September: A new school term for your self care routine
Guest Blog by Rachel Letham - Business Coach
September for me evokes all sorts of memories… a shiny fresh new pencil case, new school shoes (that were always a size too big!) and a new timetable to memorise. Now, as an adult, I still get that feeling of a fresh start. Let’s be honest we could all do with a little refresh for 2020 couldn’t we, and now is the perfect time to reset your self care routine.
With kids going back to school, whether physically or with home-schooler (parents you are rock stars!), and the return to work after a summer break whether in person or remotely, the idea of any time for self care might seem overwhelming. This is where I come in as a self care coach. I’m here to help you gain inspiration to bring self care into your day to day life and also to encourage you to build powerful new, positive habits. Trust me you will feel better for doing it.
Not just another thing for your to-do list
Having a strong self care routine helps promote a positive and healthy body, mind and soul but I don’t want self care to become yet another thing to put on your to-do list. Since life is still a little crazy right now, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself. This is about building self care behaviours that you WANT to do, not that you feel you SHOULD be doing. This is about building a self care routine with new habits that last. It also doesn’t have to be anything new to you - this might be reframing how you approach self care in your life or revisiting how you have brought a self care routine into your life in the past.
What is self care?
So let’s talk self care. When I think about self care, I always refer to the inflight safety video line “put your own oxygen mask on before helping others”. How can you be the best version of yourself and help lift others up if you are not taking care of yourself?
Self care is about making sure that the best version of yourself is out there to achieve what you want to in life and to help others live their best life too. Think about your car, you make sure it has petrol, water, gets an annual MOT and service and if a fault light comes on you get it checked out. But what about when it comes to YOU? I am all about building a self care routine that services your needs before your own warning light comes on.
I want to reassure you that self care isn’t something you do once and tick off the list; It’s the constant repetition of many tiny habits, which together soothe you and make sure you’re at your optimum—emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Building a self care routine
This repetition of tiny habits helps you to achieve consistency and build a sustainable self care routine that benefits you. Don’t worry about what others are doing, you be you. If you’re not a runner, don’t try to be. If you don’t fancy yoga, then don’t do it - do what works for you and do the things that you like in order to keep physically and mentally in shape.
When it comes to self care and building new habits it’s not about doing something radical, it doesn’t have to be anything huge - I’m not talking about a spa day here, although that would be nice! Incremental progress leads to sustained success, so start small, work out what tiny habits you want to bring into your life and in a good old fashion new term way - have a star chart for celebrating success as you achieve those habits.
I have a weekly wellbeing checklist where I put all the things that are “non-negotiables” to me; all the things that I need to do in a week to be living my best life and feeling good. By having a tick list, I can feel satisfied each day ticking off when I have done my habit but also I can see a pattern building, I can see small, sustainable success and I can celebrate as this keeps me motivated to do these things. Often, needing a dose of self care isn’t enough, we have to feel motivated to do it and having a reminder such as a weekly wellbeing checklist, acts as a prompt to encourage us to do the self care we need to do.
Remember it doesn’t have to be big. If 20 minutes of meditation seems like a stretch for you - make it three nice relaxing breaths in and out in a calming space in your home. Start tiny, build those habits. If 30 minutes of physical exercise seems like too much time out of your busy schedule, start with three minutes of stretching, you’ll still get the benefit from this. Take some time to think about what is important to you and the things you would like to be doing and then start small by adding one of those things into your week. The more you feel the benefit from moments of self care, the more you will want to add into your schedule and the better you will feel .
Rachel Letham is a business coach working with successful yet stuck female online business owners . Rachel share strategies for self care and positive mindset so her clients can achieve goals and grow their business in a calm and nourishing way. She writes regularly to her network on the power of self care in supporting day to day life and has launched the Self Care Survival Kit Deck of Cards to help bring self care to the masses
www.selfcaresurvivalkit.co.uk
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