10 Helpful Habits For An Effective Self Care Plan

Do you have a self-care plan that you use to help recharge your batteries in life? Imagine you sat down for breakfast and wanted a second cup of coffee or tea, but the pot was empty. It’s frustrating to be thirsty and have nothing to drink, but your life can be much like that empty pot that has zero to share with others.

How can you pour from yourself if you have nothing inside your pot to give? Each day you start with a limited number of resources, which equates to how much you can get done during the day. You pour a lot of yourself into your job, then your family takes a good portion, and then there are the 100s of other things that occupy your time.

You get into bed exhausted, stressed out, and begging the Universe for a few more hours to get everything done. Now, what happens if your pot doesn’t refill from one day to another? What if the stressors from the day before took so much out of you that you don’t have enough resources to make it through another day?

Life is stressful, even on a good day. However, it would help if you learned to manage your self-care plan. You must take care of yourself at some point in your day, or you will fizzle out and be no good to anyone. Hospitals and mental wards are full of people who let stress overcome them.

Your body can only handle so much pressure, and it will shut down on you. Thankfully, you can stop things before it gets to an extreme by practicing a few simple habits to ensure you get much-needed self-care.

# Wake Up at The Same Time

Sure, it feels so good to sleep in on a Saturday morning, but how many times do you wake up with a headache? Your body gets on a schedule, and any alleviations can make you feel horrible. Try to wake up around the same time each day to feel great and accomplish more.

# Use A Gratitude Journal

When is the last time you tried to write down why you’re grateful? You have many blessings that some people only dream about having. When life seems cruel and unkind, use your journal as a guide to show you only have a temporary setback.

# Focus on The Here and Now

Worry is one of the most significant time stealers of all. When you’re focused on things that haven’t happened, then you’re stealing precious time from the here and now. Did you know that Psychology Today states that 91 percent of your worries never come true, so don’t waste your time fretting about them?

# Use Phone Apps for Fitness Tracking

When you use apps on your phone to track fitness, you instantly become more accountable. Do you have a good exercise routine? Exercising is a valuable tool as it helps to fight depression and anxiety naturally by raising the neurotransmitters in the brain, according to Medical News Today.

# Hold Yourself Accountable

Scheduling time for yourself is just as important as making it to work on time. Hold yourself accountable for your “me time,” as it will be the thing that keeps you going. You will soon learn that these little escapes of alone time are necessary for survival.

# Use Your Free Time Wisely

If you have some free time, then don’t give it all away to others. Take some time to do things for yourself. It’s okay for you to go shopping for some new shoes, get a new hairdo, or try that new milkshake they keep advertising at the local ice cream parlor. Turn your phone off and enjoy some silence and a little treat.

# Schedule Tasks Until They Are Habits

If you cannot fit yourself into your schedule naturally, you need to keep a plan until it becomes a habit. Perhaps it will be a Pilates class every Thursday at 7 pm. It may not feel like it’s important the first few times you do it, but once you see it on the calendar every week and go, it will soon become a habit.

# Keep A Food Journal

The connection between your brain and your gut is becoming apparent. If you want to feel good and have more energy, you need to eat the right foods. Empower your journey in life by consuming nutritious foods.

A journal helps keep you accountable for what you put in your mouth. Additionally, if you have weight issues, a food journal can help you stick to a specific number of calories or carbohydrates.

# Treat Yourself

Whoever came up with the concept that only children get treats was sadly mistaken. It doesn’t matter what age you are or what stage in life; you long to be rewarded for your efforts. While you may not go to the park to swing or play on the jungle gym anymore, you should find other ways to treat yourself to stay on schedule with your self-care plan.

# Practice Good Sleep Hygiene

While the amount of sleep a person needs varies greatly, you need to practice good sleep hygiene. You need to be around the same time each night and wake up at the same time each day. If you start borrowing sleep hours to get things done, you will have a deficiency that can cause all kinds of issues.

Sleep should be a big part of your self-care plan, and nothing can make you feel more miserable than losing several hours of shut-eye during the week.