How to Create New Habits
Self-care is all the rage these days, but what does that mean? A quick search on Instagram leads us to luxurious baths, face masks, perfecting my eyebrows and jogging. When done right, a self-care routine is so much more.
A self-care routine supports physical & mental health and has an important role in nourishing your well-being. The challenge is that when life gets busy or stressful, we abandon our routine and replace it with creams that get rid of dark under-eye circles.
Self-care is made up of those daily tasks that help you reach your goals, make you feel healthy and strong. True self-care requires you to determine what activities or habits you need to do consistently to stay healthy, energetic and happy. Some self-care habits that we are all very familiar with include: brushing your teeth, combing your hair and showering.
No matter what self-care behaviour you wish to incorporate into your routine, consider the 4Ws:
What would you like to include in your self-care?
Where will it take place? (At home, work, outside, at the gym etc.)
When for how long? (Day(s) of the week, time of day, length of time.)
Who will be available to take care of the kids/the dogs/the partner’s needs?
What: Practise my TM
Where: At home/in a parked car
When: for how long: Daily, twenty minutes twice a day 6:45-7:05 am, 6:00-6: 20 pm.
Who: kids on bus going to school/at dance
Put it in the calendar with a chime to remind you!
Whether you tell Siri to add into your calendar or you put it in—its important to plug it in your “me time”. Most calendars allow you to put parallel appointments—this will be particularly critical if “me time” corresponds to any kid programs.
Any new behaviour requires time for it to become a habit. Add a reminder for the first few weeks until you adopt the new priority.
Schedule tasks that make you feel well
What’s next? Grab your phone and carve out 20-minute increments and add your self-care activities. After all, everyone knows that when an activity is scheduled it gets done.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Experiment!
Play with when is the best time to schedule your self-care priorities by planning them at different times of day to see when works best.
If you find yourself skipping tasks, try penciling them in for a different time, or modifying the activity to make it easier to stick to. Continue refining and adapting the process as needed.
After all, self-care should be flexible and adaptable.