So, life got a little hectic...

(OK, MAYBE IT WENT TOTALLY OFF THE RAILS)

I don't know about you, but my Self-care routine became completely non-existent there for a while. Like, a LOOOONG while. Have you been feeling under-nourished and over-stressed, too?

I know that the very thought of adding even ONE MORE THING to your already packed schedule sounds like total drudgery... even if you know it would be good for you; and could make you feel a whole lot better than you do right now; and life would just open up; and the heavens would sing; and blah, blah, blah...

Yeah, OK - we don’t need guilt trips. We need a trip to the Bahamas! Seriously.

THE 2020'S HAVE BEEN A CRAZY HARD DECADE SO FAR FOR TONS OF REASONS!

So, it's TOTALLY understandable that we might have dropped the ball on our Self-Care.

These things happen to ALL of us anyway and to varying degrees depending on what’s happening in our lives.

Since jumping right back into our old Self-care routines is probably out of reach (and, let's face it, that trip the Bahamas probably isn’t going to happen for most of us, either) here’s a list of simple + easy-to-incorporate ways to find your way back to a Self-care routine.

1. WAKE UP 15 MINUTES EARLY

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep.

–Rumi

MORNINGS, YEAH…

Whether we think we’re a morning person or not, the moments after we first wake up are an undeniably amazing time to set the tone for our entire day (heck, our entire LIVES!).

For many of us though, the good intentions we have at bedtime to set the alarm an extra hour or two early is often met with hitting the snooze button and missing out on that morning time we promised ourselves.

Even if we can wake up extra early once or twice, this usually isn’t a sustainable practice unless we’re super committed.

WAKING UP 15 MINUTES EARLY IS A SMALL STEP TOWARDS BIGGER CHANGE.

When we first come back to mornings this way, we can choose different activities each morning based on what feels good that day: meditation, reading, exercising, yoga, journaling, or working on a vision board are things I've done with these extra 15 minutes.

Use this time for whatever brings you joy, nourishes your spirit, and helps you feel good!

When we're in solid Self-care mode, we might do ALL of these things EVERY morning, but it can take time to get back to that level, so starting small and being consistent can get the ball rolling again.

Be patient and caring with yourSelf, and soon enough, you’ll be adding another 15 minutes to your morning time to recharge your soul everyday.

2. EAT ONE HEALTHY MEAL EVERYDAY

To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

–Buddha

Healthy eating habits are, of course, an important part of Self-care.

But, believe it or not, you don’t have to do a week-long juice cleanse or a 30-day clean eating detox to get back into healthy eating habits. You don’t even have to jump into the latest diet craze or consume the fancy and obscure health foods either.

STUDIES SHOW THAT IMPLEMENTING SMALL CHANGES TO DIET A LITTLE AT A TIME YIELDS THE BEST LONG-TERM RESULTS TO HEALTHY BODIES.

Everyone already knows HOW to eat healthy, we don’t need someone to tell us what to eat. But, sometimes taking the time or making the effort to eat healthy is challenging.

Instead of trying to overhaul your refrigerator or going overboard at the grocery store in an attempt to revamp your entire home menu, choose one meal each day that you can realistically work with and make it as healthy as possible.

Making this one small change to your diet can make you feel a whole lot better about yourself and the food choices that you're making can eventually influence your other mealtimes as well.

3. SET + PROTECT BOUNDARIES

Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.

–Anna Taylor

What are boundaries?

Sure, they’re limits that we place, lines we draw, places we won’t go, or things we won’t do… but they’re so much more.

Boundaries include ourselves AND others – specifically, what we are willing to do, be, and accept from others.

BOUNDARIES ARE A DEFINITE PLACE WHERE OUR RESPONSIBILITY ENDS AND ANOTHER PERSON’S BEGINS.

Setting and protecting boundaries can be tough, but it’s also necessary if we want to have healthy relationships with others and with ourselves.

Healthy boundaries can help us avoid having to do things for others that they could actually be doing for themselves.

We need to communicate our boundaries first verbally and then with our actions. 

Communicating and then enforcing boundaries can (and probably will) hurt others, at least a little, but doing this is crucial if we truly want to practice Self-care.

Telling our kids/roommates/partners that they’ll have to clean their own rooms (or do their own laundry/pack their own lunch/whatever they’re capable of doing for themselves) or explaining to partners that they’ll have to balance their own checkbook (or iron their own shirts/make their own coffee/help with housework/etc.) might feel like torture – especially if the reason you’re doing it yourself is because it’s a way to express your love or because you’re a perfectionist and want things to be just right or something else along those lines – but it’s essential for you AND for them.

Creating + enforcing boundaries not only gives us more space to do the things that nourish our own well-being, but gives the ones we love an opportunity to grow.

4. CREATE A MASTER HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE

We’re all traveling through time together, every day of our lives.
All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.

–from the film About Time

This one task could quite possibly be the single most important Self-care technique listed here, so don’t dismiss it!

Since we’re trying to find time for ourselves and feeling overwhelmed by all that we’ve got going on in our lives, mapping out our time is super important.

Take some time each month to plan out the next month ENTIRELY.

(As much as you can.)

Let’s face it, WE’RE BUSY! And that busy-ness is most likely why we wandered away from our Self-care routine in the first place. Between keeping up with work, social events, and everything else in our lives, our schedules can feel like a chaotic mess.

A MASTER HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE ALLOWS US TO VISUALLY SEE WHERE THINGS ARE WORKING IN OUR LIVES + WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.

 Include your own schedule (deadlines, mandatory/scheduled overtime, vacation time), your partner's schedule (same as yours, get it all), the kids’ schedules (days off from school, special events, etc), social engagements, appointments, EVERYTHING.

If you’re feeling ambitious, feel free to include a cleaning schedule, grocery days + meal planning menu, or anything else that’s important to map out so you can visually see everything that’s happening with everyone with one single look.

Once we can easily see everything that’s going on in our lives – what we’re putting our precious time + energy toward – we can breathe a little sigh of relief at the KNOWING + even easily find time to dedicate to our Self-care practices.

5. FOCUS ON LITTLE + OFTEN

Big journeys begin with small steps.

–Unknown

Revised post from the Bliss + Bunny Tantrums blog (Sept. 2, 2016) that I dusted off and updated.