Realistic Self-Care Routines for Busy Women
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ The 7 different types of self-care (yes, there is more than one)
⋒ How you can weave self-care into your daily life, instead of it being just another thing on your to-do list
⋒ Some ideas of self-care for every type and every season of life
When I was prepping for this blog post, I learned that there are actually 7 different types of self-care – which is actually so helpful to know because I feel like self-care has a stigma in the sense that our brains go to one type when we hear about or think about self-care – the physical self-care that includes things like baths, getting our nails done or getting a massage.
Yes, all of that is self-care, but it may not be the self-care that you truly need which is why it seems or feels frivolous to you.
We’ve talked about the 7 different types of rest here on the blog before – this reminds me of that! If you’re not meeting your correct self-care needs, it’s going to feel like you are just spinning your wheels and living in that constant state of burnout and overwhelm. But when you can identify the specific type of self-care that you are in need of, you can meet that need and fill your tank.
So what are the 7 types of self-care?
Emotional Self-Care: Practices that help you connect, process, and reflect on a full range of emotions.
Practical Self-Care: Tasks you complete that fulfill core aspects of your life in order to prevent future stressful situations.
Physical Self-Care: Activities you do that improve the well-being of your physical health.
Mental Self-Care: An activity that stimulates your mind.
Social Self-Care: Activities that nurture and deepen the relationships with people in your life.
Spiritual Self-Care: Activities that nurture your spirit and allow you to think bigger than yourself. Spiritual self-care does not have to be religious, although for some it is.
Professional Self-Care: Actions that support feeling balanced and fulfilled in your career.
Self-care is about meeting your needs and doing what is best for your mind and body. I feel like a lot of people view self-care as “another thing to do” on their to-do list but I challenge you to do a little mindset shift if that’s how you feel.
Just like I say Hustle Sanely 5™ isn’t something that you should view as a to-do but as a tool to make your life better, that’s how I feel about self-care, too. Stop viewing self-care as a task on your to-do list and start viewing it as a tool that is naturally woven into your life so that you can show up as the healthiest version of yourself.
Back to that analogy I mentioned earlier: when I think about self-care, I think about a tank. We all have a capacity tank – how much we can do before we hit empty. The only way to not be on E is by filling up your tank.
Think about it as input versus output.
Self-care is your input. It’s you making deposits into your tank so that you can continue moving forward. You cannot generate output without consistent input. That’s when things break down, stop working, etc.
Self-care practices are not these cute, fluffy, “if I have time” activities – they are vital to your well-being and directly affect how you show up for your life.
As a follower of Jesus, I think it’s important to note that self-care is a lot more than “self” despite the name – taking care of ourselves is a way to be a good steward of our energy. When we take care of ourselves, it allows us to show up and serve those around us better. That’s the lens that I like to view self-care through.
When I am the healthiest version of me, that spills out into my family life, work life, church life, community life, etc.
Think about it – when you’re trying to run on E, you’re not able to show up well for others. You’re exhausted, irritable, and probably not super pleasant to be around. But when your tank is full, that’s when the fruit of the spirit is the most evident in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
So often, self-care becomes an “if I have time left over” situation – and that right there is exactly why so many people are operating from this place of constant burnout and overwhelm.
Self-care shouldn’t be reserved for emergencies, when you’re at your breaking point, about to actually lose your mind. It’s much more supportive (and strategic) if you learn how to weave self-care into your daily life.
If you follow my personal Instagram account, you’ve probably seen me story about “self-care sprinkles” – these are little moments in my daily life that I elevate as a form of caring for myself. Usually, I’m already doing these things anyway but I just take an extra intentional step to kick them up a notch to make them more special and make myself feel cared for.
Examples:
~ Eating my lunch outside – I’m already going to be eating lunch, so why not make it a self-care moment by doing it outside to get some vitamin D and fresh air?
~ Using a cute container to hold my morning vitamins – I’m already going to be taking my vitamins, so why not make it a self-care moment by using a cute container that I’m excited to use every morning?
~ Diffusing essential oils and playing lofi music while I work – I’m already going to be working, so why not make it a self-care moment by setting the vibe for my senses?
So see what I mean? You don’t have to make self-care this extra thing if this isn’t the season for that. You can just be a little bit more intentional about the things that you’re already doing in your daily life. Nothing fancy – just little things that bring a smile to your face and some lightness to your spirit,.
And the last thing before we get into the concrete examples of what self-care routines for busy women can look like, I want to note something kind of major – self-care is going to look different from person to person and for each person, it’s going to look different from season to season.
What self-care looked like for me before I became a mom looks different than what self-care looks like for me now.
What self-care looked like for me in college looks different than what self-care looks like for me now.
What self-care looked like for me when I worked a 9-5 looks different than what self-care looks like for me now.
So don’t even bother comparing your self-care to someone else’s or even your own current self-care needs to your past self-care needs.
Self-care doesn’t have to be extravagant. In fact, I’m a major fan of really practical self-care. I find that people put off self-care when they try to make it this extravagant to-do because that’s when it starts to feel like a daunting/big task on your to-do list rather than a regular practice woven into your life.
When we create habits and routines for self-care, we have less chance of running the risk of hitting that E on our tank. I like having habits and routines in place because then I don’t have to use brain power to think about how to or if I’m filling up my tank. I know my tank is constantly being filled so I won’t hit E.
All of that being said, I know the Hustle Sanely Squad loves and appreciates concrete examples, so I thought I would give you like a self-care menu of ideas to get your wheels turning. I tried to include all different types of self-care so that no matter what your season of life is, this is helpful for you!
Emotional Self-Care Ideas:
You might be in need of emotional self-care if: You find it hard to control your emotions or you’re easily affected by the mood of others
~ Schedule a virtual therapy appointment for 1-2 times a month
~ Do a journaling practice every morning (Shout out to the Peacefully Productive Journal for making this very doable!)
~ Practicing gratitude every day (Shout out to the Peacefully Productive Journal again because there is space for daily gratitude built right in)
Practical Self-Care Ideas:
You might be in need of practical self-care if: You have feelings of anxiousness or overwhelm when you try to do simple life tasks (like get ready for the day and not knowing what to wear or getting annoyed that your hair tool cords are all tangled up)
~ Choosing your outfits for the week ahead of time
~ Organizing your inbox
~ Creating a budget
Physical Self-Care Ideas:
You might be in need of physical self-care if: You feel low energy or sluggish or physically sore.
~ Taking a walk after work
~ Having good sleep hygiene
~ Drinking enough water throughout the day
Mental Self-Care Ideas:
You might be in need of mental self-care if: Your brain feels like a bowl of mashed potatoes at the end of the day.
~ Listening to a podcast (I’ll link ours here in case you need a new one 😉)
~ Reading
~ Doing a puzzle
Social Self-Care Ideas:
You might be in need of social self-care if: You’re feeling lonely or disconnected from the important people in your life.
~ Host a game night with your friends
~ Go on a brunch date with your partner
~ Facetime your mom
Spiritual Self-Care Ideas:
You might be in need of spiritual self-care if: You feel unaligned, scattered, or distracted or if you’re navigating a tough season of life.
~ Go on a nature walk
~ Say a prayer or put on some worship music
~ Create a vision board
Professional Self-Care Ideas:
You might be in need of professional self-care if: You’re feeling burned out when it comes to your work.
~ Set an alarm or reminder to leave your desk for your lunch break
~ Turn email notifications off of your phone after hours.
~ Use your PTO days
I want to wrap this blog post up by giving you a series of action steps to follow if you feel like you need to revamp your approach to self-care. These steps are geared toward helping busy women make self-care a priority in their lives!
Step 01: Identify what type(s) of self-care you need most in this season.
Choose 1-2 to start so it’s not overwhelming.
Step 02: Brainstorm ideas for each type of self-care that you’re in need of.
I think it would be helpful to brainstorm at least 4 ideas for each type of self-care that you need – 2 self-care sprinkles (remember, these are just ways to elevate things that you’re already doing) and 2 standalone self-care ideas.
So example, let’s say you are brainstorming ideas for practical self-care.
2 standalone self-care ideas:
Create a recipe board on Pinterest to help you with your weekly meal planning
Declutter your wardrobe
2 self-care sprinkles:
Have a simple picnic in your backyard with the kids for lunchtime
Make your desktop icons on your computer cute so you get stoked when you look at them during work
To help think of self-care sprinkles, ask yourself, “How can I make this experience more elevated?”
Step 03: Put self-care on your calendar.
I think it’s important to dedicate intentional time each day (think about your self-care sprinkles) and each week (think about your standalone self-care ideas) to self-care. Don’t just cross your fingers and hope that you have time to squeeze it in at the end of your day or week. Schedule it into your week so that you know it will happen consistently.
Alright friends, that’s what I’ve got for you today – realistic self-care routines for busy women! I hope this post helped you realize the importance of self-care and makes you feel less intimidated by making it a regular thing in your life – you DO have time to take care of yourself and you do deserve to be taken care of. It’s important that you recognize those things! Self-care doesn’t have to be this big ordeal if that doesn’t work for you right now. It’s you showing up for you in the day-to-day moments.
Did you hear? 👀
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