What Are You Doing for Self-Care?

Everyone’s self-care is different.  Only you know what you need and what will help you.  Are you doing it consistently?

Today I am sharing what I have been doing for my self-care.  It is one of the things I have been very grateful for during this pandemic.  It is a morning routine that I established at the beginning of 2020 but it has been evolving over the past few years.  Although I understand that what I do would not work for everyone, I thought I would share it here because it has helped me during this challenging time. 

I truly believe self-care is an area that most of us are not very good about prioritizing and doing habitually.  If nothing else, I would like for you to think about what you need and want for yourself to be mentally, physically, and emotionally healthier — and then take some baby action steps towards it. 

Congratulate and praise yourself every time you do any self-care – in whatever form it is.  Make it a habit and share what is working for you.

I have to admit that sometimes I feel like “Why do I have to make such an effort for my own self-care?” when I know others who don’t do any of this and they seem fine and are handling things better than I am?  Then I get a hold of myself and think, “Why am I comparing myself to others?”  And “No one really knows how anyone is actually doing so I shouldn’t make these assumptions and judge them or myself.”  And then I finally get to, “How much more of a mess would or could I be if I didn’t do this?”  SOOO, I am grateful for this routine and having it be a good habit that I do regularly.  I need to accept that some of us are fragile and need more work and time to work on ourselves than others. 🙂

Today, I am going to describe my morning routine in general and I then plan to describe each section in more detail in the future. 

“Meditation”
As soon as I get up I “meditate.”  I’m not sure that technically it is really meditating.  I have recently been alternating trying to truly meditate (what I view as being mindful and focusing on my breath) with a self-guided breathing / prayer / gratefulness / visualization period.  I think in an ideal world I would make time to do both types each day but that hasn’t been happening so I just alternate each morning for 15-20 minutes.

Exercise 
After I meditate, I usually workout in my basement or I go for a walk.  I have been a consistent home exerciser since college.  Exercise has always been a stress reliever for me.  Exercise is a deeply ingrained habit for me that I like doing first thing in the morning but I fit in without being too fanatical about it.  In the past year, I have been doing less workouts (but a new kind) and more walking. Since the shutdown I have been rediscovering my love of biking and doing more of that too. 

Writing / Journaling
I don’t write everyday but I would say it happens fairly regularly, probably two or three times a week.  I write long hand in a cheap notebook.

I have journaled in spurts over the past several years but not consistently over a long period of time until the past year or so.  I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.  If you have read this book you are familiar with her required “writing pages”.  She recommends that you write three pages of whatever comes into your mind, a stream of consciousness first thing every morning. 

You are not to judge or filter what you write and if you can’t think of anything to write about, to even write, “I don’t know what to write” on repeat until you come up with something to write about. 

I often feel silly for what I write and wonder if it is a waste of time.  I would never want anyone to read what I write but I think that it gets thoughts out of my spinning head and achieve some clarity.  It helps me recognize and sometimes process what I am feeling.  Once in a blue moon, (but sometimes!), I come up with good ideas and write things that I am inspired and pleased with.  I rarely go back and read what I write.  I think it is more about the action of writing than the results. 

I have to admit that the pandemic and not leaving the house has allowed me to have more time and flexibility to do this self-care routine so consistently.  I was doing it before the shutdown but it is MUCH easier and less stressful to fit in when there is not a set time that I need to be out to the door.

I would LOVE to hear what self-care habits you have been doing or have been helpful for you now or in the past. 

Please prioritize your own self-care and taking time for you and make it a worthwhile habit.   

P.S.  I have been having my 6 and 9 year old sons help me pick the pictures I put on these articles.  The one above was chosen by my 6 year old because it made him feel “calm and good” which made it the winner. 🙂