How to Start a Self-Care Routine You’ll Actually Follow
Incorporating a consistent self-care routine has been shown to increase happiness, alleviate stress, and improve relationships. Carving out time and space to prioritize activities that bring you joy amidst the chaos of an unpredictable world can be transformative.
Here's a guide to get you started.
What Is Self-Care?
Self-care is all about caring for yourself to ensure that your physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional needs are met. It involves using varying practices to nurture and recharge, tend to personal needs, and manage stress.
These practices can take on many forms, including exercise, meditation, spending time in nature, pursuing hobbies, ensuring sufficient sleep, practicing mindfulness, adopting personal health routines, seeking support from friends or professionals, setting boundaries, and taking breaks as needed.
Tips to Start a Self-Care Routine You’ll Uphold
Self-care is often pushed to the bottom of our to-do lists, yet it doesn't have to be time-consuming or overwhelming. It is about doing the little things each day that bring us joy, and make us feel good in our own skin. Here's how to start a self-care routine that you'll actually stick to:
1. Think about what brings you joy.
2. Consider the time constraints and commitments in your life that can’t be changed.
3. While taking points one and two into consideration, write down all of the things that you can do to incorporate the things that bring joy into your daily life.
4. Set realistic goals to incorporate self-care practices into your life.
5. Share them with family and friends.
6. Revisit and reevaluate them monthly to see what's working, and why.
6 Self-Care Products We Love
Here are some of the self-care products we love that can assist you in staying on track and maintaining your routine.
Do Good Journal
Journaling is a proven way to boost self-confidence, achieve goals, alleviate stress and anxiety, and foster self-reflection. And what better place for your thoughts than a beautifully crafted journal from an ethical Canadian stationery company?
East 29th’s The Essentials Vegan Skincare Set
Skincare is a form of self-care as it helps you to quiet your mind, gain self-love and confidence, and bring a sense of calm into your day. East 29th offers a perfectly curated selection of skincare products to help you do just that. Including a serum, cleanser, and lotion mist, this set was designed to help treat various skin conditions and concerns, such as eczema, fine lines, hyperpigmentation, and more.
Dodow Sleep Aid Device
Getting enough sleep is one of the most important forms of self-care, as it reduces stress, improves your mood, reduces your risk of illness, and increases your productivity.
The Dodow Sleep Aid Device was Inspired by behavioural cognitive therapy, yoga, and meditation, and is scientifically designed to quickly soothe your brain activity, slow your breathing and relax your body while re-educating your brain to fall asleep up to 2-and-a-half times faster. The soft blue light emitted from this sleep device also allows your body to relax without inhibiting melatonin production.
Supported Soul Yoga Mat
Exercise and yoga are amazing self-care tools as they help to improve your mood, reduce stress, increase your energy, and more. Turn your occasional practice into a routine with an eco-friendly, non-toxic, and ethically sourced yoga mat from the Canadian-based company, Supported Soul.
The Forager Set Mushroom Tinctures
Mushroom tinctures offer diverse health advantages, including antioxidants to combat oxidative stress, hormonal balance, and enhanced blood flow and brain oxygenation. The Forager Set by Forager Hyperfoods features Chaga, Lion's Mane, Reishi, and Turkey Tail Canadian mushroom tinctures— all ideal supplements for a health-focused self-care routine.
Open Mindfulness App
Meditation is a common form of self-care proven to increase self-awareness, manage stress, reduce negative emotions, generate empathy, and reduce anxiety.
Open is a social space for meditation, movement, and practice. They offer online meditation, breathwork, music, movement, and practice classes designed to strengthen the mind-body connection.
East 29th Creates With You in Mind
At East 29th, we create skincare solutions that go beyond clearing your skin; we focus on the union of elements (body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations) that we call ‘self’ so that you can embody our essence and natural confidence.
We believe that self-care is of the utmost importance, and our non-toxic, and minimalist skincare line is the perfect component to a self-care routine that you’ll actually follow.