Storytime: the idea of “self-care” used to stress me out. I already had a massive to-do list, and now people were telling me I need to add tasks such as “do a face mask”, “take a bath”, etc. on top of everything else, otherwise I’m not apparently not taking care of myself or making myself a priority. The whole thing felt extremely counter-productive, and in my mind, “self-care” was this big production of an event. You want me to take care of myself by adding more to my plate? No thanks.

But one day, I decided to set a goal: “I’m going to do one small thing each day in the name of self-care.” This goal helped me see that self-care can take two forms: doing something extra or doing something with intention.

Though my goal was written as above, I initially treated this as “I’m going to add one small extra thing each day as my self-care.” For example, I’d decide to paint my nails a little more frequently, or I’d clean my bathroom every week instead of every other week. These did, indeed, make me feel good, and I am glad I did it!

Sometimes, it is nice to invest a little extra in ourselves.

But over time my approach shifted from “I’m going to add one small extra thing each day as my self-care” to “I’m going to make sure at least one task per day was done with the intention of self-care”. For example, before completing my boring run-of-the-mill activity of brushing my teeth, I’d pause and remind myself that I brush my teeth as a form of self-care. This approach helped me see how much I do every day that actually is self-care, I just simply hadn’t been giving myself enough credit for it.

This process taught me that self-care is much more than adding a face mask to my to-do list. If you need some ideas, here is a list of tasks I did either as an “extra” or as an “intention”:

Extra:

• Cleaning more frequently

• Getting more frequent massages

• Taking a class

• Re-organizing my closet

• Getting my hair cut every 8 weeks instead of every 12

• Cooking 4 days per week instead of 2

Intention:

• Doing the dishes

• Picking a healthy meal at a restaurant instead of an unhealthy

• Scheduling an annual physical

• Showing up at regular events that fill my cup (church, coaching, networking events, etc.)

• Getting an oil change

• Putting money into a savings account

• Getting coffee with a friend

• Watching a favorite TV show after work

What small things can you do to add more self-care to your day-to-day?