Do you ever wonder how you can start to prioritize your own mental health through a single self care day? The answer, for me, has come by incorporating self care Sundays into my regular weekly routine.
I always used to think self care was spending crazy amounts of money on spa days, mani-pedis, and massages. But lately I have been intentionally focusing on taking care of myself at least one day a week. It can be so hard to put our own mental health as a priority for women, and especially moms, we just naturally want to take care of everyone else first.
However, it is imperative to ensure we can continue to care for others, by also filling our own cup every now and then.
Self Care Sunday
I have been doing this on Sundays since I started following FlyLady, and she encourages her readers to do one thing each Sunday to take care of yourself. Sometimes (ok, most times) when life gets crazy in the day to day madness of Monday through Friday, I forget to spend a little down time on myself.
But if you go too long without recharging your batteries you will start to resemble a walking zombie. At least I know this was the case for me. So the answer became choosing one day (for me it’s Sunday) and really focusing on myself on that one day.
Benefits of self care
The benefits of doing this weekly really shine once you start doing it regularly. Here are some benefits of taking one day for yourself, even if it is just one thing:
- more energy come Monday morning
- boosts your immune system
- improves your patience level
- better able to take care of your family and other commitments
- gives you resilience when life goes astray
- fills your own cup so you can pour into the lives of those around you
How to take care of yourself emotionally
The number one way I like to take care of myself emotionally is through journaling. Do you ever find yourself so overwhelmed by everything you are trying to keep straight in your head? I know for myself if I don’t spend at least one day a week getting it all out of my head and onto paper, I can’t focus on anything. Please tell me it isn’t just me!
So, find some time to sit quietly with just a steaming hot beverage, a journal and your own thoughts. It doesn’t have to be a pretty bullet journal, just write. Although I do love how the dot pages in my #bujo allow my brain to think a little less linear and just brain dump! But any old lined notebook will work great for this exercise.
One of my favorite quotes is that our minds are for having ideas, not holding them! Just remember this when you find that you are trying to keep too many things in your head. When you do this you are using all your brain power to simply hold the ideas and you will not be able to be creative when you want, or need, to. And as I have written about before, mom brain is a real thing!
How to take care of yourself mentally
I don’t know about you, but I know that I can find myself in a rut all too often. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my routines! However, if I want to stimulate my mind I need to jump off the crazy hamster wheel of life and mix things up a bit. How do you take care of yourself mentally?
Even if it is as simple as a quick Word with Friends game in the evenings, I like to ensure that I am nurturing my brain power each day. On my self care Sunday routine, I find that going to church feeds not only my soul but my mind as well. Find something for yourself that you can do each Sunday to learn something new.
Put down the magazine and romance novel! Turn off social media and Netflix! And instead fill your mind with something motivating and inspiring. If you want to learn more about building habits and possible creating a daily self care routine, then I highly recommend the book: “The How and Wow of Habits” by Carrie Willard. You can check out my full review here and see if this is a book that will help you as much as it helped me with building daily habits.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, I highly suggest you schedule some time into your week to focus on yourself. I have chosen Sundays as they are naturally less busy for me. If you are a stay at home mom with kids all at school age and Monday mornings are your quiet time when the kids and hubby are finally gone for the day….then maybe Monday morning is your time.
Do you work full time and find that by Friday night you are completely spent? Then try to schedule some down time on Friday evenings and swap the hot beverage for an adult beverage while you are journaling! But be sure to schedule the time or you won’t do it. Just trust me on this!
It can be so easy to mentally check out and dive in to the endless scroll of social media. But I find that I am more energized and more mentally sharp if instead I dive into a good book. Then I do my “brain dump” and get it all out on paper. Use a bullet journal, or a spiral notebook, or print out my free printable here.Whatever you use isn’t important. What is important is that you do this exercise regularly.
So make the time momma. Spend some time this weekend recharging your own batteries with your own Self Care Sunday. I would be willing to bet that you will be better able to tackle the madness that is Monday when you start doing this regularly!