By now, you’ve probably heard a lot of talk about self-care. One of my goals for the year is to prioritize self-care in my life, and I think a lot of other people are wanting to focus more on self-care too.
But when you hear the term “self-care” what do you think of? A day at the spa getting pampered or painting your nails? Those are great ways to relax but self-care is about so much more than that!
Before I go any deeper, in case you’re someone who actually hasn’t heard much about self-care and you’re wondering what the big deal is, here are just a few of the benefits:
Benefits of self-care
- Self-care improves your confidence & self-esteem
- Self-care improves both your mental health & stress levels
- Self-care improves your physical health
- Self-care helps you get to know yourself better
I’ve created a 10 Days of Self-Care challenge and I wanted to share it with anyone else who may need this in their life.
My hope is that this challenge can help us realize ways in which we need to care for ourselves better, and help us to make it more of a habit – especially those who are more inexperienced in the area of proper self-care. I hope you enjoy it!
Self-Care Challenge!
Day 1: Drink 8 Glasses of Water
It’s recommended that you drink 8 glasses of water a day, but so many of us struggle with actually doing this. Some people don’t like water, some people just prefer other drinks.
There are ways to make drinking water easier for you, though. We all know how important it is for both our physical and mental health and it’s one of the most basic forms of self-care. You can keep track of this in your planner or bullet journal to make sure you get it done!
Day 2: Listen to a Positive Podcast
There are tons of podcasts out there on pretty much every topic under the sun. Self-improvement is a wonderful form of self-care, so listen to a podcast that will help you make positive changes in yourself or in your life. Here’s a great list great podcasts for personal growth that you can choose from.
Day 3: Spend Time in Nature
Nature is a calming place for most people. The fresh air, the beauty, and the solitude of nature can help you clear your mind, increase your creativity, lower your stress levels, and become more mindful, among other benefits.
Plus, Vitamin D from the sun has many benefits. Take some time to go outside and take a walk or just sit in nature and take note of your surroundings. If you suffer from depression or anxiety, this can also help keep your symptoms at bay.
Day 4: Pamper Yourself
Pampering yourself is probably the most popular form of self-care, and for good reason. Pampering not only helps you relax and take a break, but it can also help you feel good about yourself.
When you take the time to use a face mask, make yourself a hair mask, paint your nails, or take a nice bath, you’re telling yourself that you’re worth the effort. You’re putting time and energy into yourself and letting yourself know that you’re worthy.
Day 5: Write in Your Journal (or Start One)
Journaling is my favourite form of self-care, probably because of the massive amount of benefits that it can bring into your life. It can help you process your emotions, feel calmer, be more mindful, achieve your goals, stay organized, and way more.
So, start a start a journal or make it a point to write in one that you have. You can use a traditional journal, a bullet journal, a computer document, or even a journaling app.
Day 6: Go to Bed Early
It’s recommended that an adult gets 6-8 hours of sleep a night, but this is yet another thing most people struggle with. Getting too little of sleep can leave you feeling groggy, low on energy, grumpy, and it can even cause a cold or illness.
If this is something that you struggle with, go to bed early and try to sleep for 6-8 hours. If you’re someone who over-sleeps, you could set your alarm for a bit earlier to make sure you’re only getting 6-8 hours. Either way, you’ll feel better in the morning.
Day 7: Do a Random Act of Kindness
Few things make us feel as good as doing something kind or generous for someone else, plus it spreads some positivity around – which the world sorely needs. So, pay for the person behind you in a drive-thru line, donate items or money to a charity, give someone a genuine compliment, purchase someone a gift, or do something else that you can think of.
Day 8: Find Something to Laugh About
Laughter really is the best medicine, and it can do so much for our health. So, do something that makes you laugh today – and every day preferably. You could watch funny movies/videos/shows, read a funny book, talk to someone who makes you laugh, play with your silly pet, or look at funny memes online.
Day 9: Write a Love Letter to Yourself
Or make a list of things you love about yourself. I know it may seem silly or pointless, but this can do so much for your subconscious and it can help you more than once. Write a genuine letter about how much you love yourself. Be descriptive and detailed.
Or write out a list of things that you love for yourself – as many things as you can think of. You can put this note or list away to read whenever you’re feeling low about yourself.
Day 10: Declutter
When my house is a mess, my brain feels like a mess, plus my mood and motivation go downhill. Decluttering whatever room that you spend the most time in doesn’t take much time, but it can give you a load of benefits. Your brain will feel more organized and you will feel more calm and focused.
Last Updated on
I’m all about implementing more self-care in our routines. In fact I put some effort into developing a self-care challenge last year after I became a mother (which has a duration of 30 days but actually has some of the same tasks) and it helped me so much to reconsider how I spend time on keeping myself happy, healthy and balanced! Self-care might be called a trend, but if you ask me, it is here to stay!
Nathalie / http://www.wantforwellness.com
loved reading this!
The Lisa’s World
This has appeared at such a good time for me! We have good and bad days and I’m in a bit of a rough patch so many thanks from me for this! I have been looking for new podcasts to listen to for a while now so definitely will be checking out what has been suggested. I also want to start journaling but do a mixture of a written one and also an art/doodling one, think it would be interesting to see how it goes and also not limit me to expressing everything through just words.. If that makes sense! Hope it did! Em xx
http://edoublemamurray.blogspot.com.au/
What great ideas! I love the way of focusing on one new care item to do each day, rather than try to do everything all at once. Decluttering is definitely on the list!
This is a great challenge! Definitely will be trying this xx
-Jacqueline
http://www.jackieomy.com/
Self-care is so important in today’s world. Loved reading this! Got some nice ideas for tonight! Thanks!
B.xx
https://britney-ann.blogspot.ca/
These are great ideas. I love the list of podcasts to listen to and declutter sounds like that would help my mind too.
wonderful suggestions. I need to work on a lot of them. My boyfriend is always on me about my water intake. LOL. I definitely don’t drink enough. I also need to work on my sleep schedule, especially now that I have started blogging on top of my 9-5. There just isn’t enough time in the day. I love the fact that you brought up decluttering. That is a huge one for me. I feel so much better when my environment is tidy and fresh, especially if it is a work area. If my desk is messy, it feels like I constantly have more and more work to do even if that is not the case. Thank you for sharing! I will have to find a good podcast, too!
As soon as I’m over this flu crud I’m definitely doing this to refocus myself! I always forget how important self care is to me, and this is a great list!
I’ve been really good for the last couple of years, I drink about 1,5 to 2 lit. a day. My body is used to it now and I feel thirsty through out the day which makes it very easy to remember 🙂 I loved other points too though! I feel a bit more human now too, this month been toooooo long!!