Have you been thinking of yourself in a negative way recently and feel like you need to take action to love yourself more? Well, here are some easy tips for you to practice self care now that will instantly make you feel cared for.

 

Tips to Practice Self Care:

 

Take Care of Your Skin

Your skin is the protective barrier around your whole body. It heals those scrapes without asking and keeps you nice and warm inside. You must look after it like it does for you!

I’m not just telling you to wash your face. You need to ensure that all it is looked after all over. Your face, hands, feet, scalp, lips… everywhere!

If you suffer from a skin condition then you should seek medical advice on what the best practices are for caring for your skin. But if you don’t and you feel like you’ve been neglecting your skincare routine, it’s time to step up. 

My new year’s resolution in January was to take better care of my skin. I have always been self conscious of the spots on my face but I continued to pick at them anyway. This only made them worse and I became even more aware of them. 

I’ve started actively stopping myself from doing this and, if I’m at home without makeup on, I clean the skin where I’ve been touching with micellar water to make sure it doesn’t dry out. 

Moisturising after a shower and using a pouf in the shower has helped my skin feel silky smooth throughout the day. 

Using lip balm in the dry weather can also help keep them hydrated and looking nice and luscious. 

Drink lots of water too. Your skin loves it, even if you don’t. Trust me. 

 

Exercise

Yawn, I know. Many of you may even scroll past this tip when you see the subheading. However, it is one of the most important ones.

You have absolutely no idea how good exercise is for your mind. Yes, your body loves it too but there are also so many mental health benefits to exercise. 

You can actually read an article here that I wrote on my personal experience and opinion on the impact of exercise on my mental health.

Exercising has been proven to reduce anxiety by releasing cortisol which helps us manage the stresses of life. Being active can also help your self-esteem as it releases those feel-good hormones that we all need to give ourselves a little ‘love yourself’ boost. 

There is also the added bonus of having your brain focus on something different and can serve as a great distraction or coping mechanism. 

 

Plan Your Day

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again and again and again. 

You may be thinking “how on earth does planning my days help me to love myself?” 

Well, directly it doesn’t. But planning your days can give you a much needed boost to get yourself up and out of bed, ready to accomplish all of those things you want to do. 

Planning can help to encourage you to have a productive day. Therefore, when you climb into bed that evening, you can pat yourself on the back and tell yourself “good job!”

I was never a planner kind of girl. However, when I started making little to-do lists and writing down things I wanted to do with my day, it made me feel so much better. Even if it was to do the washing or empty the bins, it gave me something to work towards on the days I didn’t feel like doing anything. 

 

Wake Up Earlier

If you aren’t already an early morning riser, try to take it step by step by setting your alarm five or ten minutes earlier than usual and increase this each day. This allows you to have a bit more time to get ready or some time for yourself in the morning. It gives you more time to practice self care!

Filling this extra time with something that makes you happy will become part of your morning routine and can teach you to put time aside for yourself. 

Also, sleeping in late or sleeping for long periods of time constantly has been associated with a lot of medical conditions, such as a weaker immune system, increased weight and diabetes. 

 

Drink Less Alcohol

This was one of the first things I put on my new year’s resolutions. After the Christmas celebrations and with not much else to do in lockdown, I knew I’d been drinking more than I probably should. 

Without considering the health issues with drinking too much alcohol, there were already so many other perks that I knew drinking less would bring. 

Alcohol tends to affect a lot of people’s quality of sleep, especially after large quantities. I unfortunately suffer quite a lot if I don’t get the right amount of sleep. My body just cannot function properly and it affects my focus and productivity. 

Some people may choose to take time off work because of a hangover or not feeling mentally well after consuming alcohol. This will only bring stress later down the line when your paycheck isn’t as much as usual or your employer is questioning you (if it happens too often).

There are also a lot of calories and ingredients in some alcoholic drinks that you probably don’t realise immediately. This can affect your self-esteem if you’re exceptionally aware of your calorie intake or trying to lose weight.

Some people tend to come home from work or have had a particularly stressful day and turn to alcohol. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism isn’t healthy for your mind or body. The things that cause that stress need to be addressed properly and dealt with in a healthier way.

How can you practice self care if you’re tipsy all the time?

 

Reduce Eating Unhealthy Snacks

Who doesn’t love a piece of cake with a cup of tea?

You’ve got to treat yourself to feel good. But don’t overeat unhealthy snacks constantly. 

I’m not talking about the health benefits of eating better – though it is an important thing to remember. Eating healthier gives you longer lasting energy and the vitamins your body needs to function. 

And although I’ve already mentioned it, knowing you’re eating healthier and doing what’s best for your body can help improve your mindset. You may also see physical changes if you are cutting back a lot and this can boost your self-esteem too.

 

Reduce Your Screen Time

This is a little hypocritical coming from me, whose favourite thing to do is to write blog posts for women like you. However, it’s a huge point to make. 

Reducing your screen time before bed can help you sleep better and also make you feel like you’ve not wasted your day away scrolling through your phone. 

Most likely, that time is spent on social media and we all know that social media can have a huge impact on the way that we see ourselves. By ignoring or reducing the amount of time we’re scrolling through pictures and statuses about other peoples’ lives, we’re spending less time comparing ourselves to the picture they’re painting in front of us.

If you’re like me, you might check your phone screen time at the end of the day and think “did I really spend that much time on my phone?” It’s really not good for us and you can be doing something so much better with that time. 

Tip: Make a note of your screen time for a week and work out your average time. The following week, try to replace at least half of this time with something else you like to do such as reading, playing a board game, exercising, doing a jigsaw, making food from scratch, pamper yourself or another other way you like to practice self care.

Since I started blogging, my phone screen time has reduced massively. However, my laptop screen has increased. Because of this, I invested in a pair of blue light glasses that protect my eyes from the harmful light that comes from staring at a screen all day. You can find the pair I purchased here.

I’m very aware of this as I have a part time job as a receptionist so I can’t avoid screens at all! I try to balance out this time by choosing one of the activities above when I come home or feel like my eyes are considerably tired.

 

Create Your Own Mantra

Here’s another tip that I have said before that I truly believe is so important to practice self care. Give yourself a little tagline or mantra that you can say to yourself. Repeat it every day if you can, or choose a few different ones for the days you don’t feel as good as usual. 

You are then physically practicing self care and telling yourself that you can do this and you can get through the day, no matter what is ahead.

One rule: make sure it’s positive!

 

Buy Some Houseplants

There’s some evidence that houseplants can help to reduce anxiety and stress levels by having them dotted around your house or placed in other environments such as on your desk at work or beside your bed. 

Physically caring for these plants can reduce psychological stresses and can make you feel calmer, more relaxed and sympathetic. 

There are some plants that are actually really good for indoor spaces and can cleanse the air that you breathe in. 

Eucalyptus can help with those who suffer with breathing difficulties like asthma, people with colds and congestion. 

Peace lilies hold a lot of symbolism for tranquility and purification, though they do actually help to neutralise the harmful chemicals indoors for you to breathe in cleaner air.

Lavender plants can also live outdoors and are pretty to look at but the strong and wonderful smell has its own benefits. Sprinkle some lavender essential oil on your pillows or rub the flowers between your fingers. The fragrance is said to help you feel calmer and send you to sleep easier.

I discovered my love for houseplants last year when my mum bought me a spider plant. It began to grow little spider babies in the summer and I became so happy and excited that something I cared for had grown larger and reproduced. 

I actually now prefer to grow plants from seeds so I can visibly see the progress made, like growing the spider babies to give to my grandparents and friends. 

It’s also a good idea to get a few plants that bloom or grow at different stages throughout the year so you’re entertained and de-stressed all year round. 

 

Focus On Your Spending

A lot of my stress over the last 12 months has been over money. With the pandemic going on, it was hard for me to manage my finances, especially coming up to Christmas. 

I began to get very stressed to a point where I woke up and immediately started worrying. That couldn’t be helped at the time, but now I’ve started working again, I’m trying to stay in that mindset that I’m still not earning as much money. 

Keeping track of what my money goes on has helped me to identify where I’ve been spending unnecessary money and encouraged me to do research into where I can buy products for less or what to cut out. 

This has allowed me to feel less stressed which I see as self care. 

Of course, I want to encourage you to spend money on pampering yourself but there are definitely ways to do this on a budget or by replacing something else. 

Just don’t throw your money away on things that aren’t going towards something amazing!