Love Yourself: 5 Self Care Tips You Can Implement Right Now

We made it through February 14th and all of the Valentine's day hoo-raa is over. We've shown our significant others, children (and maybe even their teachers, classmates and friends!) and other family members we love them. But what about us? Did we stop to show ourselves that we matter too? When was the last time we actually took time out for ourselves?

Today's blog post is a little different. I'm not talking about the ultimate chocolate cake recipe, or the latest decor project in my home. I want to talk about 5 self care tips you can implement right now.

Now long gone are the days when self care meant putting on a pair of heels, or dabbing on some lip gloss. It's really about digging deep to do things on the regular that fulfill your mind and soul. It's a way to show yourself that you are important and that you matter too.

I know that a lot of us have ready-made excuses: I'm too busy, there is no time, I'm too stressed out, or I have other priorities right now. I get it. Most of us are crazy-busy. We are stressed out with our jobs and supporting our families. Me time is not a priority, and some of us actually feel guilty taking out some time for ourselves. But taking a little bit of time each day to make sure you are feeling good mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually can actually make you better at the things you need to do on a daily basis. The goal of practicing self care is to keep you healthy, fit and resilient so that you are that much better at your day to day.

I believe that we can all practice self care, and it's just a matter of building it into your routine. Here are 5 self care tips that you can implement right now.

1) Start your day on the right foot. Do you ever feel like some days are just off to a bad start? A lot of bad days are really out of our control, but there are things that you can do on a daily basis to turn bad days into not so bad ones. And great days can actually become better if we start our day off on the right foot.

Try this: wake up 15 minutes earlier than usual and prioritize the items for the day. Think about your schedule and carve out 15 minutes for yourself where you will do one thing you love. Pick something that you always feel you never have the time to do. This can be anything, like taking a walk at lunch, drinking a quiet cup of coffee before the kids get up, reading the newspaper after work or even closing your eyes and breathing deeply.

Outlining one thing you will do for yourself each day, allows you to have something to look forward to. So no matter how tough your day, these 15 minutes are yours to do exactly what you want.

2) Slow down your weekends and make room for some fun. My weekdays are tough. My work days are long and really busy. And by the time I come home, I'm so beat. But that's why a slow weekend with some fun activities with family or friends is essential to make my week go smoothly.

Try this: Think about your weekend plans and ask yourself this: what is one fun activity that I would like to do? Maybe its an exercise class with a friend, catching a movie, going out to dinner with your significant other or phoning a relative. You may need to schedule this in advance, but doing one thing you enjoy on the weekend with people you care about is not only refreshing, it allows you to nurture and strengthen existing relationships. Spending quality time with those you care about not only tells them that they are important to you, but it also helps you develop a sense of community and belonging (and on some level, this is something that we all crave). It's a perfect way to de-stress and feel supported and again, gives you something to look forward to on your weekends.

3) Believe in the benefits of retail therapy. Go ahead, and buy yourself a treat. We all have a vice. Maybe you love pillows (like me!) or a good book. Maybe you are craving a donut or you must try the latest OPI nail polish. Whatever, it is, go ahead and get yourself something you love. Now I'm not telling you to over indulge or break the bank, but think about things you want for yourself that you find joy in. Then go buy it. Because when you do, you are telling yourself you are worth it. And the things that you want for yourself are important too.

4) Take the time to prep meals. One of the biggest things that slips when I am busy, is planning what my husband and I will be eating for the week. And when my food choices suck or if I am eating out more than I would like, I feel terrible. I also feel guilty for the excess calories I am consuming and spending a ton of money. Believe it or not, what we eat has a huge impact on how we feel. And if we are fueling ourselves with the wrong kinds of foods, it negatively impacts our state of mind, our productivity, our moods and our health. To avoid this, I have a meal prep system.

Try this: Think about 3-4 different meals for the week, and purchase groceries for these meals on Friday or Saturday. Take 1-2 hours on Sunday, prepare these meals and segregate them into individual containers so you can "grab and go" for lunch or reheat for dinner. Having meals prepared ahead of time eliminates undue stress and also prevents you from reaching for foods that are tempting and unhealthy (and loaded with junk).

An extra tip: Look up 3-4 recipes for the week that use similar grocery items and veggies. That way you only have to purchase these items and prep all of these at once when you are cooking. It saves time when grocery shopping and also decreases your overall grocery bill since you won't be buying a ton of items for each of your meals.

5) Sometimes, you just have to say "no" (as much as we don't want to). This is always a hard one. In this day and age, we are always trying hard to please and not to disappoint. This means we sign up for way more than we can handle and say "yes" even if we don't want to. Many times we feel guilty for saying "no" or just say "yes" out of obligation.

Try this: Think about what someone has asked you to do, and if you are on the fence about it, reply by saying "let me think about it", or "can I get back to you?". Now really think about what the commitments are for this, and if it encroaches on plans with your family, or a dinner date with your spouse, quality time with your friends or alone time at Target (we all need this!), just say "no". It's important to recognize that saying "no" to certain things allows you to say "yes" to all of the other things you are looking forward to. Squeezing certain things into your day, especially ones you are not thrilled about, take away from what matters more, add to your stress level and leave you feeling overwhelmed.

There you have it folks, - 5 self care tips you can implement right now. And as I said earlier, its just takes a bit of practice to include these into your daily routine.

If you try these self care tips, I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment below, tag me in your Instagram photo using #thisissimplicite or email me.