Although I am preaching about the importance of self-care here, I will admit that so far I am not doing very well at keeping up with my new year’s goal. So this post is serving both as a guide for myself and others…
I find myself caught up in the cycle of reality and adult life – work, sleep and repeat is how my life seems to go, as it does for many people. As I work in a coffee shop, I am on my feet constantly for hours at a time and although some people may not realise, it can also be quite mentally draining at times; dealing with all sorts of people (the nice and the not so nice), working in a stressful environment which is often fast- paced. All I want to do after I finish a shift is nothing but sleep. I have inevitably found myself in this monotonous routine, which I will be honest, does not always work wonders for my mood. I can find myself feeling quite low some days. Although I do enjoy my job, it is not ultimately where I want to be in life and that does frustrate me.
In order to snap out of my low moods, I decided it was time (once again) to organise a little self- care routine. I have gathered a list below of all the things I love to do for my self- care:

Do something that makes me happy at least once a week 

Doing something that makes you happy is always a good place to start, whether that’s cooking, going for a walk or even just sitting down to watch your favourite film. For me, a bit of retail therapy never fails to make me smile. Even if I don’t buy anything (although that is unlikely!), it is nice to just browse amongst the shops at my own leisure. My plan is to aim to do something that makes me happy, no matter how big or small, at least once a week – it’s good to think of this as a little reward after work. 

Have a break from social media

This is going to be a tough one, but also something which I feel is much needed. I spend a lot of my time on social media these days and I have always said I feel disconnected from the world without my phone. It doesn’t help that I’m attempting to build a career around it either! But I am definitely going to try my best to enjoy a couple of hour’s phone free, before bed each night. I have also read somewhere that doing this might help you to sleep better, which is always a bonus. It is just relieving in some sense to get away from the online world and put emails, Instagram notifications and news updates to the back of your mind for a little while.  

Look after my skin

After a long day of being on my feet at work, there is nothing better than a long soak in the bath with a lovely scented bath bomb. This is something I definitely intend to do more of. It’s lovely to put on some calming music and just relax. I have also treated myself to some good quality hand- cream as this winter I am really suffering badly with dry hands – I will be adding this to my morning and nightly routines too. 

Drink herbal tea

This is another fairly new thing for me. I have recently gotten into drinking green tea. I enjoy drinking a lot of regular tea, but I figured green tea is probably better for you. Indeed, I was right – take a look at this article for ten health benefits. I am also planning on trying some other herbal teas soon, like chamomile tea which can be good to drink before bed.

Wind down before going to sleep

During my nightly social media break, I am hoping to wind down from the day with some reading or colouring. I enjoy both of these things and they are activities that I find calming. Realistically, I think I will struggle to do either one of these every night, but even if I just read a few pages of a book it is better than nothing.

There are really no rules when it comes to self- care – it is important to just do whatever makes you happy, relaxes you and essentially allows you to escape from reality for a short time. If you are feeling low or worn out, it is important to look after yourself and do not ever feel selfish or guilty (as I have done in the past) for giving yourself this time. Trust me, you will feel so much better for it.