By setting aside time each day and sticking to a schedule that caters specifically to your needs, your mental, physical and social health will perform at its peak. Take care of yourself, you can be the best version you can possibly be everyday, as long as you set aside time to support yourself and your health. Here are nine activities to add to your self-care schedule:
Stay active
By staying active everyday, you will be clearing your head from the stress that is clouding up your head, not to mention keeping your body in shape! Going on a run or participating in a workout class every day could be the self-care you are missing from your day. Whether you carve out time in the morning, afternoon, evening or night to stay fit, it may be the activity to get you through the day. Your mental and physical health will thank you for it.
Keep up with good hygiene
It’s truly amazing what a good face mask can do! To help nourish yourself and wash away the stress of a busy schedule, keep up with good hygiene. This can include, doing weekly clay masks, taking bubble baths or simply basic hygiene that can sometimes get set aside because of a busy schedule or depression. These tasks include flossing, keeping nails trimmed and filed, brushing your hair or shaving. Of course, these sound like everyday skills that should be kept up with, but as the semester gets busier and classes get harder it seems some of these fall to the wayside.
By keeping up with good hygiene you’re going to feel better and look healthier, which will contribute to your mental headspace instantly. Nobody feels happy and productive when they haven’t showered in three days and need to wash their face. We’ve all been there, though.
Facetime friends and family
Being social and present is another important factor that contributes to someone’s mental health. Take time at least once a week to call your loved ones who live in different cities. Even if it seems inconvenient, make a phone schedule with these people to assure you are present in each other's lives.
Seeing familiar faces of family and friends from back home will remind you of your roots and lower your stress levels, a little at least. Your weekly phone call back home to your mother will mean everything to her.
Make time for your hobbies
Doing what you love is everything for your mental health. It is essential to keep your interests and your hobbies in your self-care routine to ensure you don’t lose what makes you, you! If you love to draw, keep a sketchbook and spend a few minutes creating everyday. If you love to play guitar, commit yourself to playing everyday to stay sharp.
Whatever it is that makes you happy, continue to do these things no matter how busy or stressed you get. Keeping up with hobbies will give you a mental break from your day no matter how the day went as well as keeping yourself on top of your craft.
Journal
Keep a journal to reflect on how each day went. By physically writing down your thoughts each day, you will take the time you need to think about how the day went, how it made you feel and how you can do tomorrow differently. Writing in a journal is truly a great way to express feelings and frustrations during the day in a place nobody else needs to read. Also, if you journal each night before you go to bed, it could become part of your nighttime ritual to destress from the day.
Treat yourself sometimes
If you had a truly busy week or just a tough exam you just completed, it's ok to treat yourself sometimes. Spend that extra money on a specialty latte rather than just your normal iced coffee, or eat dessert before dinner. Whatever it is to reward yourself, it is OK to do that once in a while.
Of course, you won’t want to do this too often or it won’t feel like a treat anymore, just a bad habit. However, acknowledging when you have done something tough or particularly stressful and rewarding yourself for making it through is a great form of self care.
Get some sleep
The last three episodes of the TV show you have been binging will be there in the morning. Commit yourself to a specific sleep schedule. Your body and mind will be grateful for being on a schedule. Staying up very late one night then oversleeping the next day is not a good system. As hard as it is to go to bed when parties are happening or plans are being made, you’ll be thankful in the morning when you wake up with a ton of energy. This is one of the ultimate forms of self-care for yourself, you are fueling yourself with the energy you need to succeed!
Keep your room clean
Similar to keeping up with your hygiene, it is important for yourself to keep a tidy room and workspace. You will feel a whole lot better writing that paper knowing your laundry is put away and you don’t have to make the bed since you did in the morning.
Ways to ensure you’ll keep your room clean are by setting a schedule for when you’ll vacuum, change your bed sheets, dust, etc. Another way to keep you on the right track is putting things away as soon as you are done with them. Of course, it is easier to throw a t-shirt on the ground when changing, but throwing it into the laundry bin will make your room a lot cleaner and easier when coming to laundry time.
The clean room will help ease your mind while spending time in your room doing work and school work. By not having anything to clean up, it will allow you to give full attention to the project you are working on.
Overall, these are just a few things you can do to incorporate self-care into your weekly routines. If you give these a shot, it is amazing how much better you will feel mentally, socially and physically when you take the time to do things for yourself.