I could give you a million ways to implement self-care in your life, but unless you truly BELIEVE that self care refuels you allowing you to love and serve others better, all my ideas and the many “self help” book on Amazon won’t truly serve you. 

YOU are the only one to make it happen, and that starts with believing! Believing in self care is how I intentionally make it happen daily without ever feeling guilty!

Let’s bust some myths about self care together.

Self-care actually allows you to love and serve others better

Ok, first we have to get past the methodology that “self care is selfish.”

Taking care of yourself allows you to love and serve others better! Think of the airplane oxygen mask analogy. Before every airplane takes off, what will they tell you? 

“In case of emergency, secure your oxygen mask first before assisting others.”

Why? Because if you don’t first put on your own oxygen mask, you will be unable to help others that truly need your help. I think about this analogy daily when I am taking care of my sweet little Remington.

This is the same with self-care, if you do not prioritize yourself first, how you show up at work, at home, with your spouse or children or even friends will suffer! 

This is something I have seen again and again in my own life—days when I don’t take even just a few minutes to stop and refocus myself—my business and my sweet family instantly feels that! I know that I am a better wife, mom, business woman, woman and friend when I have a few moments to fill up my cup daily—this mindset shift is SO freeing.

Put on your oxygen mask!

Self-care isn’t fancy or expensive, it IS anything that refuels you

This is something I truly had to re-frame my thinking on. Society often sends us messaging that self-care looks like a picture perfect spa day or and Instagram worthy vacation and while all those are great, they aren’t always practical on a daily basis!

My definition? 

Self care is anything that refuels you!

Ask yourself—what truly fills you up? Make a list, yes pen to paper…actually go write it down! How do you feel after? Do you feel calm and peaceful? Maybe even more patient, loving and productive? The way you refuel yourself each day is going to transform your entire day and every task within your day!

Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup!

You don’t need to have a lot of money or even 30 minutes to refuel yourself each day! You just need to believe and make it happen. Make self care happen in the little small moments. Those 5 extra minutes you typically use to scroll through social media? What happened if you added up those little 5 minutes throughout the day? Eventually you would have time to take a bath, workout or even just 5 minutes to drink your morning coffee in peace.

If 5 minutes is all you can make happen today that’s ok! Start small to make a big impact!

Self care doesn’t detract time, it ADDS time

But…”I don’t have time.” <— sorry to break it to you, but this isn’t a valid excuse in my mind. 

You always have time for what is important for you! Now, I get it…we all go through seasons—moving, sickness, the newborn days—sometimes you literally might not have time, but on the regular time is never an excuse!

I certainly have been there, thinking “I don’t have time.” But once I first hand realized how much more productive, energetic and loving I was when I took a few minutes to re-fuel myself, everything changed. I can honestly say that today, I work less hours, have more responsibilities  and have made more money and impact than ever before….All while making self care a priority every day!

When you show up and function at your best possible capacity, everything else falls in line—this starts with taking care of yourself and making self-care, good nutrition and sleep a priority!

Trust me, in 1 month from now, your productivity will thank me!

What Self Care Really Looks Like for Me (Without Feeling Guilty)

Let me tell you, self care doesn’t always look conventional in my life, although I do love a good nighttime bath! Here are a few main ways I implement self care daily:

Create Margin

Self care for me often looks like building in margin so I am not hurrying (and thus getting stressed) going from task to task. This means building in a bit of wiggle room or margin as I like to call it. This sometimes means giving myself 10 minutes just to let my brain and body rest in-between work and when Remington wakes up. Or prepping the night before for the next day, that way in the morning we are not stressed getting up and out the door! 

Think about it this way? If you know it  takes you a sold 30 minutes to get everyone out the door but you only ever “schedule” 15, you and your family are going to be stressed leaving—possibly creating friction in the relationship and potentially avoidable meltdowns. This may not seem like a form of self care for you, but it truly will make such a difference in how you approach the day!

Creating margin is truly one of the best forms of self care!

Establish a morning routine

Thanks to my sweet husband encouraging me in creating a morning routine—this has been a game changer for me! Instead of starting my day empty, having a morning routine starts my day with fullness—allowing me to fuel myself before Remington wakes up and tackling the day’s responsibilities. This has also really helped my anxiety!

Other self care activities I make happen daily:

• Bi-weekly pilates classes (paying really creates commitment)
• Morning and afternoon walks with Remington and Libby (the pup)
• Nighttime face cleansing routine
• Sunday planning session for the week ahead
• Listening to podcasts
• 5 minutes of quiet time without my phone during stressful days
• Tone It Up workout app (I love this because you can get a good sweat in quickly!!)
• Getting showered and in PJs before Remington’s bath time (this is often my go to self-care activity daily)
• Power clean up at the end of nap time or after dinner (cluttered house = cluttered mind so I try to avoid this)
• A few squares of dark chocolate in the afternoon
• Taking photos
• Social media free weekends 
• Soaking in the bath with these rose flower salts
• Weekend naps
• Morning devotions
• Taking my vitamins and supplements daily
• Looking forward to my morning hot beverage
• Occasionally ignoring ‘must-dos’ like laundry and daily chores for a mental health day or moment

Yes, *most* of these are free and practical but refuel me on SO many levels!

You too can make it happen! Don’t ever feel guilty for re-fueling yourself with life giving activities. Remember, put your oxygen mask on first!