Too often people think of self-care as expensive. They see dollar signs and hear the cha-ching sound when the words come up. Too often people think of self-care as a monumental undertaking. They believe there will be a lot of time and commitment involved in the activity. While that’s true about some techniques, I’d like to share a few of my favorite self-care tricks that are free and can take less than 15 minutes.
Before we continue, can we please agree that self-care is not selfish? Self-care does not mean you are ignoring the needs of those around you, nor does it make you narcissistic. If you have a person in your life telling you otherwise, I strongly encourage you to rethink the impact you allow that person to have on you. But that’s a topic for another day.
15 minutes. No matter how crazy our schedule might seem, I bet you can find 15 minutes for yourself. That 15 minutes can be planned time, or it might need to be an urgent addition to your schedule.
Planned self-care – I have the following 15-minute appointments on my calendar every day. Of course, most days those appointments move around, but I swear by those 45-minutes and know that they keep me energized and productive.
1pm - meditate with relaxing music.
3pm - stretch and complete a few yoga moves.
9pm - journal my daily gratitude and review my schedule for the next day.
Impromptu self-care – There might be a particular situation that rears its ugly head and demands you change what you are doing so you can keep your composure. It’s helpful to have a few tools handy that you can pull from your toolbox in these cases.
A Route - Go for a walk, indoors or out. Movement is as much for your mental energy as it is for your physical energy.
A Playlist - Turn on and tune in to your favorite songs. Dancing is not only allowed, it’s encouraged.
A Cup - Brew a cup of tea. There are all kinds of tea to help you relax. The right flavor in a happy mug will envelop you in a warm hug.
A Pen and Paper - Write out your feelings…all of them…then rip up this page of negativity and throw it away. This might be one of my favorites because I’m one who needs to get out of my own head.
A List – If grabbing your phone is your go-to, open your Contacts instead of Instagram. Find someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Checking in on them will be good for both of you.
These self-care techniques are not rocket science. They are time-sensitive and inexpensive, though, and that makes them invaluable. They are my go-to’s that will hopefully spark some creativity about what could work for you. If you have a quick and good-for-you trick for self-care, I’d love to hear about it.
Remember, today is your day, so make it a good one!
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