7 Self-Care Tips even if you don’t have time

Self-care. Who has the time?

How often do you notice that when a self-care topic comes up, time is almost always one of the stumbling blocks that causes hesitations.

When I think of self-care, I can’t help but think of how much time it will take. Can you relate? You know it’s good for you but really, who has the extra hours?

I have just committed to a 30-day Self-Care challenge for July and so I thought I would share the 7 self-care tips even if you don’t have time.

But honestly, we all have time.

What is self-care?

World Health Organization defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider”.

Self-care is any activity that is intentionally meant to care for our mental, physical, emotional, and even spiritual health and wellness. This means taking care of yourself so that you are healthy physically, and mentally.

Before creating this blog, Self-care has never been my top priority. Yikes! I know right, what was I thinking?

However, part of self-care is practising self-compassion so I won’t shame or blame myself for not practising self-care in the past. What matters is now, I know that it’s important and I’m doing my best to make it a part of my daily habits.

So when I decided that I would create an intentional lifestyle, I made self-care one of my Pillar Values where I would base my goals. I published Self-are tips to claim your power back last year. Since then, I’ve been working on keeping a good sleep hygiene.

And I’m so delighted because I’ve finally met my goal last month. It took more than 6 months but am glad I did it. I don’t have sleepless nights anymore or what R fondly calls “all-nighters”. I’ll share more about this when I publish June 2021 Monthly Review soon.

Now I’m ready to take on another self-care practice.

And since time is one of the reasons why some people hesitate to do self-care, I’ve got 7 Self-care tips that you can do even if you only have 2 minutes to spare in a day.

Why is self-care important?

For many people, Self-care practices and habits get overlooked in the chaos of daily life.

There are many reasons why introducing self-care practices into your life can make a pivotal difference in your life.

Practising self-care helps you be at your best so that you can work, interact with friends and family, and do all the things you need to and want to in a day.

There are a lot of benefits you’ll get from practising self-care. Taking care of yourself can also improve physical health.

Practising self-care is known to reduce stress, improves your mood and health in general which leads to a higher level of happiness.

Not only that, when you make time for self-care practices, you also improve your mental well-being.

In addition to self-care on a personal level, self-care is a factor when facing illness, disease, or disability. Many health care professionals are adopting an integrative health care style approach that includes checking in with patients to help them seek balance in all aspects of life. This helps people facing illness or disease recover faster, better, and more successfully overall.

Examples of self-care practices

This can look very different for each individual but some common self-care activities are listed below.

• Meditation
• Spirituality practices
• Journaling
• Taking a relaxing bath
• Doing Yoga
• Taking a hot bath to relax
• Enjoying a cup of tea/coffee
• Having a massage
• Listening to music
• Cutting down on screen time.
• Exercise//Walking

7 Self-Care Tips you can do even if you don’t have time

1. Practice gratitude

A thankful heart helps to shift how you see the world and is good for your mood and self-talk. Think of something you’re grateful for. Or better yet, take a minute to write a quick email thanking someone in your life for something you appreciate about them.

Note: I created a Free 7-day Gratitude Journal. If you want to improve your mood and mental well-being by being grateful every day for 7 days, I highly recommend this. Even if you only have 2 minutes a day, you can complete this 7 days of gratitude journal. See how better you would feel after 7 days.

2. Take a deep breath

Take several deep breaths when you are feeling stressed and tensed or even when you’re feeling off. But don’t just breathe. The key is to hold your breath between steps for maximum impact. Start with inhaling to the count of four, then hold it for the count of four, and exhale to the count of four.

3. Stop everything

There’s a lot to be said for a moment of silence. Try this. Turn off your electronics and sit with your eyes closed. Calm your raising thoughts, lower your heart rate, relax and be fully in the moment. Doing this for as short as 30 seconds can do wonders for your state of mind.

4. Daydream

Having a rough day? Do a quick visualisation. Taking a one-minute vacation in your head can help perk things up. Picture in your mind a place you’d like to visit or something you want to experience in person someday.

5. Slow down while eating your meal

The next time you eat your meal, pause in your chewing to savour the textures and flavours of your food. By doing this you aid in digestion and rediscover the joy of eating all at the same time!

6. Use your 5 senses

Take notice of an object near you. This is another great technique for calming yourself but still engaging the mind actively. Spend a full minute exploring this object, taking note of everything about it. What colour is it and what does it feel like? How does the light strike the surface? Close your eyes and see if you can recall this object in minute detail. This will help in cognition and focus.

7. Listen to music

Music is a universal language and we all know how music can benefit our well-being. Music can lift your mood instantly. It’s helpful not only in happy times but it can also help in sad moments.

Conclusion

By taking a minute to yourself, you’ll be surprised at the impact this has upon your mental and physical self. Being more relaxed and less stressed will help you to feel healthier and happier as you go about your day.

What’s your favourite tip from the 7 tips above? Do you have other self-care tips? I’m always excited with suggestions and tips so let me know in the comment section below.

Hope those 7 tips inspired you to start practicing self-care.

I also have a free 7-day Gratitude Journal that you can use if you would like to try journaling and practice gratitude at the same time. When we hear journaling we often think it will take time. This 7-day gratitude journal will not take too much of your time. Even just as little as 2 or 3 minutes everyday will do.

Here is the link where you can download the FREE 7-day gratitude journal.