Self-care is pretty self-explanatory.
It refers to prioritizing one’s self and well-being. Taking care of ourselves allows us to be the best version of us and achieve our dreams.
One thing to keep in mind about self-care is the fact that it is continuous. We never get to a point where we think that we’ve done enough and we don’t have to do more. There is always something going on, and we have to be constantly on top of our self-care game.
With that in mind, here are some self-care tips you might find handy when it comes to keeping up your commitment to yourself!
5 Self-Care Tips to Always Keep in Mind
1. Know your worth.
We live in an age where we attach our value to a lot of things (most of which are not even supposed to define us).
I have met people having breakdowns because they don’t have enough social media followers or their latest post didn’t get enough likes.
Our clothes size, the car we drive and the labels we wear have become measures of where we stand in society. It is very easy to find yourself attaching your value to such things, and that should not be the case.
You are more than what social media tells you, and you should never forget your worth.
What does that mean? It’s different for everyone. If you are not sure of the ways in which you are valuable, start thinking about it. This is a great thing to start journaling about (Another great example of self-care tips)
2. Be mindful of what your eyes and ears ingest.
Again, thanks to the convenience of smartphones and the internet, pretty much anything is a few taps away.
Pay close attention to the content you consume as that really influences how you feel. If you find that news depresses you, there is nothing wrong with unsubscribing from those hourly news updates. I had to do this because I noticed that most of the updates I got were of negative news.
If you want to lose weight or go to the gym consistently, surround yourself with content that promotes those habits. Be mindful and make sure the material encourages you to chase your goals rather than making you feel like you are less than and incapable of achieving your goals.
3. Monotask, don’t multitask.
From a distance, multitasking might seem like a good idea, but in reality, it is exhausting and can get in the way of productivity.
Rather than forcing your brain to jump between several tasks, focus on one and give it your best. Once you have completed it and are satisfied, then you can jump to the next one.
At the end of the day, when you look at what you have accomplished, it is better to have two completed tasks rather than having five started but incomplete tasks. Monotasking increases effectiveness and efficiency so when you finish the task, you know that the output is good quality.
4. Stop starting your day by hitting the snooze button.
When your alarm goes off, jump out of bed and get your day started.
Remember the mindset you were in when you initially set that alarm and get going. Moreover, as that is the first task of the day, it means you have already started a streak of getting things done.
One way I found to be effective in avoiding pressing the snooze button is not sleeping with my phone next to me. I try to leave my phone on the other side of the room when I go to bed.
This way, when the 6:30 alarm goes off, I am forced to get out of bed. This strategy also means my phone is not the last thing I look at before heading to bed.
5. Keep a gratitude journal.
This is one great way to end the day. The last thing most of us do before heading to bed is complain about all the things that didn’t go our way throughout the day or how much we hate work or our colleagues.
These bad thoughts overshadow the seemingly little good things we also experienced during the day.
A gratitude journal will force you to look back and appreciate the good things you would have otherwise ignored.
Self-Care Tips – Never Ignore Your Practice
Doing something that makes you feel good once in a while is easy. But we need to strive for consistency if we are expecting to see results.
Consistency in self-care will be followed by an improved state of well-being in the various spheres of our lives including physical, emotional, social and spiritual.
From massive changes in the economic world to the social aftermath of the Covid pandemic, there is a lot that we have to deal with.
But as we go through processing this, we should never forget the importance of self-care and how much it enables us to push through the next day.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Mar 15, 2023 and has been updated to improve reader experience.
Photo by Yan Krukau
