This post is sponsored by Burke Williams.
I am not the best at self-care and I’m willing to bet that you might feel the same way. As someone with a big heart I constantly put other’s needs before my own, and it’s something I’ve always done. Recently I’ve been trying to change that for the better, and I’m finally starting to feel like I’m starting to win the battle. Today I’ve teamed up with Burke Williams Day Spa to share some of my favorite easy ways to practice self-care in hopes that it will inspire you to take better care of yourself as well.
You might not be able to tell by looking at me, but I’ve mentioned it before that years ago I found out I have a health problem. It’s one I’ve had all my life and not known until we battled infertility while trying to have our youngest. I was very naive in my thinking that my PCOS would only effect me in pregnancy, and have even shared some of my health goals before. Now that I’ve been more regular with looking after my fitness, I’ve expanded my goals to include spending more time on myself in general.
5 Easy Ways to Practice Self-Care
1. Live with intention.
This has been the absolute biggest change for me, and to be honest I’m still working on it, every single minute of every day. It takes a lot of willpower to do things in life with intention, and although I felt like I was doing the things I wanted to before, they weren’t the things I really wanted to do. I’ve learned to say the word “No” more and that “No.” is a complete sentence. Can we repeat that one more time? No is a complete sentence. Your time is the only thing in the entire world that you can never get back. Choose to spend it wisely.
2. Schedule time for yourself.
I used to be so bad at this! If I had a dollar for every time I said, “I wish I had time for that.” I’d be swimming in cash. Swimming! You can’t possibly have time for something if you don’t make it. When I do things to practice self-care never is it because I am bored, it’s because I have specifically made time to take care of myself. I workout in the morning before I start work, and it’s a part of my daily to-do list. I had to put it on my calendar every day to make myself do it, but it’s finally working for me. I now treat self-care as if it’s a task on my calendar, but one I enjoy doing and isn’t that the point?
3. You are what you eat.
This is important. It wasn’t until I cleaned up my diet a lot that I actually realized how much the food you eat and how your body reacts to it has to do with the entire rest of your life. I always felt as though I hate a moderately healthy diet, especially given my dietary restrictions (I have a dairy & soy allergy). Now I know that I could have been doing so much better for my body, and it’s something I strive for daily. With cleaning up my diet has come less anxiety and more energy. I don’t feel as though I’m dragging through a day or fighting to stay awake when my eating habits are good.
4. Workouts are no joke either.
I promise not to tell you that you need to go to the gym for hours on end, but you should be active. I felt active before, but after wearing my fitness tracker for some time I came to realize that I wasn’t as active as I thought. Now on top of my daily workout I try to walk to as many places I have time for, park my car further away, and schedule breaks from working so I can get up and move around. Joining group activities is an easy way to keep yourself motivated on your fitness journey.
5. Take more time for yourself, really.
Here is where I’ve really slacked off in the past few years, mainly due to lack of time (see #1!). Now every Friday I do a face mask, every month I get a manicure and pedicure, and I get massages as often as I can. Recently Burke Williams Day Spa in Santana Row invited me to come for a massage to celebrate National Relaxation Day (Hint: It’s August 15th!). The massage was absolutely wonderful, and this holiday is definitely one I can get behind! They are offering a 20% discount on their most popular massage through August 27th. While I absolutely love taking baths, unfortunately we don’t have a standalone bath tub. The thought of taking a bath in a tub we shower in every day gives me the creepy-crawlies. I love to take them in a nice tub when we travel and do it as often as possible. I’ve also taken up reading books again, and painting with my watercolors. I find taking this time for myself has been therapeutic and a huge reliever of stress.
How do you practice self-care? What do you feel you gain from it?
This post was sponsored by Burke Williams Day Spa. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for helping to support the sponsors that make life here a little sweeter.
Photos by Sarah Hettervik for Hej Doll.
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