Given that we're all going to be spending more time at home for the foreseeable future, it's more important than ever that we still keep up with our self-care practice. When you're always home, though, the lines between work, play, family time, chores, and self-care can get easily blurred. Taking care of ourselves can then easily fall through the cracks.
To help you adjust to this new way of doing life, we're sharing some tips, tricks, and ways you can make your at-home self-care routine nourishing, fun, easy to stick to, and most importantly, non-negotiable.
1. Create a sacred space
If you work from home, it's tricky to distinguish when work ends and personal time begins. To make the distinction clearer, create a designated workspace and a sacred self-care space. Your self-care nook could be the corner of a room where you can plop down on a meditation pillow or an altar where you keep a journal, candles, and other essentials. Make the space special so that it instantly triggers you to feel relaxed and happy when you’re there.
2. Set a designated time
Even if you're home all day, treat your self-care time with as much importance and urgency as you would any other appointment. Find a time in your schedule for it and fiercely protect that time slot. The length of time you spend on self-care will depend on your schedule and availability, but even a little me-time can go a long way in making you feel like your best self.
3. Try new self-care practices
When it comes to self-care (or anything, really), doing the same thing over and over again can become boring and stale. Take this opportunity to shake things up and try different types of self-care practices that you've wanted to try but haven't had the opportunity. Get messy watercolor painting. Bake some cookies. Watch a funny movie. The possibilities are endless.
4. Practice self-care with others
Self-care isn't an activity you can only practice in solitude. This is a time to come together and connect with loved ones. Consider practicing self-care together. Give each other back rubs. Pop on face masks as a family while you catch up on your favorite Netflix show. Play board games. Do a puzzle. The time will double as self-care and quality time.
5. Embrace virtual self-care
Virtual self-care is quickly becoming the new normal. You don't have to leave your home to get the support that you need. There is an abundance of practitioners offering a variety of services that can support you on your self-care journey. Think remote sessions with coaches or reiki masters, therapists you can text via an app, virtual sound baths, and guided breathwork meditations.
6. Go outside
Practicing social distancing and staying at home is encouraged right now, but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy some time outside. Drink your morning cup of coffee from your balcony. Soak up some vitamin D from your backyard. Breathing in fresh air every day and feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin will help keep you energized and uplift your spirit.
7. See this time as a gift
Lastly, although this is a difficult time, try to find the light amid all the darkness. Do this by savoring the gifts that this moment of surrender is providing us. It's giving us more time to spend with the people we love. It's giving us time to work on passion projects we previously haven’t had time for. It's forcing us to take a step back and access what's working and what's not working in our lives. Look for the gifts, and you will find them.