Self-Care Week

Let me start by saying a couple of things self-care is not. Self-care isn’t:

1. An excuse to continually be unhealthy: A cheat day every once and awhile is fine
   (encouraged even, because balance), but you can’t use “self-care” to justify poor
   habits
2. Spending excess money on yourself that you don’t have: Debt has never done a body
   good
3. Selfish
   Maybe we should repeat that last one because I want it to sink in for you. Self-care is not
   selfish. Nor is it a waste of time. The world spins deceivingly fast; if you don’t step aside
   and check in with yourself every now and again, you might wake up to find you’re standing
   in a very different place than where you intended. (Cue those drives home when you look up
   and realize you don’t remember passing through the last three stoplights.)
   
4. Treat yourself. Do something nice once a week or more for yourself. PUT YOU FIRST!
   
5. Play the part. You want to feel good, then dress up head to toe. Put on your favorite
   outfit, do your hair, makeup. Add a few new pieces to your outfit. Choose something that
   looks great and feels great on you. Even if you don’t leave the house, it works on selfesteem.
   
6. Be kind to others. Donate, volunteer, say hi to every person, you come in contact with.
   
7. Social Media. Don’t check your email or social media channels within one hour of waking. In
   fact, try going the whole day without looking at it. See how good it feels to be
   disconnected.
   
8. Take a walk. Take a 10-15-minute walk around during your workday.
   
9. Sleep. Get more sleep this week.
   
10. Set reminders. Set reminders on your phone that you are amazing. Set it up so your phone
    reminds you once every few hours.
    Food time. Make yourself a yummy delicious healthy meal. Or better yet, combo food with
    treat yourself and go out for a fancy meal. Something really classy that you would never
    think you would ever go.
    
11. Safe space. Create a safe space in your home where you go to just relax and unwind. A
    space meant for pure relaxation.
    
12. Play like a child. Have fun like a child would. Pass a playground, go ride the swings. Grab
    some crayons and coloring books and color. Skip instead of walk. Play a game.
    
13. Work on incorporating self-care into your daily routine this next few weeks. It takes on
    average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days
    to be exact. And how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the
    behavior, the person, and the circumstances. It can take longer. So just work on it slowly
    and it will click.