The bottom of the pile

We all know we should practice self-care and it’s also often one of those things that gets pushed to the bottom of our ‘to do’ pile, beneath our caring responsibilities, work, life admin and household chores. Understandable when we think of how busy life has become. So, today during self-care week I wanted to share some tips for incorporating activities that help with wellbeing into your everyday life, that might make it a little easier to fit some time in to look after you:

1. Fit it in with what you’re already doing – for instance, if you’re travelling into work get off at a tube stop earlier or park your car further from the office so you get some exercise, sunlight and fresh air in the mornings.  

2. When is the right time for you – that if you set a reminder to do something, you’re most likely to get it done? I’m a morning and lunch person, if I don’t do my 10-minute meditation in the morning when I wake or do a quick work out or walk at lunch, I’m unlikely to do it. Block time out in your calendar or set a reminder for your most motivated time of day.

3. Waste time – when I ask people in my wellbeing sessions how long they spend doom scrolling or binge watching series each day its usually between 1 and 4 hours. Now you might find that helps your wellbeing and brightens up your day, but if you come out of your scrolling/series rabbit hole and wonder where the last hour or two or three of your life has gone and wished you spent it in a different way, he’s a tip for you. Set a timer. Give yourself, for example, 15 minutes of scroll time and give yourself the other 15 minutes to do something you know helps with wellbeing – connect with a friend, write down your feelings, research a nutritious recipe to add into your meal plan or listen to your favourite music and sing along.

4. Make it realistic – you know you’ll never get round to doing it if it doesn’t fit into the time, you have available in that day. For instance, actually doing a 15-minute home HIIT session is much better then trying to fit in that hour’s gym workout you know you don’t have the time to do. Make it realistic for you.  

5. Celebrate – YAY I made it! I got outside today! We get a dopamine hit from achieving our goals. So, celebrate your wellbeing achievements, no matter how small. It then motivates us to do it again.  

6. Commit to action – we commit to looking after our physical health, in the form of brushing our teeth, for 4 minutes every single day (well most of the time!). Could you make the same commitment to look after your emotional wellbeing.  

7. Accountability – if you struggle with accountability – get a friend or colleague to join in with the plan and hold each other accountable.

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