Breather, Me Time, Time Out, Taking a Break, Self Care…no matter how you word it taking care of yourself is an essential part of your health.   

Today our lives move at light speed and slowing down may seem unproductive, a poor use of time or even a luxury. In reality, putting on the brakes, even for a short while, can improve our productivity, relationships and well-being for our body and mind. 

By definition, self care is taking time to recharge, but by what means? Does that require an expensive yoga retreat, nightly bubble baths or a daily two hour meditation? Not necessarily.  

You simply have to ask yourself what does my body and mind need to feel renewed? 

For me it’s a 30-minute daily mediation (this is the app I use). I’m been meditating daily for three years and counting. I started by paying for this app (I knew that my frugal self wouldn’t let the $ go to waste) and began with 5-minutes per day and gradually increased the duration. Overtime I developed a craving (learn more about creating a habit craving here!) for the practice over the past few years.

I am currently working to incorporate a regular gratitude practice to my routine – something like this 5-minute gratitude practice. 

Once you identify what renews you, the next step is to make that activity an expected, natural part of your everyday.

1. First identify current activities that are no longer serving you. Is there an opportunity to bow out of something or take a hiatus from social media? This may afford you the time that you need to renew yourself.

2. Once you carve out pockets in your day where you have some time. I suggest you try for at least 15 minutes of the activity. I found that getting up earlier when the rest of the house is asleep makes most sense for me.

3. Next try to schedule your selected activity in that slot for one week.

4. Once the week has passed you can evaluate how the effort/timing worked for you and make any tweaks necessary.

5. Treat your timeslot as an appointment that’s difficult to get and don’t shift it or cancel if possible. After all, you are your most important client to attend to.

6. Get your family or partner on board with your plan. Let them know that you’ve set aside time and need their support to have it uninterrupted. Don’t ever apologize for taking time for yourself.  

Here are some fabulous (and free!) resources for both planning your self-care routine as well as identifying what renews you: 

• Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Self-Care Planner

• Yoga with Adriene

• 7 Self-Care Rituals to Practice Everyday (great idea to have back-up plan in case of an unexpected shift in your day). 

• 30 Days of Self Care: Your Guide

Still on the fence? Check out these TED talks on the importance of self-care.