30 Days of Self-Care Challenge: Here’s What Happened

I’ve always struggled with taking care of myself because my focus was always on everything and/or everyone else. Does this mean that I have skipped meals or breaks? Yes. Have I neglected my sleep because of this? Yes. Has this type of living made me exhausted every single day? Yes! Fellow blogger, Clarissa Cabbage, from Adventurefitforlife, put out an amazing post on eating healthier, exercising more, but also finding ways to make these beneficial changes enjoyable. I was so inspired by her call to action to live a better life that I decided to challenge myself. The following includes details of my 30 days of Self-Care Challenge: The little things I did to better my livelihood every single day.

The Starting Line

I knew I had a million responsibilities to do, so the question I asked myself was, how could I find a better balance between work, school, and blogging? For this initial question, I returned to a previous post that I wrote on organizing my time as a busy person. (Yes, sometimes I still need to remind myself to take breaks!)

I started dividing up my time and from there slowly found ways to insert self-care activities into my day to day life.

Every Little Thing I Did in 30-days

• Take a bath: The very first act of self-care that I engaged in was make myself a bath. I highly recommend adding bubbles, bath salts, or bath bombs. It’s amazing what a single soak can do! Put on some relaxing music (personally I’m a fan of Lofi) or a podcast in the background and you are all set.

• Exfoliation: I don’t do this nearly enough, but it’s the little things that matter. As I washed my face at the end of the day, I thought why not give my skin a little extra love. Think of it as a mini spa experience: You get to massage your face, clean your skin, and feel completely refreshed afterwards! (Also, I hear that exfoliating everyday isn’t necessarily good for your skin, so please do your research and take care of your skin in a safe manor.)

• Listen to music: This may seem like a small addition to the list, but I think we underestimate the power of music. I started listening to instrumental beats while studying, cooking dinner, even while washing dishes. Somehow adding music made all of these experiences more relaxing and enjoyable for me. Try giving music a go during chores.

• Drink coffee & journal: This is a major guilty pleasure of mine. If I get the chance to sleep in (typically my Saturdays), I love brewing myself a cup of coffee, adding honey and almond milk, and writing. Now if you’re not a coffee lover or a fan of journaling, find your beverage of choice and choose a relaxing activity to start your day.

• Take multiple breaks between studies: Take breaks! I cannot stress how important it is for your brain to decompress after focusing so intently on studying, chores, work, your latest project, etc. Even if you’re working on something you enjoy, it’s really healthy to take time away to re-center yourself. Some of my breaks consisted of working out, doing meditation, chatting with friends, or laying down to watch videos. However you decide to spend your time, allow yourself a moment to breathe.

• State affirmations: A wonderful way to start the day is through affirmations. I started doing this in the mornings and evenings in the mirror. For example, I would say things such as, “You look great. You’re a hard worker. You got up out of bed, that’s awesome.” Simply acknowledging the positives and the things I was able to do brought a new sense of peace and confidence to me. Try it out for yourself!

• Clean/Declutter: Whenever I declutter my space, I always get a renewed sense of empowerment and productivity. Even if it’s a simple chore, such as washing dishes, vacuuming, or making the bed, it immediately brings me positive vibes. So during the 30 days of the Self-Care Challenge, I decided to make cleaning more of a habit rather than a chore. If you find that you can’t get to cleaning some days, don’t be hard on yourself. Just do what you can!

• Watch movies: When I had time, I started watching movies and shows again. Escapism is real, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Allowing myself down time to see the world through a new perspective was so refreshing. Now, I didn’t go binge-watching like I had earlier in the year, which I found to be exhausting, but I gave myself a special window to enjoy my movies.

• Work on sleeping habits: This one was a tough one for me to work on and I’ll admit I’m still working on it. Mainly because I’m a night owl and I feel the most awake and energetic around the late hours. Unfortunately, I still have to wake up early for my job.

Ideally, I try to get about 7 hours of sleep a night, but as I got into my school routine, suddenly my bedtime got pushed back more and more. For this, I recommend setting an end time for any studies, work, or writing projects, as a way to keep yourself accountable. Sleeping is such a powerful tool in maintaining our health. I aimed to put my phone down by a certain time and this helped a lot with my sleeping habits.

• Sleeping in: When possible, listen to your body and allow yourself to rest. This is especially important on days that you have off. I used to set alarms on my weekends and then I asked myself, “Why?” If I had no engagements, why not take advantage of that extra sleep? So I did!

• Go on walks: For awhile there, I was getting into the habit of staying home and not even taking the time to step outside for a little air. But let me just say taking a walk to clear my head and look at nature really grounded me. It may do the same for you.

• Enjoy special treats: As I’ve mentioned in a previous post on my insecurities, I’ve had an unhealthy relationship with food. But after reading Clarissa’s post on how to eat healthier and having a conversation with a Registered Dietitian, I learned that it’s okay to treat yourself here and there as long as you are also doing your best to eat well too. For this 30 day self-care challenge, I enjoyed sweets and healthy meals, both of which contributed to my mindfulness of how I treat my body.

• Exercise more regularly: Okay, so last year was not a strong exercise year for me. But as I started this challenge, I asked myself what activity could I do to benefit myself and carry forward beyond the challenge? For me, the answer was exercise more regularly. I looked at my work schedule and determined a good set time to workout and then I kind of just went for it!

Similar to making cleaning more of a habit, I made it a goal of mine to make exercising a habit and slowly, but surely it took less effort to get into my exercise routine.

(Reminder: Say you miss a day, which I’ve definitely done. Part of my self-care challenge was to try not attack myself if I didn’t follow through with something. If you didn’t make enough time that day to exercise, give yourself a break and say, “Okay, let’s try again tomorrow.”)

• Do Yoga: Starting the day with stretches was a game changer for me. I’m not talking about anything too complicated, but if you’re looking to rejuvenate your body and get the blood flowing, yoga is a great form of exercise. Don’t stress about being flexible, I’m definitely not! I just do what I can, while listening to my body.

• Meditate: I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but you can find a meditation video of any timeframe on YouTube. If you’re having a back to back day and only have 3-5 minutes to spare, trust me, this type of video exists. Meditation allowed me to work on my mental health, whether that be through breathing, anxiety reduction, positive thinking, or etc. Maybe you need a moment to decompress, this is an excellent way to do so.

https://youtu.be/SEfs5TJZ6Nk

Carrying Self-Care Habits Forward

Yes, the challenge was only meant for 30 days, but my reasoning behind doing this experiment was to determine how to improve my livelihood. I mentioned earlier that I was burnt out. Everyday I woke up exhausted and not to be puny, but I got tired of it.

These simple activities boosted my mood and added a new sense of optimism to my days. It’s a good feeling, treating yourself. Acknowledging your strengths. Taking care of your physical health and mental health. So, the following habits are what I’ve tried to include upon completing my 30 Day Self-Care Challenge:

• Drink Coffee & Journal
• Work on my sleeping habits
• Listen to music
• Exercise more regularly
• Declutter
• State affirmations
• Take breaks
• Enjoy special treats
• Meditate

Switching Things Up

It has been such an encouraging experience to switch things up for the sole purpose of creating a better life. If you feel like you’re tired or stuck in the narrative that you’ve created, perhaps now is the time to try out the self-care challenge for yourself. Does it have to be 30 days? No, not at all! But what I have found is that 30 days is a good amount of time to break in a new habit. So whether you try a 3-5 day challenge or a 30 day challenge, the important part is that you’re doing this to benefit yourself.

Thank you so much for reading about my 30 Day Self-Care Challenge! I hope that some of my recommendations inspire you to do the activities that you enjoy.

As always, stay safe, healthy, and…

Good luck on your journey,

Harumi