Self-care is on Instagram feeds, TikTok FYPs, and in magazines everywhere.

This phrase just keeps popping up – accompanied by fantastic bubble baths and perfectly made beds. But, with a predictable series of checklists, seriously, who has time for that? As women, we are natural caregivers and rarely include ourselves in our kindness to-do list.

To millions, self-care involves indulgent bubble baths, five-minute journals and turmeric lattes, but it can be anything to anyone.

There’s the misconception that self-care (as fluffy as it may sound!) has to be some self-indulgent luxury – like you’re doing it wrong if you’re not taking some expensive spa vacation or going on a shopping spree. It doesn’t have to be some fancy, expensive venture. Self-care can be simply taking a second to make sure you’re taking care of yourself, and it looks different for everybody. In fact, sometimes self-care doesn’t look or feel very much like self-care. Skipping your favourite TV show to wash the dishes so you can wake up to a clean house might not feel like fun, but it could mean the kindest thing the next day.

It refers to small little habits that are carried out with the intention of reducing stress, enhancing energy, and restoring health. And no, it’s not about being selfish; it’s about being self-aware. Self-care is about deeper nourishment, a sense of well-being that we need to feel healthier, more relaxed, and inspired.

There is so much pressure to do more, to know more and to be more – it’s exhausting and unrelenting!

So, listen up, overachievers, if you’re looking to spice up your self-care repertoire, we have a few quirky ideas you can try:

• Start your day with something pleasant. It can be grounding to have enjoyable rituals built into your day. Coffee anyone?
• Drink an extra glass of water today.
• Sing in the car. Nothing will help you to feel “more you”. This is not to practice a skill or enjoy a talent; the act is simply for self-care.
• Make time for tactile sensory play. Knead dough for bread or scones. Or, try a stress ball or a fidget toy. Having something to do with your hands can be calming.
• Do lounge room dancing. Music is uplifting, and movement is energising, especially if you have the moves, right?
• Call someone you love.
• Wake up before the birds and sit outside for a moment.
• Walk barefoot on the grass.
• Try a new class. Something new could give you a real boost. It’s never too late to learn something.
• Give yourself credit for the things that you do well.
• Pay it forward. Do something for a stranger.
• Take 5 minutes every day just to “be.”Block out time in your calendar to do something that you love. Read a page from your favourite book or look at the clouds.

Are you taking care of yourself? Because when you do, you are building the strongest, healthiest version of yourself. And this version is the one that will help you to face your responsibilities and enable you to take care of the people you love.

Source: blogs.psychcentral.com, www.keepinspiring.me, www.womanshealthmag.com, www.jodiearnot.com, medium.com, www.hyperbiotics.com, themighty.com, www.hercampus.com, tinybuddha.com, www.healthywomen.org, selfcare247.co.za, lifehacker.com, www.parents.com, www.verywellmind.com, greatest.com