Creating a self-care schedule
Taking care of yourself is vital for stabilizing your mood, improving your mental health and maintaining your physical wellbeing. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health notes that self-care can help you manage stress, increase energy levels and even lower your risk of illness. However, sometimes life can become busy or stressful and taking time out of your daily routine to do something for yourself can be challenging.
Creating a schedule can be a great way to ensure you are caring for yourself regularly. Here are some simple ways to work self-care into your daily life.
List your best or favorite self-care activities and assign one to each day of the week. For example, you go for a walk every Monday or perform a meditation practice every Friday. This will allow you to practice self-care without needing to decide on a new activity every day.
Use time blocks. Block out a portion of your day to dedicate to self-care. This could be a half hour before work, an hour before bed or even just ten minutes of your lunch break. Marking this time in your calendar will not only help you remember your self-care activities but will ensure you have plenty of time to complete them.
Set goals. What are your goals for self-care? Some examples are to ease stress and anxiety or to relieve feelings of depression. Consider what you wish to gain from your self-care practices and create goals around it. This will help you determine how much time you need to schedule throughout the day or week to accomplish it. For example, if you wish to prevent burnout, you may set the goal to engage in a favorite hobby for a few hours every week.
Improve your bedtime routine. Your sleep quality is one of the most important aspects of maintaining mental and physical health. Consider setting an alarm when it’s time to go to bed or setting a reminder on your phone when it’s time to log off social media. Check out the Sleep Fitness Toolkit to learn more about getting a good night’s rest.
Regardless of how you incorporate self-care into your routine, remember to be kind to yourself and find what works best for you. Don’t be afraid to try new things and let go of practices that aren’t helpful.
