How to make time for self-care to look after ‘future you’
How to prioritise a happier, healthier you.
Look at your to-do list. What’s on the horizon?
Most of us are great at taking care of work, family, or other people. But what about self-care?
Planning to “fill your tank” is a way to prioritise your health and happiness. After all, if something’s not in the calendar, will it happen?
The power of scheduling
There’s something powerful about putting an event in your calendar or diary.
Scheduling puts you in ‘proactive mode’ instead of ‘reactive mode’. By pre-allocating your time, you leave less up to chance.
Imagine you have a recurring conference call every Thursday morning. Once this meeting is in your calendar, Thursday mornings are blocked off. Every other demand on your time must fit around this prior commitment.
Now, imagine you want to go for a walk in nature once a week. Is this walk in your calendar? Or do you try to fit it in when you can? How often do you start your day intending to go for a walk and get to 7 pm wondering what happened?
Think you’re too busy for self-care? Here are tips on how to avoid the busyness trap and get more done.
Schedule self-care like you schedule meetings
Looking after yourself is just as important as attending that conference call. If you’re not in good health, how will you do good work?
The problem is, we’re conditioned to put others first. For many of us, self-care feels like a luxury, not a necessity. So, we leave it up to chance, hoping to magically find the time.
Instead, think of self-care as a work meeting with yourself. Block off time every week and honour that prior commitment.
Self-care ideas: Make it simple
Many people hear the word self-care and think of massages, candles, long baths, and other forms of pampering.
If those things work for you, that’s great! But self-care looks different for everyone.
Think of self-care not as pampering, but as filling your tank. What makes you feel energised, happy, and healthy? What do you do that’s just for you?
Here are some ideas to get you started.
Reading a book or magazine
Walking in nature
Meditating
Sleeping in on the weekend
Watching the clouds
Colouring in
Yoga
Exercising
Eating a nourishing meal
Cooking or baking
Taking a long shower or bath
Listening to music
Dancing
Spending quality time with a loved one
Star-gazing
Trying a new hobby
Prayer
Creating a vision board
Watching the sunrise or sunset
Gardening
Lighting a candle
Going to bed early
See if you can schedule a few of your favourites each week.
Map out your perfect week
Another tip for scheduling self-care is to map out your perfect week.
Write a list of everything you would like to include in a week, from work to family commitments to self-care.
Next, take that list and block off time for each activity. Are there enough hours in the week? Or are you being ambitious with your time?
Mapping out your perfect week forces you to get crystal clear about what you can achieve in seven days.
Start small and build your way up
Start by scheduling half an hour of self-care per week – or five minutes per day.
Once self-care has become an ingrained habit, see if you can add another layer. Can you increase your self-care to ten minutes per day or an hour per week?
Some weeks might go better than others, and that’s OK, too. Just make sure you keep self-care in your schedule – your health and happiness will thank you for it.
