70 of My Favorite Ways to Take Care of Myself

Thursday, October 24, 2019


I've been thinking a lot about the ways I take care of myself: not "self-care" in the trendy "treat yo'self" sense of the term that it seems to have become, but in the true "What do I need in order to be the healthiest version of myself?" kind of way. 

There's nothing I love quite as much as a good list, so I recently started keeping track of them all... & thought I'd share them hear with you.
  1. Take a really hot shower... & sit down in it!
  2. Do a clay face mask. I like this one from Revive, a Cleveland-based company.
  3. Lose myself in a good book
  4. Buy a plant. I'm partial to small succulents.
  5. Put a cold towel on my face.
  6. Put a heating pad on my back.
  7. Go for a ride at Harness Cycle (Psst: I've got a code for a free class, if you wanna join me!)
  8. Write in my journal
  9. Write a blog post
  10. Write letters to friends & other loved ones 
  11. Write an essay to submit to a website for publication
  12. Do an infrared sauna session, like the one I recently tried at j. bellezza. Sooo relaxing.
  13. Work on my bullet journal
  14. Turn on my favorite old emo music, like Jimmy Eat World, Armor for Sleep, & Brandtson
  15. Burrow beneath a lot of cozy blankets
  16. Use my favorite weird massage tool, the Body Buddy
  17. Take my vitamins & supplements
  18. Have a home dance party to pop jams from Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, etc.
  19. Make plans with a friend
  20. Pull a affirmation card from my deck of Self-Love Affirmation Cards
  21. Cancel plans
  22. Turn on a familiar old TV show or movie, like an old episode of Grey's Anatomy or one of the Harry Potter films
  23. Kiss my husband
  24. Cut up old magazines to put together collages
  25. Use the weird massage tool that helps me hit all the spots I can't otherwise reach on my own
  26. Do yoga using a Yoga with Adriene video 
  27. Wash my hair - because sometimes the dry shampoo weighs down my soul, man
  28. Make a cup of Bengal Spice Tea in a mug I like
  29. Lie on the floor & put my legs up the wall for a few minutes
  30. Get a cupping treatment (Here's a recap of my first time doing it.)
  31. Do a social media following purge
  32. Clean up & rearrange my desk/office space
  33. Go on a little solo adventure, even if it's just over to Lakewood or the Van Aken District
  34. Buy myself flowers
  35. Wander around the local library
  36. Go to bed early
  37. Sleep in late
  38. Take a nap
  39. Cry
  40. Eat something healthy (yogurt with fruit, something with Brussels sprouts)
  41. Eat something unhealthy (mac & cheese, pizza, a donut)
  42. Get myself near open water, like at the river or Edgewater Park
  43. Turn on the Newsies soundtrack. The movie one, not the Broadway one! 
  44. Organize my bookshelf in color order
  45. Start thinking about or planning my next or trip
  46. Call my mom
  47. Clean something - vacuum, pick up clutter, do the dishes, etc.
  48. Catch up on reading my favorite blogs & websites
  49. Write lists. Is that weird?! I love Moorea Seal's The 52 Lists Project & 52 Lists for Happiness, along with 99 Things That Bring Me Joy.
  50. Take a wander around Target
  51. Drink a glass of water - because sometimes when I feel terrible, I'm actually just dehydrated
  52. Text a friend
  53. Get a cup of coffee from one of my favorite shops or from a new-to-me one, striking up a quick chat with the baristas
  54. Take a mental health day from work
  55. Tweeze my eyebrows
  56. Run an errand, schedule an appointment I've long been putting off, or check something else off my to-do list
  57. Scream into a pillow
  58. Take some CBD
  59. Buy a gift for someone I love
  60. Pet my cats and/or convince them to cuddle with me
  61. Pet cats and/or convince them to cuddle with me at affoGATO Cat Cafe.
  62. Sit in peace & quiet for a couple moments
  63. Listen to a comedy album or watch stand-up on Netflix
  64. Make a list of things I'm grateful for 
  65. Look through Goodreads for books I want to read
  66. Take a bath with Epsom salts
  67. Take a walk around my neighborhood
  68. Go grocery shopping (with a recipe or two in hand to get me enthused)
  69. Light a soy candle that smells soothing or otherwise nostalgic to me in some way
  70. Say a couple of words to the universe/a God I am not sure I believe in/my loved ones who have passed, asking for strength or just getting things off my chest & looking forward
What are your favorite ways to take care of yourself? Anything I'm missing?

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