I know. We’re busy, and finding the time to take proper care of ourselves can be hard.
But if we don’t, it won’t be long before we’re burnt out and operating in a mental fog where it’s hard to care about anything or anyone.
The following ideas are daily self-care activities you can fit into a short amount of time, usually with little cost.
Daily Self-Care Ideas for your Mind:
1. Take another route to work. Mixing up your routine in small ways creates new neural pathways in the brain to keep it healthy.
2. Learn something. Listen to a podcast, read a blog article or several pages of a book at the start or end of your day.
3. Do a mini-declutter. Recycle three things from your wardrobe that you don’t love or regularly wear.
4. Unplug for an hour. Switch everything to aeroplane mode and free yourself from the constant bings of social media and email.
5. Edit your social media feeds, and take out any negative people.
Daily Self-Care Ideas for the Body:
1. Get down and boogie. Put on your favourite upbeat record and shake your booty.
2. Run (or walk, depending on your current physical health) for 30 minutes.
3. Make one small change to your diet for the week. Drink an extra glass of water each day.
4. Sit somewhere green, and be quiet for a few minutes.
5. Get out and enjoy fifteen minutes of sunshine and fresh air.
6. Have a good laugh. Laughter helps you reduce stress, connect with people, and see things from a positive perspective
Daily Self-Care Ideas for the Soul:
1. Help someone. Carry a bag, open a door, or shout a work colleague a coffee.
2. Choose who you spend your time with today. Hang out with people who emit enthusiasm and positivity, and not those whose pessimism and negativity rob your energy.
3. Build a connection. Ask someone to lunch or for a coffee.
4. Have a self-date. Spend an hour alone doing something that nourishes you (reading, exercising, meditation).
5. Be vulnerable. Share something small about your personal life—a hope, fear, dream, wish, desire—with a work colleague. Ask them about theirs.
In the end, the quality of our daily self-care activities is a great barometer of our overall well-being, and it can keep us firing on all cylinders.
These daily practices have helped me understand that I can feel better and be better. This is a reminder to reach out and proactively work towards your own well-being. Talk and share with others. Stay open.
Now more than ever it is essential to have resilience to get through the cold and miserable winter and come out the other end whole and ready to move forward this spring.
Pick just one from each category, and include them in your life this week.
I’d love to hear how you go!
Brett
**Atticus Health is offering a book or audio book of your choice (up to $60.00), to one lucky winner in the Atticus community.
To enter to win, send an email to Atticus Health at community@atticushealth.com.au, submitting your daily self-care idea that we can share to the Atticus community.
You can enter until 5:00pm, on Friday 2nd of September. We’ll choose the winner and contact them soon after!
