5 Ways To Integrate Self-Care Into Your Daily Routine

Self-Care is essential for physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Learn how you can integrate self-care into your work and life each and every day.

In recent years, self-care has become the go-to buzzword for defining how we take the driver's seat in improving our health. However, the process of prioritizing self-care in your work and home life isn't as simple as getting a gym membership or meditating for a few minutes every once in a while.

True self-care requires an holistic approach to implementing new routines in your life that include positive habits and support. Here are five ways you can integrate self-care into your life starting today.

5 Ways To Integrate Self Care | El and Al Co. Blog on Work Life Balance

#1 Identify Your Goals in Life

Knowing your goals in life is a big part of prioritizing self-care. You see, when we are clear on why we do the things we do, it makes it easier to prioritize the day to day stuff. Goals can be broken down into short-term and long-term, and they can change frequently. However, your livelihood and happiness should be integrated into those goals.

Remember: you have to put your safety mask on first. There is nothing selfish about integrating self-care into your life's goals. On the contrary, it shows that you are super serious about being there for the people and things that matter most in your life.

When goal setting, remember to prioritize your emotional, mental, and physical health into the equation. No goal is worth you feeling stressed out and on edge. Give yourself the time and grace to achieve the things you want in the healthiest way possible.

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.

— Jean Shinoda Bolen

#2 Create Morning & Evening Routines Customized To Your Unique Needs

Effectively mastering self-care is the key toward improving your mood and reducing anxiety and stress. Planning and integrating self-care into your daily routine is a must.

Human beings are built for routine. I mean think about it, there are 365 days in every year. That is a lot of days! Imagine if every single day your routine was completely different? Think about how stressed out you would feel not knowing when you were going to wake up or what you were going to do or how you would do it.

Thankfully our brains are designed for habits and routines because they help us literally survive. For instance, how could we have gotten through the whole hunter-gatherer era of history if there wasn't any consistency with the whole hunting and gathering part of the equations?!

Now more than ever, you have to prioritize having solid routines in your life, especially in the morning and evening. From the moment you wake up, you should have set intentions on what you want to do for that day. Additionally, you should have consistency in the mornings so that you don't waste brain power on things that can run on autopilot (making your bed, brushing your teeth, etc.).

By the end of the day, you should have a self-care routine in place that allows you to unwind, reflect, and get settled for deep rest.

Both morning and evening routines should be tailored to your unique needs. There is no one-size-fits-all method to self-care, which is why our Morning Refresh and Evening Reflection printable pages leave space for writing out your thoughts. Self-care is a process that you work through over time, and getting in touch with your thoughts and feelings is essential.

Whatever you do for your morning and evening routines, make sure that you make an effort to take your habits and all of the things that make you uniquely you into consideration.

#3 Always Find Time to Spend With Friends and Family

As much as human beings are made for habits and routines, we are made for community. A big component of self-care is prioritizing and appreciating the interconnections with have with friends and family.

One of the signs that your life is out of whack is isolation from friends and family. A key way to integrate true self-care into your life is to ensure that you are making time for socializing with the people who matter most to you.

Some ways you can include socializing in your self-care routine include:

Family game nights
Lunch dates with your close friends
Road trips and vacations
Regular video chats and phone calls with loved ones out of town
Group spa trips
Start a book or movie watching club with friends and family

The list is endless with ways you can incorporate self-care into social activities. One recommendation: don't rely solely on social media to fulfill your need for community and interaction with loved ones. Even if you are an introvert, you should still make a commitment to make time for social interaction.

One of the signs that your life is out of whack is isolation from friends and family. A key way to integrate self-care into your life is to ensure that you are making time for socializing with the people who matter most.

#4 Prioritize Harmony (and Balance) in Your Work & Life

Everything we do at El and Al is centered in the belief that work life balance and harmony is essential to our well being. The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work. That is over 1/3 of your total life! It is so important that you make sure that your work life and home life are in alignment.

You've definitely heard the phrase 'work life balance' at some point in your life, but have you ever taken the time to truly think about what it means to have balance in your work and life? Balance means that both areas of your life have equilibrium, meaning your work isn't messing up your personal life and vice versa.

We also like to prioritize work life harmony in the equation. You see, when you think of harmony you probably think of music - lots of different voices and instruments coming together to create something beautiful and singular. Harmony in work and life is so important because now more than ever, there is unavoidable overlap in your work and life.

Work is becoming more and more location independent. People work from home, coffee shops, etc. In our 24/7 environment, lots of people have jobs that require them to be on call all the time, which can make it super difficult to create clear boundaries between work and life.

In a perfect world, everyone would work a standard 7.5 hour shift and have the rest of their days and nights to themselves, but that is becoming an increasingly rare standard. If you can find a way to incorporate self-care into your work and life, you can create harmony so that things run smoothly and your days (and nights) are aligned with your purpose.

Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.

— Brene Brown

#5 Track Your Mood, Sleep Patterns, and Nutrition

Sometimes we tend to think of self-care as this lofty pie-in-the-sky ideal, when in reality it is super practical. Integrating self-care into your life can be as simple as staying mindful about what you are eating, drinking, and feeling on a regular basis.

For instance, there was a recent study that found that making decisions on an empty stomach is a big no-no that can lead to long-term bad consequences. The lesson here: make sure you are eating on a regular basis.

Another super practical self-care solution is to make sure you are drinking water. A hydrated brain is a happy brain (or joints and body overall like water too). And make sure you are getting enough sleep because a lack of zzz's can lead to weight gain, health complications and skin issues.

Remember that YOU are your greatest resource so please take care of your mind, body, and spirit as much as possible. The world deserves to have the pleasure of your company, so take care of yourself so that we can have you around for years to come.

Tracking your mood on a regular basis enables you to spot destructive thought patterns, negative triggers, and pinpoint sudden changes in your outlook on life.

Pulling It All Together

To review, here are the five things you can start doing right now to integrate self-care into your work and life.

Set solid, realistic goals that prioritize your well being.
Create morning and evening routines to start and end your day right.
Make lots of time for socializing with friends and family.
Promote harmony in your work and life.
Take care of yourself - eat right, drink right, sleep right.

It's time for you to go and put these five steps in action. Don't delay because you are so worth it. Also remember that we at El and Al Co. are here for you. Join our email list today to get resources delivered straight to your inbox and check out the shop where we have a growing selection of stationery that keeps your life in motion.

Plan Your Self-Care With Ease

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