Why is Self Care Important?
Busy class schedules, demanding jobs, time-consuming internships, and the never-ending effort to meet others’ expectations can often keep us from attending to our well-being. Which makes sense.
But stress and the repeated pattern of self-neglect can also be super unhealthy.
Once stress sets in, it negatively affects our body, mood, and behavior. The huge amount of caffeine and tiny amount of sleep we’re riding on to get everything done can’t hold us over for long (and damages us in the process). However, if we incorporate self care into our lives, we’ll find we can be productive and efficient while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Here are our top 6 self-care ideas for women. We hope you find them as helpful as we do!
Self Care Ideas for the Mind
In about thirty seconds, my mind can go from thinking about what leftovers I can eat for lunch to mentally drafting an email to my boss to trying to remember that one actor’s name from Schitt’s Creek. In short, it’s chaos.
If you can relate, your mind could probably use some rest & relaxation! Here are our favorite mental self care ideas:
- Journaling: Writing down the things you’re grateful for or stressed about, your goals for the week or month, the best part of your day, tracking the books you’re reading, or just brain dumping can be an excellent way to collect your thoughts and begin or end each day. Here are some very helpful ideas on how to organize your journal!
- ‘Getting Lost’ in an Activity: Whether it’s watching reruns of Friends, sketching, listening to a chill Spotify playlist, or reading fiction–making time for laid back activities is an excellent way to decrease stress and increase creativity. If you’re interested in reading more, but not sure where to start…here are 100 fun options!
Self Care Ideas for the Body
When our Google calendar starts to look like a rainbow quilt, we can be tempted to order an ungodly amount of UberEats and spend all day hunched over at our desks, typing away on our computers. Yet, our friends at Psychology Today have proven that healthy eating and physical activity decrease stress and increase our productivity, creativity, and positivity.
- Healthy Eating: Let’s be honest–Exotic vegetables, fresh berries, and organic snacks can be very expensive. But eating healthy doesn’t mean you need to break the bank. There are plenty of helpful online guides to clean eating for college students and budgeting for young adults.
- Staying Active: You don’t need an ultra fancy gym membership to stay active. Some of our favorite fitness hacks are at home yoga, taking scenic neighborhood walks, or incorporating small workouts into your daily routines (i.e. stretching while watching TV, calf raises while brushing your teeth, sitting on a yoga ball for online classes, etc.)
Self Care Ideas for the Spirit
Taking care of our spirit, or soul, may seem vague or odd. Yet, each person has a spirit and it’s at its best when you feel connected to others and have a healthy understanding of yourself. Here are our two favorite self care ideas for the soul.
- Connecting With Friends: Friendship is amazing in its versatility! Some friends think and act just like you, like a long-lost twin sister, while others seemingly have nothing in common with you, but you just click. Friends can crack you up and remind you that you’re loved, connected, and belong.
- Spending time in Nature: You may be wondering how walking through some grass might help you understand yourself. In short, it might. If you have access to them, parks, forests, beaches and lakes are an excellent backdrop for thinking and reflecting. If there’s a particularly scenic area in your city or town, we’d recommend carving out time each week or better yet, each day, to visit, think, reflect, and maybe even journal… It’s truly rejuvenating for body, mind and soul.
Summary
Holistic self care means attending to your mind, body, and spirit’s well-being. When life gets stressful, you may not feel like journaling about your day, cooking a home meal, or going for a walk, but these activities can genuinely help calm, energize, and inspire you. Making time for self care will help you be more productive, creative, and positive. Focus on the best you!
Don’t believe us? Try it for yourself 🙂