Self care. I know there are many interpretations of self care, but for me it’s all about what feeds my whole person: spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally…and this is what you’ll find in my self care routines that I make sure I make time for!

Self care has gotten a bad wrap by some over the past number of years. I think it’s because it can be tied to more superficial self care like heading to the spa, which isn’t always desirable nor practical for many women. Today on the blog, I’m sharing about how to create your own self care routines.

A picture of a letter board saying "Self care isn't selfish."

But first…

What is self-care?

“Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s something we very often overlook. Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with oneself and others.” - from Psychcentral.com

Self care, then, is just taking care of ourselves! And self care is being aware of our own needs. My friend Teresa’s book: Homeschool Mama Self Care is all about this topic…tuning in to yourself and taking care of yourself while you homeschool. You can find her on Instagram or her website. I linked the book in my Amazon shop too: US shop and Canadian shop.

I remember many weeks and days as a young mom that I totally forgot about myself and often asking the question, “When WAS the last time I showered?” or “I can’t remember the last time I talked to my friends” or “I don’t know when I took time to actually sit in the quiet”. It certainly still happens even ten years into being a parent, but I’m much quicker to notice when I’m not taking care of myself now. I have a lot more practice in this area. Any routine can take practice to instill and make a habit.

Related: Three Ways to be Creative with Squeezing in Some Self Care with a Busy Household

Four steps to create your own self care routines:

  1. Decide your categories. There are so many areas to think about from physical self care to mental self care. The list could be endless to fill in, so it’s important to think about what categories need to take priority for you. See my blog here for ten self care areas to consider and for more ideas.

    Related: Ten Areas for Self Care for Busy Moms and my friend Lydia’s blog on Ways to Make Your Life Beautiful( with tons of practical self care suggestions

  2. Write down a plan. It goes without saying, if it’s not written down somewhere, whether paper or digital, it likely will not happen. Take some time to make a plan. Try it out and adjust as you go.
  3. Be consistent. Being consistent with your self care routines will help eventually make them habits and you will find it much easier to stick to them over time. And as above, try it out and adjust as you go too.
  4. Test it out. Most things in life aren’t perfect the first go around, so testing new self care routines out, and then adjusting over time is the way to make better self care routines for ourselves.

Questions to ask when creating your own self care routines:

  • How often do I want to do this self care routine? Once a day, once a week? Quarterly? etc.
  • When do I do my self care routines?
  • What self care routines need to be prioritized on busy days or seasons?
  • What categories of self care do I need?

Another thing I want to mention is that self care routines are also meant to flexible. We are not robots and we all naturally have ups and downs and some self care routines are needed more in some seasons and less in others. In my small children parenting days? I need a lot of quiet, for instance, in my day to day lol! This may not be as true as the years go on and I will adjust accordingly.

MY SELF CARE ROUTINE EXAMPLES
  • My morning routine. I take time to pray, sit in the quiet, read, slowly get up, and get dressed.
  • I take time periodically throughout the day to read and write, even with the kids around. Writing and reading are very life giving to me.
  • I grab a bath every few weeks currently.
  • I shower twice a week.
  • I sit in the quiet periodically through the day.
  • I listen to calming music daily.
  • I have a morning and evening skin and hair routine.
  • I use dim lights and candles at bedtime and my evening routine.
  • I eat well and am currently low/no gluten, processed foods, or refined sugars.
  • I take a “day off” every couple weeks or so. My husband and I take turns taking days off.
  • I exercise daily and listen to a podcast.

SAVE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE:

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Other blogs of mine you may enjoy:

Hi, I’m Kelly! I’m a mother of four children - three boys, one toddler girl - and our family lives on the beautiful east coast of Canada. I’m a past elementary teacher, turned stay at home, work at home mom eight years ago after I had my second child. I’ve found that the busier I’ve become and as my children age, that it’s become even more important to figure out what is most important to me and us as a family. Living a simpler lifestyle has helped us in so many ways in our home life - from better routines to faster tidying up times. It has been through my children that I have been inspired to learn how to effectively manage my time and to simplify in all areas of my home and life. I enjoy helping busy moms simplify home life by teaching flexible planning methods and skills. Enjoyed this blog and think it would be helpful to others? I'd love if you shared it. Thank you!