How to Prioritize Self-Care For You
Whether you're juggling school, work, your family, hobbies, or something in-between, we all struggle to prioritize self-care. This struggle makes sense though. Some people think self-care is selfish. Also, those other obligations that I listed above are important and may outrank self-care. However, prioritizing self-care is important to avoid burnout. How else can you pour into your other obligations? Here are a few ways I prioritize self-care:
1) One Hour Per Day and One Day Per Week Rule
This rule suggests that you take one hour per day and one day per week to practice self-care. (I heard about this rule from *drum roll please* TikTok. Unfortunately, I can't find a source. I didn't create this rule but I am suggesting some changes!)
I don't know about you but I can't commit to that! Here's what I recommend instead:
Work your way up to one hour per day. If you can't dedicate a full hour, separate your self-care into sessions. Perhaps you spend 30 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes in the afternoon, and 15 minutes before bedroom practicing self-care.
One full day dedicated to self-care every week is a lot. One full day per month is a lot better.
You may have to sacrifice one of the above obligations to prioritize self-care for you. For example, if you want 30 minutes of self-care in the morning, you might have to wake up earlier than usual.
2) Your Phone
As "evil" as our phones can be (have you watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix?), they can be useful too. I use my phone to help me prioritize self-care when I'm being lazy, forgetful, or inattentive. I set alarms in the evening to start my PM routine (which is filled with self-care activities). These alarms remind me to turn off Netflix or HBO Max instead of watching another episode of a show. If you like to hit the "off" button, try setting multiple alarms that will let you know it's time for self-care.
If affirmations are part of your self-care, you can set alarms or reminders with affirmations. I love seeing reminders of my favorite affirmations or mantra throughout the day.
3) Prepare
The best way to prioritize self-care is to PREPARE. If you are planning a full-day of self-care, then you know you need to prepare for this day. For example, if I am planning a self-care day on Sunday, I know that I need to prepare for the work week on Saturday so that I can truly relax and disconnect on Sunday.
You can do this!
There may be times where you can't take a full hour a day, let alone a full day every week, to practice self-care. Maybe you're too tired or just want to relax, so you may ignore your self-care alarm.
It happens.
Just remember that self-care is a practice. Like learning the piano or riding a bicycle without training wheels, you have to consistently practice self-care in order to get better at prioritizing it.
If you're interested in learning more, read this post I wrote about practicing organized and intentional self-care!
You can check out the January 2021 Q&A video below! I answer this question about prioritizing self-care, along with other questions about planning, social media marketing, and my handwriting!