After years of putting everyone else first, I’ve finally started to make myself the main priority in my life. It might seem selfish but it’s my life and I should always want to feel my best but also better myself. That’s why I take self-care so seriously. I’ve created this guide on self-care even when you don’t feel like it to give you ideas of how to prioritise yourself too!
START SMALL
When you’re not in a great mood, starting small to make yourself feel better is the best first step. Stand out in the garden for a couple of minutes to get some fresh air. Spend two minutes applying a hydrating face mask. Read one chapter of a new book. Add a new syrup to your coffee or hot chocolate. Spend a few minutes sorting out your vitamins and medication for the week in one of those daily holders. The idea is it should be something that only takes a minute (girl, sorry for the 90s boyband reference) or so. Whatever it is that makes you feel better, do it!
CREATE A LIST OF DAILY NON-NEGOTIABLES
Think of this as your daily habits list. You can make it as short or as long as you want to. Such habits could be as simple as wash face, brush teeth, get outside, stretch, eat a nutritious meal and drink water. Whatever your version of what you must do every single day, basically just generally looking after yourself. When you’ve started to achieve your handful of habits, you can always add more. Think about habit stacking too, where you add on a new habit to one that you already do frequently. An example would be when eating a nutritious meal, you could take any vitamins, supplements or medication. Most require them to be taken with food anyway!
CREATE TIMED TASK LISTS
Have a few lists of tasks that take 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and one hour plus for times when you need some extra self-care. From a few deep breaths to deep cleaning the kitchen! You could always time yourself whenever you do particular casts and create your list that way. It might take you a week or a month to create but at least you have a visual clue.
GET INTO A ROUTINE
Oh, you know I love a routine! I’ve got my morning routine, my evening routine, my weekly reset, my weekly planning routine, my monthly reset, my money routine, and my daily work-from-home routine. Yes, it seems like a lot but it’s something I’ve worked on for years. You’ve probably already got a routine even if you don’t think you do. We all do the same things every morning when we get up and every night when we go to bed. Even on a weekend, you’ll probably do the same tasks, such as doing the food shop and housework. I just put them all together so it seems more fun!
LEAN INTO YOUR ENERGY
This is something I figured out a few years ago. My to-do list on the daily was jam-packed. Then I’d feel disheartened when I only managed to tick off three tasks. I had to change my mindset to what actually needs doing and what would I like to get done. Now, I create a general to-do list for the week, assign specific tasks to the days when they have to get done and use any bursts of energy to do anything else on the list. My days are now less overwhelming because I only have a couple of things on my to-do list every day!
TRY A POWER HOUR
This works well for chores. Set a timer if needs be, stick on your favourite podcast or playlist, and do as much as you can in an hour or so! If you give yourself three hours to complete a task, it will take you the full three hours. If you give yourself an hour instead, you’ll get as much done as you possibly can. It’s okay if you run out of time but you’ll make more headway and have a spare two hours.
TRY TRACKING
Were you a kid who loved a reward chart, where you’d put a sticker on it after completing something? This is basically the grown-up version of that! You could be tracking habits, diet, water intake, mood, fitness, or energy levels. It can help to identify triggers in your day too, especially when it comes to your mood and energy. How you track them is up to you. I’ve used a habit tracker app, a spreadsheet, and my bullet journal. It can be trial and error until you find the best one for you but stick with it for a while (at least a month) if you can.
SCHEDULE IT IN
Adding self-care to your calendar means you might actually have time to fit it in. You’d schedule your work shifts and appointments so why not your idea of self-care? Workouts, routines, solo dates, and pamper nights can all qualify here. Making yourself a priority starts with holding yourself accountable for looking after yourself.
GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK
This can be anything from booking a fortnight away on a tropical island to taking yourself out to a coffee shop for a quiet hour alone. I hate to break it to you but you’ll never get everything done that you want to get done. It’s okay to admit that and start accepting it! Don’t beat yourself up because life just happens. As long as you prioritise work and play, everything will be just fine.
TALK IT OUT
If you struggling with looking after yourself or making yourself a priority, talk to someone. It could be your partner, your mum, your friend or a specialist if you need to. Maybe you just need to delegate some tasks so you have more time for yourself. See if you can streamline any processes, such as getting stuff ready the night before so mornings are much smoother. Give stuff a try and if it doesn’t work, try something else!
ACCEPT IT
You’re not going to be 100% all of the time! I don’t trust people who are personally! It’s okay to just feel a bit down or low on energy. Accept it, have a chilled day/week, and take small steps to recover. If it’s too regular or you feel depressed, please seek help from a professional. I know it can be a tough step to take but it will help.
And that’s how to do self-care even when you don’t feel like it. Even when you’re not feeling your best self, you can usually do something little to improve your mood slightly. It’s definitely a process as you find what works for you and what doesn’t. It will also depend on how much time you have as some self-care tasks will obviously take longer than others.
If you enjoyed this guide on how to self-care even when you don’t feel like it, you can check out my other lifestyle posts here. Don’t forget to give me a follow on Twitter and Instagram too if you like my content.
