If I had to guess, you struggle to take care of your own body and personal self-care needs because you’re so busy caring for everybody else in your life.

Today, I’m going to give you really simple tips on how to care for yourself well while you’re still taking care of others.

You have a LOT on your plate, don’t you?

Your kids, spouse, your parents, your job, your business, the responsibilities you’re involved in - you feel like a full-time caregiver.

• Story about the Self Care Simplified Facebook group - “Self Care in general is my biggest struggle”
• Why is this such a struggle?
• Because you’re amazing - you love others
• You put their needs above your own
• But, your own body and your own needs are getting the leftovers.
• And when that goes on for too long, your body starts to fall apart and become really unhealthy.

Let’s Talk About Your Mindset about Self-Care:

Understand that you will be a more effective caregiver if you make sure your physical needs are taken care of as well.

• It’s not selfish
• “Nobody benefits when you’re running on empty - Nobody suffers when you take care of yourself.”
• Self-care is taking advantage of small moments in time right now, not waiting until you have large margins
• “Your capability does not always equal your capacity” - Grace fills the gap
• Self-care is not another chore - it’s a battery charger.
• Don’t treat it as one more thing on your to-do list. You need to think of this as your battery charger. Everything else drains your battery, while these things charge it up.

Four things that your body needs to be cared for well:

1) You need good, quality sleep

• When you’re exhausted and feel tapped out, it’s tempting to want to numb out in front of a screen instead of going to bed.
• Your sleep is so important. When you’re well rested, you have more energy, more mental clarity, and can make better, healthier decisions.

2) You need moments to de-stress

• I have 3-4 intentional moments each day: early morning, nap time, evening walk, nightime couch time
• Decide which activities feed your soul and rejuvenate you, and then do them daily and as often as possible

3) You need some form of physical activity everyday

• A consistent fitness routine can become very grounding and therapeutic, but it might not feel that way in the beginning, so start simple  ****
• Make sure you have a “bare minimum” plan for the toughest, most draining days:
• Go for a 10 minute walk, do a series of 3-5 stretches in the evening
• Create a routine for your average week, too. (Remember, this will become far more feasible when you’re sleeping better and intentionall de-stressing.)
• Strength training 2-3 days per week for 30 minutes, Do mobility/flexibility work

4) You need consistent, good nutrition all day long

• Aim to eat at least every 4 hours so you never get “overhungry”
• Drink water consistently throughout the day (drink a glass of water with every meal)
• Keep it simple and only focus on PRO’s - don’t try to think about anything more than that

Extra tips for making these small moments of self-care actually happen on a consistent basis

• Do it once. There is POWER in familiarity. The first time you do any self-care habit, it will feel challenging and awkward, but it’s all downhill from there and becomes significantly easier.
• Do it first. Especially with your fitness, try to get it done first before anything else. Then you can move on and attend to everyone else with more energy.
• Do it with intention. Put appointments on your calendar, reminders in your phone, and tell your family your plans (set expectations). Get your intentions out of your head and into real life.
• Do it small. Start with one small thing from each category and be as consistent with that small thing as possible - it will grow

You’re at a crossroads right now…

The people in your life that you’re taking care of right now are probably not going to go anywhere. So you have a decision to make:

• Option #1: Are you going to start recharging your own batteries and prioritizing your own physical needs as much as you prioritize others?
• Option #2: Or are you going to continue to give yourself the crumbs, pushing yourself to the backburner?
• What do you think will happen if you, by default, choose option #2?

Call to Action

Ok, to wrap up I always like to leave you with one simple action step that you can put into place TODAY - and that is actually going to be a Call to Action.

• I’m going to hold you accountable to this
• I want you to go to the Self Care Simplified FB group (or IG if you’re not on FB)
• Tell me what ONE SMALL THING you’re going to do to meet your self-care needs in each of the four categories: sleep, stress, activity, nutrition

More Resources & Links

Self Care Simplified Facebook Group: Join the conversation for FREE!

Episode 276. The Hidden Toll: Stress’s Silent Physical War on Women

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