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What Is Self-Care?
We get to hear the term ‘self-care’ every now and then. Google search for ‘self-care’ reached an all-time high during the pandemic and it has been a hot topic since then. People are searching for self-care goals and ideas to make their lifestyles better.
The way we neglect important aspects of life in today’s hustle and bustle, the need for self-care is increasing. Setting some self-care goals can help you take care of your well-being and lead a fulfilling life. In this article, you will read everything about how we can set some self-care goals and some self-care ideas.
Self-Care Goals and Ideas: How To Make A Self-Care Plan That Works!
Why is Self Care Important?
Self-Care Improves Relationships
When we are well-rested and feel good about ourselves, we are more likely to be positive and understanding toward others.
Self-Care Reduces Stress
Self-care activities help us relax and reduce our stress. It can be exercising, meditation, listening to music, cooking, or anything else that you love to do. We become better equipped and positive to handle our daily lives.
Increase Productivity
Have you ever felt fresh, happy, and more productive after a nap? Taking breaks can actually help us to be more efficient in our daily lives.
Promotes Health
Be it physical, mental, Or emotional health, self-care activities can help you feel better in all of these thereby boosting your self-confidence.
Types of Self-Care Goals
There are many types of self-care goals that we can work on. It means different things to different individuals. The list can go on and on….. But for now, let’s stick to the four most important types of self-care goals.
Physical Goals
These are the goals that you do for your body. Taking care of your physical self is the most important goal one should have in life.
Your body is going to be there with you till the end. By taking care of your body, you avoid showers of regrets later in life. Now let’s take some examples of physical self-care ideas you can take up.
Sleeping
Sleeping is very important in order to function to our best. Having a proper sleep schedule and getting a good amount of sleep can make your day productive.
Stretching
How often do you stretch yourself? Stretching increases your muscle blood flow and improves your performance in daily activities.
Walking/Running
Walking and running have immense benefits. It not only keeps you fit, but it also improves your mental health as well.
Healthy Eating
Our physical health depends largely on what we eat in a day. Having a balanced diet full of nutrients is important for our physical and mental health.
Massaging
Do you know that massaging can improve your immune system? Not only this, it helps in various other things like lowering your heart rate and reducing muscle tension. It is a great way, as we all know, to reduce stress and relax.
Emotional Goals
The emotional components of our body are as important as the physical components. How we are doing emotionally represents our relationship with us and all the things around us, how we feel about a certain thing, how we respond to situations, and how calm or rough our thoughts are. Here are some ways you can take care of your emotional self.
Spend Time With Family
Studies have shown that spending time with your loved ones and family can help you reduce stress and increase your life span. The bonds and connections we make, help us in being positive toward life thereby taking care of our mental health.
Cuddle With Your Partner
When you cuddle, kiss, and hug your partner, your brain releases a hormone called oxytocin that helps us feel close and happy. It improves our daily mood and lowers the level of depression.
Journaling
Journaling is a great way to document yourself. You can track your habits or write down your emotions, good or bad. This helps in gaining confidence and reduces stress. Oh, and you can be as creative as you want in your journal!
Watch Something Funny
Funny videos are a good stress reliever! It not only lifts your mood instantly but is great to ease your anxiety levels. Having something that adds joy to life is truly needed for self-care and is a must-have self-care goal.
Hobbies
Hobbies are the most common and easiest way of self-care. It should be your go-to thing when you are searching for self-care ideas. Whatever you are good at or you love, you must not forget to add it to your routine.
Spiritual Goals
What is the spiritual body? It is our connection to all that is. It is our relationship with God, the universe, the divine or higher self, or anything that you call it.
Many of us do not believe in this aspect of us. For those who believe there is a higher force guiding and protecting us.
Yoga
Many people think of Yoga as a physical exercise but actually, it is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India.
Yoga postures and exercises increase your flexibility, and strength and reduce stress. Doing yoga is believed to be the best for your overall health.
Meditation
Meditation is a powerful tool to improve your focus strength and mental clarity. It increases mindfulness and awareness.
Doing it daily, even for 10 min can make you feel better for the entire day, this is a personal experience. I started it during the pandemic and could see the difference within a week.
You can watch videos online to learn how to start meditation.
Prayer
Praying can mean different things to different people based on their religion and culture. Whichever way you choose, incorporating praying into your daily life can make you feel better and more peaceful. Prayers have been shown to increase feelings of hope and improve mental well-being.
Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to connect with the community. It can provide you a sense of purpose and fulfillment that can positively impact your mental and emotional health.
Intellectual Goals
Lately, mental health has become an essential issue all around the world. Our mental body reflects our thoughts and attitudes, how we process information or learn our focus, and how we contribute to things around us using all this. I am not an expert in mental health but here are some ways that will improve the care of your mental/intellectual health that worked for me.
Reading
Reading introduces you to a different world, a world of new ideas and perspectives. No matter what genre you read, based on your choices, reading will help you take away your worldly stress. A lot can be enjoyed and learned if you are a reader. Be it a newspaper, a novel, a blog, or a poem, reading has the power to enhance creativity and imagination.
Writing
When was the last time you wrote something just for yourself? Writing can be a great creative outlet to express ourselves in a number of ways.
It can be journaling, a story, a poem, or even a social media caption, writing gives us a way to share our ideas with the world. It can be therapeutic, and motivating and also enhance your writing skills.
Creative Works
Painting, singing, playing a musical instrument, dancing, writing, all these creative works allow us to express our thoughts, and emotions in substantial ways. It also helps us in connecting with people and forms a better relationship with ourselves.
Self Reflect
Self-reflection is imperative for personal growth and forms an important part of self-care goals. From time to time we should reflect on our experiences, emotions, and results. It allows us to understand ourselves better and can be rewarding in a great way.
Boundaries
What are boundaries? Well, in simple terms, a boundary is a line that we decide to distinguish between what is right and acceptable and what is not.
They can be physical, mental, and emotional and help us to protect our time and energy. For example, saying NO to things that don’t align with our values or choosing our own needs before thinking about others.
How To Set Self-Care Goals
Make a list of your hobbies and needs
Making a list of thing you love to do or things you are interested in will help you understand what kind of things makes you feel good.
Set specific and achievable goals
Make sure that the things you have included in your list are specific and achievable. Do not choose things that are difficult to learn because then you will have to push yourself to do them.
Choose things that are easy to do. Also, being specific will help you in saving your time, you will know what exactly you have to do.
Find Ways To Incorporate These Goals
Once you have shortlisted the self-care goals, decide where you can insert them into your routine and how. Some may be morning goals, some may be better to add to your night routine.
Find Ways To Stay Motivated
This is the most challenging part of goal setting, staying motivated! We may skip a day or two, it doesn’t matter. Remember that every day is a new day.
You can start even after skipping, do not stop! Look out for reasons, for example, if your goal is to wake up early and work out for hours, keep reminding yourself that you will look great and will be stronger than before.
Readjust Your Approach If Needed
The way you thought things would go may not always go the same way. Therefore, if you need to change your approach or readjust your self-care plan, go for it.
You can also try to do a self-care task at different intervals in a day to select the best time.
Track your Goals
Just making goals is not sufficient. You need to track them and see if you see an improvement. See what you can do in addition to getting the best out of your goals.
Reward Yourself
Biologically, when you reward yourself, your happy hormone, dopamine, increases. It can encourage you to do the task better and more often.
Want to have more happy hormones? Read 22 Activities That Make You Happy.
Layer Habits
Layering your habits is a way to perform your tasks better. For example, if you are going for a bath, add a morning skincare routine to it.
So every time you take bath, you will know that you have to do a five minutes skin care.
Take Help Of Others
Sharing your goals with other people can help you in a positive way. They can help you by suggesting, motivating, or tracking your performance.
If you are someone who finds it very hard to wake up early, tell your partner or your family to wake you up.
Daily Self-Care Goals Ideas
Exercise
What can be a better way to be your physical best self?
There are uncountable benefits of exercising and it is a must to be included in our lifestyle. It can be of any form. You can set a small goal of exercising 30 minutes a day.
Eating Healthy
Our physical health also greatly depends on what we eat. Choose your diet and include nutrients consciously.
Pray
If you are a spiritual person, praying can help you feel relaxed and happier. You can choose your own way of praying, do it atleast for a few minutes a day.
Enough Sleep
Sleeping enough is crucial in order to perform our best. Set up a routine. Want to know how you can sleep better? Read my blog on How To Sleep Better At Night.
Journal
Wondering how to start journaling? Read my blog here. Know that you can journal about anything you love. You will also find some journal prompts in my blog to start with.
Weekly Self-Care Goals Ideas
See your friends
Healthy relationships are essential for a happy life. Meeting your friends and loved ones once a week and sharing what’s going on in your life can help you lower your stress levels. It will also provide you with a sense of security.
Hobbies
You may not get time to indulge in your hobbies daily so you must make time for something you love, weekly.
Spend Time In Nature
Spending time in nature help you take care of mental health problem. It can be something as simple as taking a walk in the park. You can try out gardening or meditate in your backyard.
Self Date
Spending time with yourself can be a good thing for your mental health. It will also give you confidence and you will develop a better understanding of yourself. Want to know some self-date ideas? Read my blog on Fun and Refreshing Self Date Ideas.
Pamper Your Body
Wondering how you could spend a rejuvenating weekend? Here is a blog on Self Care Ideas For the weekend. Read it and take some self-care ideas.
Monthly Self-Care Goals Ideas
Unplug For Social Media
In today’s tech world, it has become very important to take offline breaks. Unplug from social media for a day or two and see how you feel. I felt free! Here is a blog on How To Stop Phone Addiction and Live Life Offline.
Take A Short Trip
A short trip will refresh you for the upcoming month. You can plan to visit somewhere near to your town or just your friends and relatives.
Do Something Creative
Doing something creative improves your intellectual health. Everyone must have a creative element in their life that can help them feel better. Indulging in a creative activity will keep your creative core alive.
Plan Your Upcoming Month
Planning can save a lot of time and energy. This is something you should do to make your upcoming month more productive. You can plan events, self-care days, finance, learning, and so on.
Journal
If you are someone who does not like writing daily or weekly, a monthly reflection can be a good idea for you. Write about how your month went, all the good and bad, and how you want the upcoming month to be.
Over To You
Self-care is an essential aspect of our overall well-being. It can make our lives easier and happier. These self-care goals and ideas are crucial and are in demand of our hectic lifestyles. So make time for yourself, acknowledge your needs, and start self-care!
