting happiness, motivation, and satisfaction. While some may view it as selfish, prioritizing self-care is important because it allows you to present your best self to others, ultimately benefiting them in a selfless manner. As much as it may seem like you need to put together a whole “spa day” and completely block out a chunk of your time, not to mention all the effort that goes into preparing for that time, all of that really isn’t necessary, and there are much simpler ways you can incorporate self-care into your daily life to be enjoyable rather than stress inducing.

Creating the Routine from Scratch

1. Evaluate Your Current Habits: The first thing to do that would be helpful would be to evaluate what you are currently doing. Maybe you workout for 30 minutes (exercise is self-care!), spend 10 minutes on skincare, and/or turn off social media apps by 8:00 PM every day. Write down all those self-care practices you currently do somewhere. Next, think about what is really working and what isn’t. Maybe having from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM with no social media helps you wind down for bed and fall asleep better, but you never feel satisfied after working out and always feel like you’re forcing yourself through the routine. Make note of this too.
2. Evaluate Your Needs: Now is the time for you to think about what you really need, and this may be the part where you feel selfish, understandably so. However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that for you to do the best in life and be the best you can be, you need to take care of yourself first. Feeling unmotivated and unhappy will just push you farther away from your goals and being the best you can be. So, maybe now is the time you realize that you really need different kinds of workouts and not the same ones every day, or that you need more daily social interaction. Make note of this too, it will help for the next step.
3. Support Your Needs: This step really does not need to be so complicated! From before, if you feel like you need different kinds of workouts, then look online and see if there are any workout classes near you, searching for different types than what you normally do, like pilates or yoga for example. Not even workout classes, there are a vast number of workout content creators and influencers on YouTube that make various workout videos that are easy to follow along and can be simply done at home. Or, if you feel like you need more social interaction, controlled scrolling through social media for half an hour daily can do wonders for finding local or virtual communities with similar interests to yours with whom you can interact with.
4. Build It Into Your Daily Schedule: It is easy to think about all these things and form plans to use them, but implementing them into your schedule is arguably the hardest part. To combat this, intentionally place time for these activities into your schedule however you organize that information, whether it be writing it in your planner, online calendar, or setting a repetitive reminder. That way it is jutting out at you, forcing you – in a way – to look at it and do it, which may seem arduous in the moment, but will make you feel so much better afterwards. For someone who needs more social interaction, they can decide on a day and schedule an event for then and put it in their calendar. That way, forgetting to do it is not an option. For someone who struggles to take care of themselves even in the simplest ways, writing “do skincare” or “take a bath” into their daily tasks (planner, calendar, etc.) would disable them to forget.

Tips

1. Quality over Quantity: We all see the people on TikTok and Instagram who essentially define the basis of self-care with their weekly facials or spa days that probably cost hundreds of dollars. As much as it may seem like you need to do that too, it’s really not necessary. If that makes you happy, then you can – of course – do those things once a month or so, however your priority should be quality self-care that you can do regularly and makes you happy without having to invest too much money.
2. Adjust as You Go: There are no real rules in this process, other than that you try your best and are happy as you do it. You should – maybe even need – to adjust your routine as you follow it to ensure the best results. If you think you want to spend extra time on skincare every night, or decide you want to splurge on those weekly spa days, then that’s great! Don’t hold yourself back just because it isn’t what you initially decided on.
3. Limit External Negativity: Self-care does not only consist of what you’re intentionally doing, but also what you let into your life. For one, this can include people in your life whose behavior or energy just pulls you down because of their toxicity and/or negativity. Those people should be completely removed from your life, and it might even teach them a good lesson too. In addition, this includes what you see online (as anything). Amidst political tensions, international conflicts, and climate worries, we can all feel discouraged about the trajectory the world is taking. Not only that, but influencers and mean people on the internet can also make you feel down. As always, while it is important to be educated about those things, it is equally as important to limit screen time, especially on social media, to keep yourself encouraged and sane.

Written By: Nithya Rupavatharam, Mental H2O Youth Resource Writer

Sources:

Curology. “Why Self-Care Is Important and How to Create a Self-Care Plan.” Curology, 6 July 2023, curology.com/blog/how-to-plan-a-self-care-routine/.
Lawler, Moira. “How to Start a Self-Care Routine You’ll Follow.” Everyday Health, 26 Aug.

2022, www.everydayhealth.com/self-care/start-a-self-care-routine/.