It’s safe to say, it’s been a challenging year for everyone. The beginning of a new year is often laden with expectations and 2021 was no different. So, if you’re feeling the need for a pick-me-up, you are not alone. Self-care is an essential priority. It’s important to keep up the good habits you worked on in 2020 and continue to take better care of yourself.
Self-care isn’t just about positive thinking or daily mantras. Instead, it’s about intentionally cultivating habits and behaviours that improve your mental health, to help you cope better with stress or anxiety. By making self-care a priority, you can weave it into your daily routine until it becomes a part of your life, as it should be!
Here is our list of 5 self-care tips to help you take better care of yourself in 2021.
1. Give yourself time to relax
By relax, we don’t just mean sleep. Although sleep is important, and you should try to get at least seven hours a night. This will make sure not only that you’re firing on all cylinders for work, but with your mood and attention span at their peak. Which just makes things easier all round, right?
However, relaxing is also an essential self-care tool. Sometimes we need to turn off our brain in order to recharge. A relaxation or meditation app is great for this. Why not try some simple breathing exercises? Or try to work a few minutes of meditation into your daily routine.
Women’s Health Mag gives their list of the best meditation apps here.
2. Read something escapist
A good book can make you forget your surroundings and transport you to another reality. And I think we could all do with a little escapism right now, couldn’t we?
With many of us holed-up at home, the practise of burying our noses in a book is an easy way feel restored. Books are powerful self-care allies that offer comfort and some much needed distraction.
Check out HuffPost’s guide to the best escapist books to read during quarantine, according to Goodreads.
Our favourite? A trip back to 1940s New York and the world of theatre in Vivian Morris’ “City of Girls.”
“Books and doors are the same thing. You open them, and you go through into another world.”
~Jeanette Winterson
3. Power up your morning
We all know that a balanced breakfast is key for setting the tone of your day and smashing that to-do list. Kicking off with the right nutrients gives us the energy to face the day’s tasks with a positive outlook. Green smoothies are a great self-care way to get your five a day and power up your morning.
However, the thing about green smoothies is… they don’t always taste great. They may be packed full of the good stuff but who hasn’t had one that was bitter as poison / distinctly ‘earthy’ / basically tasted of weak apple?
Never fear, we are here to save you from smoothie fails! Or rather, Jen from simplegreensmoothies.com is. This Pina Colada green smoothie is rich in vitamin C and in flavour. Enjoy while imagining you’re sitting on the beach.
4. Tune into your body
Whether this is a breathing exercise, a brisk walk or an intense HIIT workout, tuning into your body will help you understand what you need from your self-care. If you’re looking for something new, you might want to try the new craze of cold water swimming.
According to this article by team Zoella, this new trend has both physical and mental health benefits. It’s great for your circulation, and it helps to stimulate your immune system.
Furthermore, the cold water stops stress in its tracks as your brain focusses on the cold and you don’t think about anything else!
“Water, particularly the sea, has a way of reminding us that we’re all part of something bigger than us.”
5. Treat yourself
A little indulgence goes a long way. It could be an extra piece of chocolate, an extra hour in bed or a scroll through the wish-list of your favourite online store. Self-care is also about allowing yourself a treat when you need it.
Of course, for some of us right now, treating ourselves comes in the form of online shopping. There’s something so satisfying about that ‘add to cart’ click.
As long as you’re staying within budget, a little impulse buy is well worth the dopamine released by your brain (and the accessory you can flaunt when you do leave the house!)
Our new colour Caramel for Spring-Summer 2021 is crafted as a feel-good colour, full of positive summer mementos. The alluring caramel shade brings to mind sweet treats; dark beige evokes wet sand; blue and red conjure up the brilliant colours of a summer sunset. Explore the collection here.
