I recently wrote a blog post on ‘Practice what I preach’, in which I wrote about how I spent the whole day doing all the things I write about in my self-care journal, ‘Make self-care a habit’. It was a wonderful chilled out day and I felt many benefits from it. It became apparent to me though that I was on a day with no other commitments. So I realised I had to devise a plan where I could incorporate all these daily habits into a shorter amount of time.
In one day there are 1440 minutes. If you commit only 60 of those minutes to self-care habits, you can begin to create an excellent self-care practice. There are many self-care practices you can explore, including, journaling, reading, writing, resting, meditating, breathing, being grateful, being forgiving, de-cluttering, getting out in nature, setting goals and creating positive affirmations to name but a few.
So lets break it down into smaller bitesize chunks. 15 minutes of meditation, 15 minutes of moving, 15 minutes of journaling and 15 minutes of reading.
60 mintutes of self-care a day
Meditate for 15 minutes
As I have explained in previous posts, meditation does not need to be complicated, just 3 minutes a day can benefit us greatly, but lets try 15 and if we only manage 3 we can use the other 12 for reading, journaling or moving. I recommend a guided meditation for beginners. I use an app called The Tapping solution. YouTube has loads of guided meditations to try out as well. As you begin to understand meditation, you will easily find ways to incorporate it into your daily activities, like doing the dishes, hanging up the washing or waiting in a que.
Get your body moving for 15 minutes
You may notice I use the word move instead of ‘exercise’. It is essentially the same thing, moving just sounds easier. The important thing is finding something you enjoy. So try and explore new ways of getting your body moving, try hula hooping and kayaking, qi gong, yoga, cycling, swimming, tai chi, or if your not feeling inspired, simply take a walk or do some housework. You will reap rewards including, reduced stress and anxiety, enhanced mood and generally improving your heart, lungs, bones, lymphatic system, brain, muscles, joints and mental health. In just 15 minutes.
Journal for 15 minutes
Journaling is an act of self-love and can bring many benefits and rewards, including, letting go of negative beliefs and emotions. Discovering what you want, why you want it and figuring out what you love. Exploring your values, motivations and finding your flow. Creating and affirming new positive beliefs and habits. Anyone can journal, anywhere, and it costs nothing. Write about your day, your ideas, your feelings, your habits, goals. Write about what you are reading and learning. Burn or bin them if you don’t feel comfortable with your thoughts lying around. Just write.
Read for 15 minutes
Read to be inspired, to gain knowledge, to relax, to escape, or all of the above. Just read. Reading everyday is a great habit to incorporate into your daily routine. Reading makes you smarter, improves your memory, vocabulary and your emotional intelligence. It also gives you something to write about. Reading can take us on an exciting adventure, or even relax us and bring us a sense of calm.
60 minute self-care routine
60 minutes out of 1440 that we have in a day. Surely we can do that for ourselves and bring all these benefits into our everyday life. Small simple steps. Meditate, journal, read and get your body moving.
The purpose of this journal is to assist you in incorporating straightforward self-care habits into your daily life. The journal will seamlessly guide you through self-care and journaling in the easiest way possible. The journal includes informational pages, a daily journal page and a checklist.