When we are stressed to the brim, overwhelmed with decisions or exhausted from the hustle and bustle of life it can be hard to remember to practice self-care. This list of 21 self-care ideas is easy to add to your everyday routine.

Self-care is important to help us relieve stress and nurture our mental wellbeing. It’s not always easy to remember to take care of yourself when you are busy taking care of everyone else around you.

Check out our 10 Stress Relief Activities too!

27 Self-care Ideas

Choose as many or as few as you like and add them into your week. This list is meant to inspire you and get the ideas flowing so you can make yourself an emergency self-care pack!

1. take a hot bubble bath with Epsom salts and/or essential oils
2. cuddle up with your favourite blanket and read a book
3. light some candles and allow your mind to daydream
4. listen to meditation in a quiet room at home
5. go for a long walk and take in the beauty of the outdoors
6. allow yourself to be more present in your surroundings
7. give yourself a pedicure and/or manicure
8. watch your favourite show/movie
9. enjoy your favourite homecooked meal
10. listen to your favourite music
11. dance it out: turn up the tunes and dance
12. singing in the shower to start your day
13. listen to a ted talk that inspires you
14. journal about the things you are grateful for today
15. practice self-affirmations, say them out loud
16. dress up in something nice even if you’re not going anywhere
17. practice yoga in the comfort of your own home
18. allow yourself some time to do something you love (think hobbies)
19. indulge whether it be a piece of chocolate or a spa treatment
20. call a friend and have a good heart filled chat
21. plan an outing
22. play the lottery game (allow yourself to imagine and have fun)
23. enjoy your morning coffee outdoors
24. relax with a cup of tea before bed
25. take a nap or go to bed a half-hour earlier
26. go for a drive in the countryside
27. try your hand at gardening (a potted plant or a garden/flower bed)

Tips to Starting a Self-Care Routine

When we think about implementing a self-care plan into our lives it is best to think small in the beginning.

Choose a time of day that you feel would benefit you the most. Start with practicing one self-care idea per day if needed. Once you get the hang of once per day add in a second, a third or as many as you need.

If you’re new to self-care and you want it to become a part of your everyday life you need to be realistic about the amount of time you start with. Start with a simple act of self-care that can be done in 5-15 minutes if needed. There is no ‘go big or stay home’ when it comes to practising self-care!

I like to practice self-care first thing in the morning and before I go to bed at night. Before you know it you will be finding ways to add self-care into many parts of your daily routine!

Don’t Over Complicate Your Self-Care Routine

Remember to keep it simple! Self-care is not meant to add extra stress to your life it meant to help reduce that stress and give yourself some love.

Implement your self-care into your daily routine easily by adding it to thinks you do monotously throughout the day.

• Washing dishes
• Folding laundry
• Taking a shower
• Cooking a meal
• Cleaning the bathroom
• Washing the floors
• Driving to work
• Shopping for groceries

These are all things we do in our busy lives that we do so often we don’t really have to think about it.

Although I’m not a huge fan of recommending multi-tasking when you add in some self-care this way its a double whammy of goodness.

Time flies when you are giving something back to you. This is a great way to add in some self-love if you struggle with seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on your to-do list.

Self-Care doesn’t have to be just for you!

Being an entrepreneur and a busy mom to three beautiful little girls means I don’t always have the luxury of time without my kids by my side. Sometimes I’m with them 24/7.

Guess what? They need some self-care too!

Get them in on the routine! There are so many great ideas in this list that your children will love too. Starting them at a young age will set the up for a life with good self-care practices. One of my girls favourite things to do is have a full on at home spa day!

Really most of these self-care ideas listed can be done with your littles, your best friend, your significant other or all on your own. This opens up so many doors to how much self-care you can practice in a day.

Allow yourself to practice peaceful self-care

Getting others involved is great but let’s face it we all need some time to just chill and have some alone time. Lock yourself in the bathroom, bedroom, heck even the pantry if that is what it takes haha.

Out of all the women I have talked to about self-care their biggest complaint is that they do not have enough time. You probably have heard this numerous times before but it is gold so here it is again: “We all have the same amount of hours in the day!”

You DO have time! You need to love yourself enough to give it to you!

Wake up a bit early if you need to, stay up a bit later if you need. Try to get yourself an extra 15 minutes a week to start with somewhere in your busy schedule. 15 minutes thats it, easy enough right? You’ve got this!

Make it a habit!

You just spent all this time making yourself a list of your favourite self-care ideas and in a week you find yourself crawling back to your old ways.

First off, forgive yourself! It takes routine and practice to break an old habit and instill a new one.

Second of all, don’t give up! So you missed a day, so you missed a week. It doesn’t matter pick yourself up where you left off and get in 15 minutes right now!

Set yourself a reminder. Scheduled self-care into your daily planner. Set an alarm on your phone to stop what you are doing and practice some self-love. Write a note on your bathroom mirror to remember when you wake up.

Self-Care Homework

I’m all about goals and taking action so before you leave today I want you to take a good hard look at that list above and choose 1-5 self-care ideas you can add into your schedule this week.

Don’t think too long, this shouldn’t take more than minute.

Write them down on paper with a pen or pencil. This triggers your subconscious mind into remembering you plan to do these.

Now, I want you to schedule in 5-15 minutes each day this week to practice at least one self-care idea.

Remember new habits take time and practice!

In a weeks time reassess how it went, what did you like the most, what do you want to do more of, what can you add?

Now, start from the top and schedule in some more. Over the course of the next few weeks see if you can add two to your day and more as time goes by.

You owe it yourself!

Take care and chat soon;

Jenn Summers

Living A Boss Life