It’s the start of September and the kids are back in school. So hopefully you’re also getting back into a more “normal” routine after the summer. Now is the time to get back on track with your wellbeing and self-care if you have let things go.

While the summer holidays are on we tend to let go of our usual routine. That will normally include time we have for ourselves. Gaining some time for ourselves again will be an important first step.

Remember we are holistic beings. We need to make sure that our self-care takes care of entire well-being. So make sure you try to cover your emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual health. Otherwise you will feel off balance. Let’s look at some steps we can take to get things back on track.

Step 1 Reflection

Start by reflecting on what helped you feel more balanced before. By doing this you can review what went wrong before and learn so you are more likely to succeed going forward. Remember awareness is always our first step to changing anything but don’t get hung up on having to have everything perfect either. More on that in a minute.

Get out some paper and answer some of these questions to get things going.

1. What did you include in your self-care habits?
2. What cues helped you maintain these habits?
3. What distractions or trips did you eliminate to help you?
4. Why did you stop the habit in the first place? What went wrong for you? There is always something we can learn here that can help us to retry. You can find out more about the common reasons we stop or fail with goals and habits here.

Don’t’ forget to create your WHY. Your why will give you your metal boost to keep going. This is vital as your why will keep you motivated as well when you hit a motivational block, like the 3 day hump, etc. I discuss this in more detail in my book The Building Blocks Of Self-Care.

What is your why? This new habit is not a one off event but rather a new piece to add to your lifestyle.

1. Why are you doing it?
2. Why do you want this new habit or change to exist?
3. Will this habit fit into your lifestyle?

Step 2 Quit Trying To Be Perfect.

Quit trying to be perfect and accept where you are right now. You’ll get back on track sooner if you stop wasting time berating yourself. Mentally and emotionally beating your self up will only lead to comparison traps, procrastination or perfectionist paralyses. You won’t get anything done. Stop right now and take one small actionable self-care step instead. See list below.

If you feel the perfectionism, procrastination, negative thinking, etc., creeping in then use the acronym STOP to help.

1. Stop what you are doing.
2. Take a few deep breaths, preferably with longer out breaths.
3. Observe what is going on right now. How do you feel – emotionally and physically? What are you thinking? Did something trigger you? What’s really preventing you from continuing? Once you get this down on paper review and take the next step.
4. Proceed proactively. In other words what is the one small actionable step that you can take that will be to your benefit? Now do it. Get up and get moving on that task.

Step 3 Brainstorm Some Ideas That Fit Into Your Lifestyle.

Get back to basics and create your collapse point. You can always build from there. Your collapse point is the bare minimum you will do for your self-care and well-being each week. So I would suggest that includes making sleep a priority, watching your sugar and caffeine consumption and taking some form of exercise.

Remember it’s not a race and there’s no one you need compare yourself to. I’ve listed some ideas that you might use below but there are many others you can try. For more ideas on a basic self-care list and 6 healthy habits lists click the links.

Some Simple Ideas To Reintroduce Self-Care Into Your Routine.

Try simple ways to re-introduce some self-care practices that fit your lifestyle. If any habit doesn’t fit into your lifestyle or if it goes against your values then you’ll only sabotage yourself. So again think small actionable steps being introduced one at a time to succeed.

1. Introduce eating one healthy meal into your day.
2. Engage in some form of exercise. A simple 10 to 20 minute walk during your lunch break will help.
3. Drink water. Swap one cup of tea or coffee for one glass of water.
4. Practice good sleep hygiene. I give you 11 tips that will help you with this. But review your sleep environment first and foremost. Is it conducive to a good night’s sleep?
5. Put your feet up and have a cup of tea.
6. Sit in the sunlight. Even on rainy days pick the biggest window you have or close to a glass door and just sit for a few minutes to soak up the extra light.
7. Take a bath instead of your usual shower. Use this time to relax and distress after your day.
8. Disconnect from technology after dinner each night or at least for an hour before bedtime. You’ll sleep better as a result.
9. Start using a journal each night. Complete a quick brain dump and get everything out of your head before you sleep. Again it will help with your sleep as well as your mental and emotional health.

Work With Me.

We all struggle with setting boundaries from time to time. It is important to realize that creating healthy boundaries is an act of self-love and self-empowerment. If you find this has become a problem for you and you’d like some support then schedule an appointment with me.