When you’re caught up in a busy schedule, it’s easy to forget about self-care. But fortunately, self-care doesn’t require hours of practice a day. In fact, you can incorporate just a few minutes of self-care every day to boost your mood, feeling more at peace with everything happening in your life. Below are the top self-care ideas to try out today.
Finally Do That Research
Perhaps you have been putting off doing research on a big purchase or investment you want to make down the line. After all, we all tend to put off things that require lots of work. But taking the dive now can help clear your mind and inspire you to take action. For instance, perhaps you’ve been considering going back to school and want to do research on loans. You can take a few minutes to use a student loan calculator on a private lender’s site to see what you’d have to pay after graduation. You can plan payments in advance for when you do decide to go back to school.
Practice Mindfulness
What is mindfulness? It’s being more aware of your feelings and sensations around you, but without negative judgment. Negative self-talk is common, and it can lead to stress, anxiety, or even depression. By practicing mindfulness, you take care of your mental health and you learn not to get caught up in your negative thoughts and feelings and simply let them go as they come. You can practice mindfulness by taking some time to do breathing exercises, meditating, or practicing gratitude at night. You can do this first thing in the morning to set a positive tone for your day or right before bed to relax into sleep.
Take Care of Your Body
Your body deserves some love, too. A popular self-care idea is to dedicate one night a week completely to nourishing your body. You can soak in a bubble bath, exfoliate in the shower, or do a face mask to replenish your face. We end up putting most of our stress somewhere in our body, whether in our shoulders or stomach. Letting the body relax can get rid of the tension and lead to increased happiness and decreased pain.
Get Exercise In
Of course, exercise is fundamental to looking and feeling better. You don’t have to go for a five-mile run every morning. You can even exercise right at your desk with deskercise for 10-15 minutes every day. Exercising right means finding the best exercise for you and reaping the benefits of getting a sweat in.
Do What You Love
Do you love to read? Watch movies? Listen to music? Whatever your passion is, allow yourself to do what you like to do as often as you can. Perhaps you’ve had books piling up on your desk for a long time now that you keep meaning to get through. You will feel a sense of relief and peace once you’ve started to work your way through them, and you get to enjoy a good book.
