The Ultimate Guide to Self-Care Activities at Home
Self-care is not a sprint, but a marathon
When most people think of self-care, they imagine granting themselves a visit at the local spa, beauty parlor, or a generous shopping spree at the mall. Unfortunately, most of us will probably spend the following weeks stuck at home. But there is some good news. Engaging in self-care activities at home opens a world of possibilities.
A new full-time job
You should know that self-care is a full-time job, and not a one-time fix. Taking good care of your body, mind, and spirit requires building a schedule, and sticking to it. Whatever you do, avoid putting pressure on yourself. Self-care should come easy in order to become your second nature. People often fail when they turn tyrannical, lashing themselves for missing a planned meditation session or binging on some unhealthy eating. Self-care is not a sprint, but rather a marathon, one that requires patience with oneself more than anything else.
Make sleep your BFF
Let’s start with one of the most overlooked self-care activities at home – sleep. You have no excuse for not allowing your body to switch to repair and maintenance mode for at least 7 hours a day. Not surprisingly, your mind also benefits from rest, as negative emotions and worrying thoughts are washed away during the night. While we are glued to our computers, smartphones and TVs for most of the day, one should gradually move away from blue light and offer the eyes some warmer tones before nap time. The biggest enemy of sleep is the thought that you can get more productive by stealing a couple of hours for work each night. You are not a machine and you shouldn’t behave like one.
Revamp your diet habits
Being stuck at home with no option to dine in town surely sucks. For most of us, food delivery is too convenient to turn down. With it, comes the well-known harm of fast food, the undertaker of New Year resolutions – weight gain. One of the most powerful self-care activities at home is to invest your time and energy into developing a healthy diet. Eating right is not rocket science. As a rule of thumb, the less pre-processed food and the more natural ingredients, the better. The best approach is to take matters in your own hand and cook all of your meals. Your stomach and your wallet will be both grateful. Self-care in the kitchen is about making sure you get all nutrients your body needs, and a bit extra, like probiotics.
Work your body
Regular exercise is another one of the self-care activities at home that shouldn’t miss from your routine. Contrary to common belief, you don’t need to fill your living room with heavy and expensive gym equipment. You will be surprised to know that most seasoned trainer agree that using the body’s own weight is more than enough to keep you in top shape. Start small and focus on consistency. The Internet is teeming with fitness tutorials and if that is not enough there is always the option to sign up for an online course. Motivation is the cornerstone of regular exercise, but there are tricks to bribe it. Allow yourself a guilty pleasure for each hour of hard work.
Self-care activities at home are always about doing something or pursuing a goal. Turn the page and look at things from a different angle. What if the thing you need the most is, in fact, just to be at peace with yourself? A hectic schedule of work, house chores, and taking care of your family can leave you drained of energy. Learn to really care after yourself by scheduling some alone time. Turn all your devices off and head for a quiet room, while warning everyone not to be disturbed. Read a book, meditate, drink a glass of wine, and allow yourself to escape outside the normal flow of time.
Don’t let the “self” in self-care fool you. Your well-being is also dependent on your environment. If none of the above self-care activities work to give you a smile, maybe it is time to tidy up your place. Clean, declutter, and organize. Even the smallest change can have tremendous effects. Make a meaningful ritual out of setting your house in perfect order and it will never feel as a chore.
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