For the last few months, I’ve been working on being consistent with a few practices to take care of myself during quarantine. These are patterns that help me stop “doomscrolling,” get enough sleep, and keep my body going even though I wanted to be in bed all day.
My problem with routines is to be loyal and not to get bored. I always speak to myself about being reliable because I say,”Aren’t habits about being fun” before I had began it.
In reality, habits don’t have to be fun. That’s not to say they should make you miserable, but your habits won’t always feel exciting.
5 Self-Care Habits For Your Daily Routine
I’ll admit that I haven’t 100% mastered these, but here are the self-care habits I’m working on right now:
1. Go outside first thing in the morning
Having sunlight in the morning will help control the body’s internal clock and make it easier to sleep at night, according to SleepFoundation.org. I’m going for a walk nearly every day in the afternoon, but I’ve recently started walking a couple days a week in the morning.
While winter approaches, it’s getting cooler and it’s usually raining or snowing (good old Pittsburgh for you). Because of that, I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to maintain this routine of going outside first thing.
I was dreaming of buying a light therapy lamp to help with that. If you’ve had some luck with them, please leave a comment and let me know!
2. Follow a work-start ritual
What I’ve discovered from Atomic Habits is that the best way to fall into a routine is to make the first two minutes simple. I try to start my workday by reading, but this is always a difficult first step in my routine. It’s quick to make a cup of coffee, light a candle, and put on a quiet playlist.
The first two minutes of my ritual signify that it’s time for me to start reading. No matter how hard the reading really is (it’s sometimes not as hard as I’m striving to make it happen), the work-start routine is simple and relaxing.
3. Avoid caffeine after 10 am
Did you know that half of the caffeine you consume will take 5-6 hours to leave your system? Which means if you drink a cup of coffee at 1 p.m., it’s still already going to be in the bloodstream if you want to go to bed at 10 p.m. These days, I have been drinking green tea with breakfast and then have a cup of black coffee about 9:45 a.m. After that, I’m pretty much just drinking water.
4. Keep work and self-care spaces separate
It was very tempting to work from the couch when I was at home all day, but it was rough on my back. That’s why I made sure I began my workday from my desk. If I want to move to the couch later in the day, that’s all right, but my new rule is that I can’t start the day from the couch.
5. Wind-down without screens an hour before bed
A habit I’ve implemented after reading the book The Power of When is creating a wind-down ritual at 10:30 pm. I *try* to spend the last hour without a phone, but it usually develops into the last 30 minutes before bedtime.
Author Michael Breus advises that you spend the first 20 minutes of your wind-down routine getting ready for tomorrow, the next 20 minutes on hygiene habits like brushing your teeth, and the last 20 minutes on a relaxing habit like reading, stretching, or meditating. I sometimes fail to do this structure, but I like the rundown of the wind-down hour, so I figured I’d share it.
What are your daily self-care habits?
I hope this article has given you some suggestions to add some calm self-care routines to your schedule. I advise you to take ease in your routines and strive to remain consistent even though you feel rough.
Leave a comment below! What do your daily habits look like right now?