In today’s crazy, busy and stressful world, the topic of Self-care has never been more important.

Have you ever thought that the way you take care of yourself can affect the way you feel and the way other people perceive you?

We get so busy with every day’s schedules filled with responsibilities and commitments that we forget to (or don’t have time to) look after our minds and bodies. We also find excuses not to as it’s just easier that way.

I admit to not taking care of myself the way I would like to. I admit sometimes I do get too tired or just can’t be bothered.

I am guilty! I am guilty and I recognise that. And I promise myself I will change it and I will improve. Now with 2020, I have made New Year’s resolutions and one of the major ones is to focus more on Self-Care.

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I have come up with the list of 8 Most essential Self-Care tips for a busy woman (that can easily be adapted by man). A quick disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and the below tips are just my recommendations which I am not in any way imposing on you.

Before I start I would like to split the Self- care into two categories:

Body and Mind

The list will include tips for both categories and some might equally be good for both mind and body, and some just for one of them.

 

1. Eat well.

We are what we eat, and a well-balanced diet is key in keeping your nutrients and vitamins in tick. A bad diet can quickly escalate and course obesity which in return leads to many illnesses shortening the life expectancy.

NHS has a very nice interactive Eat Well Guide with a chart of what to include in your diet (5-a-day).

Remember about the calories you consume. As much as it is hard to keep count of them, it’s never been easier to know how much we consume as every product in the superstores has a label with calories, fat, sugar etc. already given. Also, there are many websites with recipes with calories count.

Also, reduce sugar intake. NHS has developed a website especially dedicated to this issue as they recognise the consumption of sugar has been increasing over the years. The children are especially affected by this hence Sugar Swap for Kids has so many tips and hacks on healthier alternatives.

This must be my top important of 8 most essential self- care tips.

I have also been practising the 16/8 Intermitted Fasting which although does not strictly follow any particular diet itself but the pattern of when you are allowed to eat.

 

2. Keep fit

After a long day, it’s easy to sit down and watch some TV (with some cup of tea and biscuits). Then we get too tired and we go to sleep. In the morning we can’t be bothered to wake up early to do some workout and we carry finding excuses not to exercise.

Keeping active is super important not only for our physical health but mental too. Keeping fit doesn’t have to cost you a penny. NHS has a perfect guide for those that want to start but don’t know how, when and can’t afford the gym or PT.

Walking, running, stair climbing, cycling, home exercises and many other ideas are included.

For those very busy parents I have written How to Keep Fit Having Kids post so please read if it applies to you.

If you prefer to do yoga or meditation, YouTube has plenty of these subjects and you can find many guides to follow.

 

3. Sleep

Adults need 7-8 hours of sleep and unfortunately, many of us do not sleep enough.

There could be a number of reasons why we sleep less form medical ones to self-inflicted such us staying up too long (getting carried away on socials- I’m guilty!).

Thinking that we can catch up on the lost hours of sleep over the weekend is also a misconception.

Yet again NHS has more information on  Why Lack of sleep is bad for your health.

I have recently read in the news that an alarming rate of children doesn’t sleep enough nowadays due to the usage of smartphones and social media and also computer games.

I think that parents have to take responsibility and control over this and ensure the kids get limits on the screen time and get enough sleep.

 

 

4. Relax

Have a bath, go to the Spa, watch TV, read a book, get a massage, listen to your favourite music (you could combine them and read a book in the bath or listen to the music while getting the massage). You might want to do some retail therapy if this relaxes you, however, I believe this is not truly relaxing as walking around can be tiring indeed (and can cause further stress after realising how much you have actually spent).

It’s important to let the steam off and relieve some stress and try to do this once every week at least. I try having a bubble bath once a week and just lie down listening to some music or watching some interesting programme on my phone. I wish I had more time to read books (other than the kid’s stories).

 

5. Be kind to yourself

When it comes to how we perceive ourselves we are the harshest critics.

Am I a good parent?

Do I look good?

Is the food I cooked tasty/healthy?

Is my house clean enough?

Am I a good partner?

Have I done enough shopping?

We always doubt ourselves and no matter how much we do it’s never going to be enough. No matter how well we take care of ourselves, we always criticise our looks.

Take a step back and appreciate yourself a little. Give yourself a bit more credit. A bit more slack. No one is perfect, we all have our flaws, but we must STOP aiming for the perfect.

Do one thing for me: Take a pen and paper and write as many things you love about yourself (your body as well as your mind), and the things you are good at. I am sure you will write many things. Keep this paper safe, and every time you feel a little down, pull it out and read it out loud.

 

6. Socialise

Being a human we are very social creatures and in order to stay happy, we must socialise. This is very important of most essential self- care tips. This is because it relates to any kind of relationships- friendships and partnerships.

It’s easy to make many friends via social media but has a handful of true friends that we meet in person.

Make time and meet up with people. Quick catch up for a coffee or night out with friends once in a while won’t hurt and will build memories for life.

 

 

 

7. Drink water

This has been mentioned a bit in Eat Well above but I wanted to stress how important is to keep hydrated throughout the day and I have a trick to make sure I drink enough water as I am terrible at keeping on top of this. 1.5l a day is a minimum. I have a bottle that has time stamps on it and I try as much as I can to stick to the time.

 

 

8. Stop smoking, alcohol, drugs.

Everyone knows all three are bad for our health yet we ignore this knowledge and think that occasionally it won’t hurt to have a cigarette or few shots of whisky or some drugs.

Every single time you smoke, drink or take drugs, you are willingly adversely affecting your health. Life is short as it is, why take a risk hoping this one time won’t hurt. As much as it won’t kill you immediately it might shorten your life or impact your general health.

In today’s world where the air we breathe is highly polluted, the meat we eat is injected with antibiotics, fruit and vegetables are polluted, there are already so many toxins we consume that we have no impact on.

We must take responsibility and accountability over our health by eliminating things that might have a bad effect on our health. You owe it to yourself and those that rely on you.

So that’s all of my 8 most essential self- care tips for all of you busy people out there.

As a conclusion the Self-Care is not expensive, does not take a lot of time, it only requires a little bit of self-discipline. You are responsible for your own physical and mental health.

Look after your mind and body and it will pay you back.

Let me know in the comments below what are your top Self Care tips. What is your top priority when it comes to taking care of yourself?

 

Thanks for reading.