What Self-Care Practices Can You Start?
Self-care activities for creators and entrepreneurs
Have you been neglecting yourself lately? Have your basic needs didn’t meet? Do you think that you don’t have time for self-care? Are put off by the self-care image that is portrayed on social media?
If that’s you then this post will offer you new ideas that focus on what self-care really is
These ideas and practices perfect for content creators & entrepreneurs
What you’ll learn:
-the definition of what self-care really is
-11 self-care practices, activities, & ideas that you can do now,
why you should do them & how can you start doing them
Let’s get started
What self-care really is?
According to the National Institute of mental health (NIMH)
Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health. When it comes to your mental health, self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Even small acts of self-care in your daily life can have a big impact
That means any behaviour or action or habit you do to take care of yourself
It’s not about pampering yourself, messages, or taking a bubble bath as you find on social media but more than that(you can still do them but not necessary)
What differentiates self-care activity and habit is the intention behind why you did it
before I share the 11 practices I would like to point out that
The 1st self-care practice you must do is to take care of your basic needs physical needs from sleep, nutrition, and working out and mental needs from journaling, and therapy…
That’s been said, let’s dive into the 10 self-care activities
Here I tried to share the ones that have been influential to me and not share ones that you have heard everywhere, but I can’t guarantee that every item is new
11 self-care practices and activities
1-practicing thought reformation
what is that?
it’s the intentional work on change how you think about anything.
how to do it? there are a few ways
1-Intentional thought creation through choosing thoughts that you want to think and thinking them eg. If you want to think of yourself as capable you can practice thinking thoughts like
” I am capable of doing x”
“I can do it, I’ve done hard things before…etc”
and taking the time daily to read them, say them, feel them
I have a whole blog on how to change your beliefs using affirmations here
2-questioning and challenging old thoughts that you have that you don’t want to have. find evidence to prove them wrong or inaccurate
3-associate with people who have the same thinking you want to have
why do you need to do this? the obvious reason is to help you have a better outlook on life and what you do which is a key element in your taking action toward your goals
it helps improve your self-image which will help your mental health
2-fiction reading
it helps me relax and be in that laid-back state. I don’t feel the need to remember or do anything except enjoy what I am reading,
unlike non-fiction which will require hard focus, remembering, and organization.
how do you start? pick a time and book to read and just enjoy it.
I prefer reading at night before sleep. it helps me be off my phone and relax to sleep
3-designate time to do whatever you want
why does it? it helps you take time off of work and other serious things in your life,
and enjoy exploring things you’d like to do that you wouldn’t have time to do otherwise,
we all need time to do things that outside of work or our main interest and
this time serves to provide you with the time to do other things you are interested in
or just do anything that you may normally think is useless and a waste of time (like scrolling social media, watching youtube…
how to start? schedule time on your calendar to do it it can be a daily, weekly or monthly thing the choice is yours
4-healthy eating
why should you do it?
I think this one is obvious and is a basic self-care practice that you need to do.
It’s the best thing you can do for yourself to live a better life. what you eat affects your energy, and mental & physical health
it can be hard to start if you fall from doing it for a while or never started
however, I have an easy and fun way to start which is
making it into a challenge and making that challenge simple and easy too
, for example, challenge yourself to start eating 1 meal from home that contains veggies or start replacing your snacks with healthy ones or stop it all together for a month or week then you can keep the momentum
how to do it?
start small and easy. you can start by adding more fruits and veggies then choose when to eat the fruits and plan the veggies that you’re going to eat beforehand with recipes
these are just ideas on how can you start doing this. you can use it as it is or make your own tweaks to it
5-Fasting
Disclaimer: Consult your physician before you make any dietary changes
Fasting is something I got into last year and I can’t recommend it enough.
other than the health benefits, which are plenty (weight loss, immune support, toxins removal, lower sugar levels,…etc you can find resources below)
there are other benefits as it saves you the time you need to eat a meal or prepare it which you can use to do something productive or do nothing
it makes life easier and your body lighter
how to start?
the key is making it easy by starting small. I now skip a meal or 2 on some days but I didn’t start that way. start by fasting after dinner till the morning after you have done that for a while.
then you can start having your breakfast later
so, instead of eating your breakfast once you wake up you wait an hour, then eat it and you can increase the time from there.
Look it up, there is plenty of info around it
6-doing some movement activity that you love
why should you do it? another basic self-care practice everyone should do regardless of their profession. you need to move your body to stay healthy and function better.
how to start? choose an activity you love eg. dancing, swimming, running..etc if you don’t know what that is>>try different things until you find what you enjoy.
As for me, I enjoy walking/it’s easy to do anywhere and helps you get out of the house if you work from home
7-engage in A spiritual activity like praying or reading your holy book,
why to do it?
helps you connect with something more powerful than you are, help me feel safe, relaxed and taken care of and can do that for you too!!
it doesn’t matter which religion you belong to or not you can find some spiritual practice to start doing
I feel better and reassured when I CONNECT WITH Allah(God)
how to start? if you are religious pray or read your holy book,
if you are not you can meditate or find something that is spiritual (ie. help you connect with a higher power ) to do. the internet has plenty of ways
8-doing regular check-ins
What is it? take the time to check in on how you feel and what you think during the day or week
why? I found it helps me get awareness about myself and my feelings throughout the day and when I work
how to do it? simply ask yourself what am I feeling? what am I thinking you can do it in your head or write it down
9-have time to pursue your hobbies
learn something outside of the things you do for work. learn a skill that you feel it’s fun to have and learn. the key thing here is to be relaxed about learning it and doing it
meaning you go into it with the mindset that you won’t progress fast because it is not your top priority, that is okay to do it here and there and have a short time to do it
because it can be easy to get caught up in thinking that you need to do it all the time, you are not doing enough
why to does it? to relax and have fun while learning something you want but otherwise can’t
how to start? schedule time to do it daily, weekly, or as you like. make a plan if you need to and have fun
10-giving yourself rest time
why does it?
you can’t be productive or get work done without taking time to rest in general regardless of what you do in that time simply resting can be taking a nap, walking, meditating…etc
it helps you recharge and solidify your learning and not burned out
how to do it? start by schduling time on your calendar to do it.
you may face resistance since you feel you don’t have it as it’s but urge you to start small by having for example 30 min nap each afternoon or walk
11-changing how do you see self-care or certain activities
why does that?
Because every activity can be an act of self-care depending on what you think about it
how to do it?
start seeing self-care as important and essential to achieving your goals
remind yourself :
that stress, burn out and lack of energy going to occur a lot if you don’t take care of yourself. look into your life and see when that happened
there’s no point in reaching your goals if you will be ill or dead when that happens
self-care is about enjoying the journey to your goals and not feeling miserable all the way through
self-care is the relaxed fun you are looking for
Want to create your own self-care routine? I got you. Read this post to find out
What self-care practices that you do? What new self-care practice will start doing?
To your success
Wafaa
Resources/references
More self-care ideas here
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/g25643343/self-care-ideas/
https://www.leannebaker.com/blogs/hints-tips/self-care-ideas
National Institute of mental health (NIMH) definition
the benefits of fasting
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/research-intermittent-fasting-shows-health-benefits
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fasting-benefits
To your success
Wafaa
8 Comments
Molly | Transatlantic Notes
Self-care is so essential for our overall health and wellness, it’s a shame that a lot of us often push it aside or think we can wait before we do it. This was a great reminder of its benefits and why we should all fit it into our daily routine.
loylatyrain
Yes!! it is important to incorparte self care activities in your life. it doesn’t has to be alot,
just adding 1-2 actvities can work without needing to do huge changes if you can’t
Lauren
These are some great suggestions to practise self care and look after yourself. I need to do more self care tasks. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren – bournemouthgirl
loylatyrain
Thank you, adding more self care practices is good but don’t stress yourself about it( bc it happened to me & truned it into something harmful than good with this thought” I need to do more self care”). start adding one by one while considering your life & commitment. good luck and thank you X
Unwanted Life
I wouldn’t recommend taking up fasting without talking to your doctor first, this is especially true if you have poor mental health as fasting, if you’re not careful, can easily become an eating disorder. if you already have unhealthy relationships with eat then you may want to give fasting a miss so you can protect your mental well-being
loylatyrain
Thank you for adding this and of course talk to your doctor before doing it.
Lia
I value self-care highly and I’ve noticed the difference. I just recently started reading and it’s the best!! To be able to switch off and dive into a good book is very much recommended!! Great post!
loylatyrain
That’s great!! I agree reading one of the best self care practices that one can do.Thank you