Just as we improve and evolve over time as human beings, your self-care routine should improve and evolve as well.
You’re already on the right track if you currently have a self-care routine. For those who don’t, we highly suggest you start creating one—the long list of benefits should be enough to get you started.
As you might already know, self-care should be an essential part of a person’s life. Just as we improve and evolve over time as human beings, your self-care routine should improve and evolve as well.
Believe it or not, there are still ways to amp-up your routine.
Make Sure You Love It
So what exactly is a self-care routine?
Simply stated, self-care routines have to be activities or things that you want to do, as a way to take care of yourself. If you hate doing it, regardless of how beneficial or healthy it is for you, it’s definitely not a self-care routine.
You have to love doing it because you love doing it, not because some influencer or a Google search told you so.
To apply this, evaluate your self-care routine and decide on which activities you love doing and which ones you just do simply out of obligation. If there are one or two things you don’t particularly enjoy, try to find alternatives.
For example, if you don’t like early morning runs, reschedule it at a later time. If you don’t like working out everyday, try to find a schedule more suitable for yourself.
Remember, do the things that make you happy to take care of yourself better.
Know the Absolute Importance of Sleep
If there’s one thing that should be a staple in anybody’s self-care routine, it’s sleep.
Sleep is an item on the list that needs to be in the #1 spot and must be treated as your top priority. If not, your self-care routine might be rendered useless. A lot of people tend to neglect sleep on the guise that they need more time to give themselves a break.
If your self-care routine takes away hours from your sleep, then it’s not going to be very “caring” in the long-run. You being sleep-deprived only leads to more problems that not even your routine can’t solve.
Any “me time” activity you have in mind must come second to getting a good night’s sleep. To maintain a balance, ensure you have a minimum of 7 hours of sleep before indulging yourself in your self-care activities.
Really Prioritizing Yourself
This is probably easier said than done; with a day job, a family, and other responsibilities to consider, it’s common to find yourself at the bottom of the list, if you’re even on the list at all!
However, you have to remember that self-care is essential to help you function better. If you don’t prioritize yourself, then there’s still some room for your self-care routine to improve.
Some people might recommend having a specific time for yourself, but it could also be arbitrary. What matters is that when you do decide to dedicate a bit of time to do the things that you love, you won’t let anything else bother you during that period.
But this also means not neglecting other aspects of your life when you do so. Make sure that the time you have for yourself is a time that you’re at peace, not as a way to procrastinate and escape responsibilities you’ve been putting off.
Really prioritize yourself—responsibly.
Evaluate Your Routine from Time to Time
Sometimes, the things you used to love doing start to feel like they’re no longer good for you. And although you’re aware of this, you find it hard to stop because it’s hard to drop something so familiar and comfortable.
Just because you’re used to having a routine, doesn’t mean you can’t switch it up every now and then.
Even if your “me times” start to feel stagnant, that isn’t something you should worry about. There are plenty of activities that you can explore, you just need the courage to do so.
As a way to take care of yourself, you need to evaluate if what you’re doing still brings value to your life and is still making you happy. Don’t continue doing the things your old self would have loved, but your new self doesn’t.
This can be linked to our first point...to make sure that you love what you’re doing. And leads to our last point...don’t be afraid to try something new.
Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New
Feel like you want to try out different workout programs? Go for it! Want to switch to a different diet? Look up how to transition!
Don’t be attached to your current self-care routine; if you feel like it’s no longer making you happy, or if it’s not letting you become a better version of yourself right after, it’s time to switch it up.
As we mentioned in the previous section, it has to be something that you love doing. Sometimes you outgrow the things that you used to love, so don’t be afraid to explore other things. Continue to mix and match activities as it evolves into a new self-care routine that you love!
It’s normal for anything new to feel foreign during the first few times, but if you love doing it, it will feel natural before you know it.
