How to Get Started with Self-Care Practices

It’s so easy for us to say we don’t have time for self-care practices but how true is that really? We are all busy and most of us have families to look after but when we put ourselves last on the priority list, then we risk total burnout.

I can always tell how my mental health is doing by how well I am looking after myself. When I’m feeling really down or depressed my self-care goes completely out of the window.

The problem with this is it’s a vicious cycle, the less we look after ourselves, the more depressed we feel. Therefore self-care is crucial for our mental health and to help us feel worthy.

IT’S A NON NEGOTIABLE!!

So how do we do this when we are so flipping busy??

Below are a few ways I’ve managed to build it into my day.

How to Practice Self Care When Your Busy

Cut Down on the Amount of TV you Watch!!

This has been a real game-changer for me. If you watch a few hours in the evening, then you have more than enough time for self-care.

You only need to start small; it can be as little as 10 minutes a day doing meditation.

Create a Morning Routine

You could get up 30 minutes earlier than usual and do some Yoga.

You could even simply have a diary next to your bed and write out your goals each morning, this will really boost your mood.

Swap your coffee for herbal tea or warm lemon water.

Choose a healthier breakfast, including lots of protein or start having fresh juice every morning. I love having celery juice every morning, as it gives me loads of energy!

Other self-care practices to add to your morning routine:

1. Breathwork
2. Journaling
3. Meditation
4. Affirmations

*If you want my FREE Create a Morning & Evening Routine Workbook join my Free Facebook Group

Take Regular Breaks

Sitting at your laptop all day long is the fastest way to burnout!!

Have regular breaks, like once an hour, get up and stretch, do 5 minutes of breathing exercises, go out for a walk.

Make sure you get up and move around regularly.

It’s not hard to simply move away from your desk for 5 minutes and do a quick meditation, it doesn’t have to be perfect, your mind may still be racing with everything on your to-do list but it will make a difference.

Spend Less Time on Your Phone!!!

This is one I’m still working on but I’m getting there.

Be more mindful, stop caring what’s happening on social media, you are not missing much!!

Be really focused on what you’re doing, no more double screening (which is really bad for our health).

Set regular work times.

If you’re an entrepreneur or you work from home, it’s so easy to just carry on working late into the night.

It doesn’t make you more proactive or efficient, it usually means you spend more time procrastinating and getting distracted.

Try setting fewer work hours but really getting focused on what you need to do in that time, focus on things that are going to move you closer to your goals.

This way you free up more time and you will get more done. When we have less time to do something, we usually work better at getting it done.

Have a Bedtime Routine

Routines work and as humans we love them. The time spent before bed is crucial to how well you sleep.

If you are looking at your screen all the way up to bedtime, you’re not gonna sleep very well. It’s recommended that you wind down at least 1 hour before you go to bed but the longer the better.

Help your mind wind down by letting it know its time for sleep, you can do this by turning off all the bright lights, have dim lamps on.

Switch off all electronics (do not be tempted to check your emails/Facebook right up until you go to sleep).

Do meditations, write affirmations, have a gratitude journal or do some EFT before bed. Reading a book is great; just make sure it’s not too gripping lol

Just do anything that will help you relax on a deep level

When my daughter was a baby I used to give her a bath every night with lavender in it, she slept well like a baby.

Having routine like this helps our body and mind know what’s coming up and so it starts to get ready to go to sleep.

I now go to bed an hour before I want to sleep. I usually spend around 30 minutes of reading. Then spend around 30 minutes or so doing a meditation, my favourite is Purify Your Soul by Glen Harrold.

Doing this every evening means I always get a great nights sleep!!

As you can see it’s not about taking hours out of your day for self-care to really work, its little snippets throughout the day that really do build up!

You can start small and keep adding more and more things to your daily practice.

So have a think now about where you can add little self-care gems into your day and really start to put your needs first.

I hope this has inspired you to up your self-care practices because you deserve to feel GOOD!!

Let me know in the comments below what your favourite ways to practice self-care are.

Big Love