We all have a lot of stress in our lives, some more than others, and our busy schedules sometimes mean basic self care can be left on the wayside when things come up. Not everyone has time to lounge in a bath for three hours sipping wine and reading their favourite novel, as much as that would be perfect, so we chose a few ways that self-care can reduce stress, without having to put such a huge time commitment on it.
Routine
Self-care can start so simply, and by having a routine in place for some aspects of your day, or life, can be very helpful when it comes to feeling more in control and relaxed. If you have a morning routine for example, you’re less likely to forget things to skip things, because time has been built in for those things already.
Routine can include such a lot of things, and being able to adapt it can be useful, and being in control of this routine can often make it easier to adapt when you need to.
Some people use bullet journals or trackers to help start a routine or habit if they have failed in the past, and this can work great for a lot of people.
Even writing down something so menial you’d wonder how you could ever forget it can just take some of the mental load off and reduce the stress of constantly feeling like you have a checklist or calendar open in your mind, get it down on paper!
Taking a Break
I know, easier said than done sometimes. For me, swimming is a great break from everything because I can’t take my phone in the water, I can’t look at my emails after work has finished or get stuck scrolling on Facebook, feeling so guilty about ‘wasting’ time that I don’t feel like I’ve had any kind of break at all.
Swimming may be a big commitment to some, so even five minutes where you read a chapter of a book before bed, or do your skincare routine, can be just a little bit of day where you can switch off a little and not stress so much about everything else going on.
Feeling Healthier
Self-care has a lot to do with health, wellness and fitness, and even just making sure you get enough sleep through the night can make you feel brighter and healthier in the day. Choosing to stay active and walk more throughout the day is a fab way to get those steps in, and often these things can be incorporated into our days already.
I definitely feel a bit better the day I got up on time after a good night sleep, had time to do my skincare routine and eat breakfast over the day I rushed through my morning because I was tired. There’s plenty of ways to try self-care with health and wellness in mind, check out our social media where we often give ideas of what you could try yourself.
Motivation and Productivity
Stress can sometimes start off small, but as it gets worse you may find motivation starts to fade, productivity goes down, often leading to more and more stress.
Say something as simple as making sure your desk is clean for work, it may not always be the quickest task (especially if you leave threads all over it like I do), but it may be worth doing to start things with a clean slate and without the stress of yesterday's mess around to think about.
Self-care is such a huge umbrella term for so many activities, ranging from basic needs to treating yourself, but even the most basic points can reduce stress by taking away guilt and adding routine for a better start to the day!
Check our other blog posts for ideas for self-care, and perhaps even some self care gift ideas!
