How to be awesome at self-care

Self-care is about taking the time to look after your body, your mind and your emotions. Making self-care part of your everyday routine helps you to feel more energised, confident and focused, but getting started can be difficult, especially when you’re really busy. 

Here are some easy tips for building healthy habits and feeling more prepared to tackle whatever life throws your way.

This can help if:

• you're having trouble looking after yourself at the moment

• you want to get ideas for how to practise self-care

• you want to establish more positive personal habits.

1. Take time for whatever makes you feel good

Setting aside time to do something you really enjoy can help to lift your mood. If you’ve got a busy schedule, even the occasional 15-minute break will energise you. Spend that time listening to some favourite songs, making a cup of tea or watching a funny video.

Hot tip: baking is a pretty great (and delicious) self-care activity. Practising mindfulness as you follow the recipe, taste-testing, smelling the aroma wafting through the house – what’s not to love?

Feel like you want to chill out but not sure what to do? Take our quiz for some ideas.

2. Write it down

Writing things down is a great way to stay motivated and to see your progress. Use a diary to keep track of the personal goals you’ve been setting and meeting, and update it regularly.

Be sure to include both your big and small goals. This will help you to feel good about all your achievements. If you’re not that into goals, use your diary to write about your day. Writing down what you are grateful for that day (as well as what you found difficult) can help you to work through your feelings. 

3. Log out to chill out

Social media can be a really great tool for staying connected with your friends and family and for keeping updated with what’s happening around the world. However, it can be easy to get sucked in and to lose focus on the here and now. Maybe you’d rather put off that assignment, or you can’t help but compare your life to the (heavily filtered, unrealistic) content on your feed. 

Remember to take a break from scrolling every so often by going for a walk or calling a friend for a good chat. When you log back in, have a think about who you’re following and focus on filling your feed with creators and pages who motivate you to become the best version of yourself. For some more advice, check out our tips on tackling your social media use.

4. Take yourself on a date

Why wait for others when you want to enjoy something special? Everyone has something they keep meaning to do but never get around to organising with their friends or significant other. Figure out what your dream date is and take yourself out!

You don’t necessarily have to have an entire fancy dinner by yourself – just grab some ice-cream or a coffee and enjoy your own company. It’s a great way to relax without worrying about making conversation. Bring along a book or a magazine if you’d like some extra entertainment. Remember: treating yourself can be both delightful and budget-friendly.

5. Try out some positive-self talk

It’s so easy to get caught up in every little thing you’d like to change about yourself, but that’s not always the most productive use of your energy. Instead, take a break from thinking about what you would change and focus on what you love about yourself. 

If negative thoughts pop up, try focusing on affirming statements like ‘I’m doing the best I can’ or ‘I don’t feel great right now, and that’s okay’. You can even try saying these statements out loud. At first, you might feel embarrassed, but no one else needs to know. Check out some further tips on talking yourself up.

If you're finding it tricky to see the bright side, it might help to chat with someone about how you're feeling. You could talk it out with a good friend, or even book in a free, text-based chat with a peer worker using ReachOut PeerChat.

Want to know more about self-care? For answers to your questions, Ask ReachOut.