In today’s fast and busy life that we all live, taking care of ourselves seems to be the additional task for which we actually don’t have time. Self care is very important for maintaining mental, emotional and physical well-being. As a study/work routine does not fit all, self-care routine also cannot be same for all individuals.

In this scenario, you need a personalized self-care routine that can help you to recharge, reduce stress, and enhance your overall quality of life.

Whether you are new to self-care or you are already into it and looking for some modifications, this ultimate guide will provide you all the tips and steps that you need to take in order to create a self-care routine for yourself. This routine will cater to your unique needs and will be created in accordance with your lifestyle.

Why do you need a personalized self-care routine ?

It’s simply because one size (or one self-care routine) does not fit all. When you create a personalized self-care routine, you are able to engage in activities that are genuinely, exclusively beneficial and enjoyable for you. A generic self-care advice will not work for everyone, as everyone has different stress in their life. When you customize your routine, you can focus on activities that you want to do and don’t. When you have your favorite activities in the routine, you are more likely to stick with it consistently.

Step 1 : Identify Your Necessities

Begin with the evaluation of your current state of well-being. Here, you need to acknowledge how you are feeling right now and ask yourself a few questions:

Which part of your life makes you feel the most stressful, the most exhaustive, the most draining ?

Opposite to this, what activities or which part of your life makes you feel happy, relaxed, calm and rejuvenated ?

Is there any area in your life that needs attention, that needs to be fixed ?

In order to get your hands on the most accurate answers, you can take help of a journal. In a journal, write the answers of the above 3 questions, for a week, regularly. After a week, you will be able to see that there are some common problems and common solutions that you need to implement in your life.

Step 2 : Set Realistic Goals

Once you have identified a problem, now it is time to start working for the solution. But do not rush into the process. Remember, here we need to set realistic self-care goals. For example, instead of saying “I need to exercise more”, a realistic goal could be “I need to take a 10 minute walk everyday” or “I need to take a 30 minute walk 3 times per week.”

Step 3 : Select Activities That Enrich Your Well-Being

Remember the journal that you wrote for a week regularly to identify your problems and solutions. From the very same journal, you need to select activities that help you in feeling relaxed. If you need some ideas apart from that, here are some different areas of well-being:

Physical Self Care

• Exercise : Here you need to find a physical activity that you enjoy – it can be swimming, running, dancing, yoga, etc.
• Nutrition : Plan and try to have balanced meals –  you can consult a nutritionist or a personal advisor for this.
• Sleep : Maintain a consistent sleep schedule.  You can read more about it here.

READ : How To Beat Sleep Deprivation For Better Sleep Quality

Emotional Self-Care

•Mindfulness : To enjoy the present and manage stress more efficiently, try meditation.
•Therapy : You can consider talking to a therapist to go through your emotional challenges in a smooth manner. Therapy is worth it or not, what are the benefits of it, how it helps and how you get better with it, you can read all about it here.
•Journaling : Although  journaling is very underrated but when you write down your emotions and stress, it actually helps you in processing your emotions and reducing the stress.

ALSO READ : How Is Therapy Good for Your Mental Health and Wellness

Social Self-Care

•Community : Become a part of a community that has  similar interests as yours. You can join online communities, groups or clubs to share and enjoy similar goals.

•Connection : Spend time with people who uplift you and support you. They can be your friends or family.

•Boundaries: Keep your boundaries clear and say no to any person or any activity that drains your energy and spreads negativity.

Spiritual Self-Care

•Nature : Nature is one of the best way to connect to the original roots of being human. Spend time in nature to feel fresh, relaxed, rejuvenated and grounded.

•Reading : Explore and read spiritual books for comfort and inspiration.

•Meditation: Engage yourself in daily prayer to connect to a feeling of peace.

Step 4 : Create A Schedule

Now that you have chosen your favorite self-care activities, include them in your daily routine and create a schedule out of it. Start with small activities and gradually move to the bigger ones. Don’t begin with huge and elaborate activities. They make you feel overwhelmed. You can use a planner or a digital calendar to create this self-care schedule. Don’t forget that you need to prioritize these activities with same importance as you prioritize your work.

Step 5 : Be Flexible

As we all know, life is unpredictable and there are many days in our life when nothing goes as planned. So keep your self-care routine flexible and adaptive. In this way,  you can adapt to the changes easily.

Step 6 : Evaluate and Improve

Follow your self-care routine for a while, for a few days, and then evaluate it. Try to analyze the way you feel – are you feeling more relaxed, energized, balanced, or it’s the other way around ? If there are some activities that are not working for you, feel free to replace them with something else. Self-care is an ongoing and evolving process. It includes a lot of learning and adaptability.

Tips For Staying Motivated

Sometimes, it gets really hard to keep up with the self-care routine. Here are some tips that will help you stay motivated and follow the self-care routine diligently and religiously.

Make it public : Share it with your friends, family and important people that you are starting a self-care routine for yourself. This will make you more accountable.

Reward yourself: Don’t forget to reward yourself when you stick to your self-care routine. Set milestones for sticking to your self-care routine for 10 days, 20 days, 30 days, and so on.

Overall if you have made up your mind to create a personalized self-care routine for yourself, then you are on a way to self development. This will help you in creating a more balanced life. It also helps you in accessing your needs, following healthy activities and working for the well-being of your mind, body, and spirit. Don’t mix self-care with luxury. Considering the amount of stress we take on a daily basis, self-care has become a necessity.

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