15 Minimum Effort Self Care Tips For A Busy Day

1. Unplug from social media for an hour by putting your phone on airplane mode. Whether this is after work, or during your lunch hour, or an hour before going to bed. Give your brain a break from the constant buzz of the world.

2. Pause and take three deep, long, breaths at any given point of the day. Doing this daily will help reduce and manage stress.

3. If you feel like you are getting overwhelmed, disengage for a few minutes, find a window and watch the sky. Empty the thoughts from your head as you are doing this.

4. Keep around some lavender or peppermint in your bag to smell when you’re feeling low. Both these herbs have soothing properties and are good mental health

5. Really focus on one thing you do everyday that you’re so used to, you never pay attention at all. Like your breakfast routine or your morning routine or your after work routine. This small change will wake your brain up for the day.

6. Stretch twice a day, especially if you have been sitting still for a long period of time. You can do this within 2 minutes by rotating your shoulders, your neck, your feet, your wrists.

7. In the morning before you leave home for work, look into the mirror and give yourself a positive affirmation. “You are strong and can do anything.”, “You are talented and can solve any problem” – are some good examples.

8. Skin to skin contact is self soothing and a quick session of simply rubbing your arm or moisturizing your hands and arms can make all the difference in the world, not just to your skin, but to your mental health.

9. Plan something small and fun inside your head for later. Whether it’s a self date, looking forward to a good book, a fun sitcom, a football game, a podcast you’ve wanted to listen to – give yourself something to look forward to.

10. Compliment someone else sincerely. Doing a kind thing for someone else is a good way of spreading positive energy and feeling that positive feedback returned to you immediately uplifts you emotionally.

11. Create a new small daily habit. Whether it is the way you lay your pencils so they’re easy to access, whether it is the cup of tea you make before you work, or simply changing from work to comfy clothes. Habits build motivation and happiness in the areas you bring them to. They help put you in a certain mind frame.

12. Laugh. Take a few minutes to watch a funny Youtube video which always makes you laugh when you are commuting to work by public transport, or walking, or even take five minutes during lunch to cheer yourself up. If you don’t have five minutes to spare, save some comic book panels on your phone to read and laugh about.

13. Listen to white noise or nature sounds as you work. Not only does this help in concentration, it soothes one whilst working.

14. Keep a bottle of water at your desk or in your bag to ensure you’re hydrating all day. I usually set an alarm on my phone for every two hours to remind myself to hydrate. If you would prefer an app, Hydro coach is really good for reminders.

15. Do a two minute meditation where you focus only on your breathing. This will empty your thoughts and provide you with a clean headspace when you go back to your task at hand.