How to Maintain a Self-Care Routine When You're Always Busy

Forget milkshake duck — ‘self-care’ was definitely millennials’ word of choice in 2017. We’ve all heard the phrase at some point, but the mainstream media seems to have boiled it down to taking long bubble baths and spending all your hard-earned coin on expensive skincare.

How to Maintain a Self-Care Routine When You’re Always Busy

In reality, self-care is a practice undertaken at intervals of your choice that essentially lets you rest, recuperate and bring yourself back to equilibrium, whatever that practice might be. No matter whether you’ve got hours on end to yourself or struggle to find 10 minutes in the day, a self-care routine is totally accessible — it might just require a few little tweaks if you’re an on-the-go, hard working kind of gal.

Keep on reading to discover a few top tips for maintaining a solid self-care routine when you’re always busy.

1. Set out a time and day every week

Self-care routine letterboard quote

Ever heard of Self-Care Sundays? We’re all about ’em, as are a whole heap of successful, balanced people. Although it doesn’t have to be an entire day, or Sundays for that matter, setting aside a specific time and day each week for your self-care routine is vital. This gives you something to look forward to or be motivated by, plus it takes your busy life into account.

Whether you’ve got two minutes or an hour to spare, adding a little me-time into the week is incredibly important. Use it as a time to reflect and mentally recharge whilst accomplishing an activity that relates to body, skin or hair care. If you struggle with maintaining routines and regimens,

Here are a few tried-and-tested ideas for things to do during your self-care time:

Lie on your bed and take deep, controlled breaths with your hand on your diaphragm. Prepare by lighting the ECOYA Sweet Pea and Jasmine Madison Jar Candle (a particularly soothing, sweet yet subtle scent) and dabbing pressure points with The Goodnight Co Sleep Roll On Pure Essential Oil. Enriched with lavender and coconut, this will help you enter a calm state. Max time: 30 minutes.

Run yourself a warm bath and throw in the AHAVA Natural Dead Sea Bath Salts to smooth and soften the skin. When you’re done, apply the KORA Organics Enriched Body Lotion all over your body, focusing on dry areas or spots that need a little more TLC. Max time: 1 hour.

Work through that complete, multi-step skincare routine that you only sometimes bother with. Start off with a cleanser and toner or mist, then applying a face mask. There are so many options to choose from, but our current faves include the Lonvitalite 24K Gold and Collagen Eye Masks for a little love under the eyes, or the Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Face Masque to draw out impurities. Max time: 45 minutes.

2. Replace panic with pampering

Self-care routine Philosophy Cinnamon Buns Bath and Shower Gel

I’ve learned two really important things in the process of developing my self-care routine, the first being that length of time has very little bearing on how effective you can ‘balance yourself’ back out. The second is that panic in your day-to-day life is totally manageable, no matter how helpless you may seem when you’re in the middle of it. Next time you feel yourself starting to freak out — whether that be because of work, home stress or something else entirely — try taking a few minutes for yourself.

Instead of riding your freak-out wave, take some deep breaths and momentarily put your mind to something else. There are so many things you can use as a distraction, but if you’re a regular beauty junkie like me, these options are killer.

2 minutes: Apply a little of a nourishing hand cream with a gorgeous scent, rubbing your hands together and focusing on the feeling of it soaking in. We love the MOR Marshmallow Hand Cream ’cause it smells delicious.

15 minutes: Step into a warm shower and let the water clear your mind. Use your favourite body wash or soap — our go-to is the Philosophy Cinnamon Buns Bath & Shower Gel, as cinnamon warms the body. Wash your hair with your favourite shampoo, and apply a mask or conditioner such as the evo The Great Hydrator Moisture Mask.

30 minutes: Give your nails some special care if you’ve got a whole half-hour to spare. After all, with wet fingernails, you can’t reach for your phone, meaning a momentary social media detox (trust me, they’re far more beneficial than it may sound). Start off with a base coat like the NailsInc 2-in-1 Base and Top Coat, then reaching for your favourite shade. Pro tip: pick a blue, green or something subtle to encourage calmness, or a bright shade to help you feel a little happier.

3. Switch your self-care routine up

Self-care routine letterboard quote self-care isn't selfish

Of course, your self-care routine shouldn’t consist just of beauty practices. From keeping a daily gratitude journal to dancing ’round the room to your favourite songs, anything that takes time for yourself is self-care. We know you’re busy, so don’t pack each week full of different practices — simply try one and see how it works for you. Simply make sure you’re prioritising yourself at least once a week to keep sane and fully balanced.

Here are a few more ideas, both beauty and non-beauty. that should help get the energy flowing back through you:

Meditate
Sit down and colour
Do a full-body scrub
Start your favourite book again
Make a playlist that’ll put you in a positive mood
Practice new makeup techniques
Clean a little corner of your room
Chat to a friend on the phone
Go for a leisurely walk
Organise something you’ve wanted to do for ages
Make a cup of tea or coffee and relax with it
Take a power nap

What does your self-care routine look like? Let us know how you take time for yourself over on Facebook or Twitter.

Amanda

Beauty Editor

A coffee addicted, YouTube obsessed Libran, I absolutely live and breathe all things beauty! I love to try new products and find myself switching things up regularly, as I continue on my ultimate quest to find the perfect flawless base and skin-care regime.

How to Maintain a Self-Care Routine When You’re Always Busy

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