21 Simple Self-Care Tips for Everyday Life

Are you often so busy that you tend to neglect yourself? Need some self-care tips that you can easily incorporate into your hectic lifestyle?...Look no further!

I am sure you already know what you need to do for your wellbeing, but lack the time to be able to do so on a regular basis.

And when it comes to self-care, consistency is key!

I have provided 21 simple self-care tips to help you to include a regular self-care routine into your busy schedule. These tips are divided into 5 categories:

• Healthy Eating
• Exercise
• Sleep
• Time-off
• Me Time

Read on to find easy ways to stay fit and healthy so you can look good, feel great and enjoy life to the full!...

Healthy Eating

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eating a healthy diet has many benefits: the risk of developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers is reduced. It boosts your immune system, making you less likely to become ill. Healthy eating can also help you to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight and may even help you to live longer. 

Preparing healthy meals doesn´t have to be a chore, it just needs some planning ahead. Here are some healthy eating self-care tips that you may consider helpful.

Healthy Eating Self-Care Tips:

• Look out for healthy recipes that you and your family would enjoy.
• Include healthy foods on your shopping list and make sure that you have healthy snacks readily available in the fridge and pantry.
• Plan your meals on a weekly basis so you can shop for groceries accordingly.
• If you can, try to reserve a few hours during the week or at weekends to prepare meals in advance. Pre-prepared meals can be frozen and used as required so you don't have to cook every day.

Exercise

Types of Physical Exercise

We all know that physical activity is good for us: It helps us to control our weight, makes us better able to combat illness, improves sleep, boosts energy, and even improves our mood. 

Take into account the following self-care tips relating to physical exercise.

Guidelines for Physical Exercise:

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2018), significant health benefits can be achieved by carrying out 150 - 300 minutes a week of moderate intensity physical activity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (Source: CDC). 

These physical activity guidelines also recommend carrying out muscle strengthening activities working on the major muscle groups (back, chest, abdomen, legs, hips, shoulders and arms) at least 2 days a week.

How much exercise do you do each week?

Are you getting enough exercise?

Read on for more self-care tips on exercise...

Self-Care Tips Relating to Exercise:

If you need to do more physical exercise, I can offer the following self-care tips:

Subscribe to a Gym or Fitness Center

A very practical way of getting regular exercise is to join a gym or fitness center. Many offer a variety of exercise classes catering for different needs. Look at the classes on offer, more likely than not there will be something that appeals to you.

The mere fact that you have to pay in advance is a good incentive to exercise on a regular basis.

Consider Your Natural Tendencies

Take into account your personal circumstances, natural tendencies and the time you have available when organizing your time for exercising:

• Choose activities you enjoy! If fitness centers are not your thing, find other activities that you like doing. It may be a sport that you previously practiced, but have abandoned due to lack of time, or you may want to try something new. 
• If you’re not into sports, try other physical activities such as walking, hiking or dancing. You may even prefer to use workout videos or a fitness app to exercise in the comfort of your own home.
• Choose a time when you are most likely to exercise on a regular basis. If you are a morning person, you may choose to exercise first thing in the morning before going to work. In some cases, it may be easier to exercise after work.

Leave the Car at Home

• If you live within a reasonable distance from the office,  try walking or cycling to commute. 

Pushed for Time?

• Use part of your lunch break to go for a brisk walk.
• If you have a gym or fitness center close to your workplace, you may be able to do a quick workout during your lunch break.

Lacking Motivation?

• If you find it difficult getting motivated, make a commitment to do regular exercise with a work colleague or friend. You will be more likely to stick with it so as not to let the other person down. This way exercising can be a lot more fun!
• Try exercising with your partner or spouse. It will give you both the opportunity to spend quality time together.

Be Consistent!

In order to benefit from exercise, it must be carried out on a regular basis. It is no point exercising every day for a week and doing nothing else for the rest of the month. Organize your schedule taking into account the time you need for physical exercise.

Aim to do at least 30 minutes of moderate physical exercise 5 days per week. Some of you may prefer doing more vigorous physical activity around 3 times per week. Whatever you decide, consistency is the key!

Get Advice

If you are new to exercise or would like to lose weight, get proper advice from a trained professional before starting to ensure that you can reach your objectives safely.

Get Sufficient Sleep

Sleep is essential for our health and well-being. Insufficient or poor quality sleep can adversely affect our performance, productivity, how we feel, our quality of life and safety.

We all know what it's like after a poor night’s sleep: we are tired, irritable, find it difficult to concentrate, we are less productive, lack motivation and may feel more negatively about things. Sound familiar?

Self-Care Tips Relating to Sleep:

• Bear in mind the amount of sleep you need when planning and organizing your daily activities. 
• Leave sufficient time at the end of each day to unwind, relax and have a good night's sleep.
  

Take Time Off

The State of America Vacation 2018 Survey⁽¹⁾ carried out on over 4000 American workers indicated that over half of the workers surveyed had unused paid time off at the end of the year. In many cases the reasons for this were related to the work culture in their organization and fears of the following:

• They may appear to be less dedicated to their jobs or expendable if they were to take a vacation.
• No-one else is able to do their job and there would be lack of coverage in the office during their absence.
• The cost, logistics and hassle associated with travelling.
• Fear that they may miss out on participating in important meetings or decision-making.

There is now increasing awareness amongst employers and employees of the benefits of going on vacation. Make the most of it!

The benefits of taking vacations⁽²⁾ have been demonstrated in many research studies:

• Improves our feelings of happiness, overall wellbeing and quality of life.
• Contributes to reducing stress and burnout.
• Helps to create strong family bonds, family life satisfaction and lifetime memories.
• Improves relationships and strengthens marriages.
  

Use the following self-care tips regularly:

• Take time off work for a vacation at least once a year.
• Have a weekend away every so often (once a month if possible) to get away from your everyday routine. This will help you to feel revitalized and ready to face life's challenges.
• Take regular weekend breaks with your partner or spouse (without the kids). This can help to rekindle or maintain the spark in your relationship.

Give Yourself Some Me Time

As humans, we are social beings and generally need to interact and build social connections with others. What may not seem so obvious is the fact that we also need to spent time alone.

Benefits of Spending Time Alone:

Research has shown that there are many positive benefits of spending time alone:

• It helps us to get to know ourselves and to feel comfortable about being who we are.
• It gives us the opportunity to think about what we want from life, to set goals and to make plans.
• It also helps us to relax and to disconnect from the hustle and bustle we constantly have around us.

We all need Me Time to do the things that appeal to us without worrying about commitments or anyone else.

Tips for Me Time:

Consider the following Me Time tips: 

• Aim to set aside at least 20-30 minutes each day for Me Time.
• Choose a time when you can thoroughly enjoy your Me Time without interruptions. It may be first thing in the morning before you begin your daily activities, or in the evening after you have attended to your commitments.
• If you have difficulty finding a quiet moment at home, consider spending your Me Time elsewhere.

How we spent our Me Time is very personal. Some of us may use it to meditate, practice yoga, relax on the couch with an ice-cream and a good movie. Others may prefer to enjoy a long bath, massage, manicure, pampering session or a shopping spree!

Whatever takes your fancy, make sure you set aside a few minutes a day for some Me Time and DON'T feel guilty about it!

Try these tips on how to organize your life to make more time for YOU!

BOTTOM LINE

Did You Find These Self-Care Tips Useful?

If so, please click on the "like" and/or "share" button at the bottom of the page. Any comments you may have are also welcome.

Many thanks!

Further Reading

Check out the following articles to help you get organized and make more time for self-care:

• How to Organize Your Life in 3 Easy Steps!
• Getting Organized at Work - 4 Essential Tips
• Tips for Organizing Your Home in 4 Easy Steps
• FREE Work Planner Printables
  

References

1. Project Time-off: State of America Vacation by US Travel Association
2. The Benefits of Travel: Family and Relationships Review of Literature by Angela M. Durko.

ShareFacebookPinterestXWhatsAppMessenger