How to Include Self-Care Into a Busy Schedule

Self-care has become a hot topic in recent years, but how can you find time for it when you rarely have a moment to yourself? Between juggling personal responsibilities and professional commitments, many of us have limited flexibility in our schedules for some well-deserved me-time. However, as most of us know, the likes of relaxation and exercise often get bumped down to the bottom of our priority list when things get busy. That said, you can't give your all in other areas of your life without making room in your itinerary to enjoy some downtime. With this self-care guide, we're determined to prove that it's possible to squeeze in time to rest and recharge, even if you have a crammed schedule!

Be Realistic With Yourself

Before you start planning your self-care activities, it's essential to look at your schedule and decide what's realistic and achievable for you. If you're already overwhelmed by a hectic timetable, it's best to start small. It could be as simple as allocating ten or twenty minutes a day to yourself to take a quick walk or unwind with a meditation. Whatever it is that makes you feel good and gives you an escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life; it's worth ensuring you fit it into your itinerary. You can gradually increase this amount of time so long as you think it's feasible for you.

Set Aside Time in the Morning

We're all guilty of putting things off until later in the day, but more often than not, we never get around to anything that we view as less important. By squeezing in some self-care in the morning, such as exercising or reading, you'll start your day knowing you've already done a little something for yourself. Depending on what activity you choose, this might require you to wake up ten minutes earlier or over an hour before you ordinarily do. As such, you'll need to factor this into your bedtime and decipher what's a viable option for you.

Consider Your Self-Care Time When You're Planning Your Week

We see certain parts of the week as fixed or non-negotiable, and we need to view self-care in the same way. Ahead of each week, plan everything you have coming up, whether it's in your personal or professional life, and decide how you're going to fit in some time to yourself. If you make a roadmap for your week in advance, you're more likely to stick to your goals. Look at your self-care time as appointments or meetings that you can't miss, no matter how much or how little time you have.

Prioritize Your Sleep

When life gets chaotic, our sleep is sometimes one of the first things that suffers. It's an easy habit to fall into, but one that can seriously impact your well-being. In reality, getting sufficient sleep each night is a form of self-care in itself! If you're trying to allow for more me-time in your life but regularly get less than seven hours of sleep, upping your shut-eye should be the first step. Until you've gotten into a consistent sleeping pattern, you can't expect yourself to have the time or energy to implement a self-care routine. 

Be Mindful as You Eat

If you've fallen into a pattern of skipping breakfast or eating lunch at your desk, you can rest assured that you're not the only one! However, even though these are common occurrences among time-crunched individuals, it doesn't mean it's something you should be making a habit of. Your meals should be a time for you to be mindful and actually savor your food rather than eating solely out of necessity. It can be as simple as taking less than ten minutes to stop and appreciate a quick meal, which many of us don't do when we're preoccupied with work obligations and busy households.

Check In With Yourself

Can you remember the last time you asked yourself how you've been feeling? In many instances, we're so consumed with other areas of our lives that we don't think to check in with ourselves and consider our own emotions and thoughts. For some, this can take the form of a short journal entry each morning or evening, while for others, this may be something to reflect on during a daily walk. No matter how you choose to do so, it's paramount that you don't forget to tune into yourself for just a few minutes every day.

Create a Balanced, Easy-To-Follow Routine

The key to making self-care a focus in your life is crafting a routine that works around your lifestyle. Like any changes we want to bring about, it's going to be a challenge to make it work unless it can fit into the schedule we already have. For example, if exercising is something you like doing for yourself, hitting the gym before work is often the only way to fit it into your day. Similarly, those with young kids may prefer to pencil in their self-care practices after the little ones have been put to bed.

Show Yourself Some Compassion

While we typically see self-care as an activity of sorts, it can also manifest as kindness and consideration for ourselves. We don't always treat ourselves with the same level of compassion and respect as we do for others, yet doing so is central to our sense of self-esteem. Self-care is all about taking steps to better our overall health, but unless we value ourselves enough, we're not likely to make those changes. You might find repeating positive affirmations each morning works for you, or perhaps it's learning to establish your boundaries.

Even Those With Jam-Packed Schedules Need Time for Self-Care

As commonplace as it is to put your own needs on the back burner when things get hectic, we all need to indulge in a little self-care now and again. These easy-to-implement tactics allow even the busiest individuals to devote some of their time to prioritizing their well-being.