4 Self-Care Tips to Implement During the Holidays

by Barb Casper

Finding time to invest in self-care can be challenging, especially when you live an extra busy life. When your days are spent bouncing between work, family, social commitments and planning for the holidays, there can be little time left to catch your breath let alone take time to care for your physical, mental and emotional health. If you are struggling to find time left for self-care, try these four tips to incorporate good self-care habits in your routine.

1. Establish a morning routine
Starting the day right is a good way to ensure your mental and physical health is maintained. This might include a healthy breakfast, daily exercise or meditation; figure out what works for you and implement it daily. Over time this will become a habit, helping you to take some time for self-care every day.

2. Schedule time off
It can be easy to find yourself in a cycle of continuous activity, moving from one activity to the next until it seems you are just going through the motions. Make sure you don’t get lost in the chaos by scheduling some time off. It might be an afternoon away from your normal routine, or something more extravagant like a weekend away or vacation. Whatever you choose, taking a break will allow you to relax and rejuvenate.

3. Get enough sleep
It can be easy to prioritize other commitments over sleep, but the importance of sleep should not be underrated. Getting good quality sleep allows your body to heal and re-energize, helping you to perform in all areas of your life. It can also be hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle without proper sleep as we tend to make bad diet choices and avoid exercise when we are sleep deprived. Sleep is critical for physical and mental health, which is why it should be made a priority regardless of how busy you are.

4. Set realistic goals
Manage your mental health by setting realistic goals. There’s no point committing to something that is unachievable or will put so much pressure on you that you feel like a failure. Spend some time considering your aspirations and make goals that are challenging, but possible for you to reach. You also need to set realistic goals when it comes to your self-care commitments. Add things to your routine that will work long term with your lifestyle.

With limited hours in the day, it can be nearly impossible to make time for self-care. These tips should help you incorporate self-care into your schedule so that you can live life to the fullest.

6 Reasons Why You Should Prioritize Self-Care

Self-care refers to any activity that we engage in to maintain and nourish our health, including mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. While it may seem like an obvious concept, self-care often gets cast aside for more pressing priorities such as work, family, and the everyday pressures of life. There are many reasons why you should prioritize self-care and we’ve listed six of the most important below.

1. Improves mood
Investing time in your own care can have a major impact on your mood, leading to greater optimism and positivity. It will help you to feel happier, more satisfied and better able to cope with the challenges that life throws you way. Even taking a small amount of time per week to nurture your physical, emotional and mental health can be hugely beneficial on your mood.

2. Helps relationships
Self-care helps you to be the best person you can be, which in turn as a positive impact on your relationships. Taking regular time to invest in your personal health allows you to be happier and more stable as an individual. This has a flow on effect as it allows you to be more patient and accommodating with others and therefore have better relationships.

3. Decreases risk of burnout
We all lead busy lives and regular investment in self-care is necessary to avoid burnout. Find a form of self-care that works for you, whether that be taking a walk, spending time with family or getting a massage, and commit to engaging in it regularly. It will help to manage your stress and prevent burnout.

4. Helps you become more present
Spending time managing yourself allows you to become more present and engaged with your surroundings. You are likely to have a better understanding of what it takes to maintain your mental, physical and emotional health, thus resulting in you having a greater focus on your current mood and trigger that have the potential to impact your health.

5. Better performance
Self-care is often seen as indulgent, when in actual fact it can have a much broader impact. Looking after yourself helps to maintain your health, which in turn allows you to perform better in all aspects of your life: work, family, sport.

6. Increases quality of life
The overarching benefit of self-care is that it increases the quality of your life. By helping you to be healthier, have better relationships and be more present, self-care allows you to live a more fulfilling life.