Think about everything you do in a day. If I had to guess, most of your days look similar.
Doing the same things over and over can get boring or stressful. It’s even worse if we keep the same pattern if some of these activities aren’t healthy for us.
Every so often you might treat yourself to a day off of your routine. To make things easier, though, try to incorporate new healthy activities into each of your days. Doing self-care activities can lead to better habits for your well-being.
You won’t feel as bogged down always doing the same things if they’re good for you. Getting into a routine of self-care activities will help you stress less and better care for mental and physical health.
So where do you even start? It might take trial-and-error to figure out what kinds of activities improve your mood. We made it easy for you by making a list of 113 different self-care ideas that you can turn into healthy habits to transform your life. Some of these fit within multiple categories, so we picked the closest one to each.
Table of Contents
Get Moving
Exercise has so many health benefits. Other than it helping our physical health, it also helps our mental wellbeing.
When you think about exercising, you might just consider it for weight-loss reasons. But it’s so much more important than just maintaining a healthy weight. It also wards off diseases and conditions. Regular exercise can prevent and manage problems such as stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and heart disease according to the Mayo Clinic.
It’s also good for our brain as it improves cognitive function and mood. Exercise reduces stress, anxiety, and depression because it stimulates mood-boosting brain chemicals. It can also help self-confidence about appearance.
Because of these effects on physical and mental health, it gives you more energy and regulates sleep. This will help you have more motivation doing other activities that are on your to-do list and can improve self-care.
For some of you, the thought of exercising might sound more demotivating than exciting. Maybe you’ve tried it before and you felt miserable. Well, there are so many different kinds of movement that you can try to find one that works for you. It can be as simple as going for a walk or as intense as attending a fitness class.
Go for a walk or hike (without using your phone)
Ride a bike
Do yoga
Go for a run
Stretch
Lift weights
Do core exercises
Join the gym
Attend a fitness class
Dance
Technology Isn't Helping
It’s so easy to get lost on our phones checking notifications and scrolling through social media. We constantly pick up our phones and it might seem like we’re only on it for a few seconds at a time.
But this adds up. People spend an average of 153 minutes on social media per day. Assuming people start using the platforms when they’re ten, the current trend would mean people spend six years and eight months on social media.
And this is only for social media use. Now think about how much time you use technology to watch movies, do work, online shop, play video games, and anything else on some sort of device.
It’s easy to spend most of our day staring at a screen. Doing each of these things isn’t necessarily bad, but too much of it isn’t healthy. It can be addicting and wastes time that we could be spending on productive activities. Technology also interrupts time spent with others.
I’m not saying you should never use a technology device. This is almost impossible with how society is today. But limiting the time you spend on a device can help make you more productive and improve your mental health.
Social media is addictive because it stimulates dopamine. Thus, it can be hard to focus on tasks and find pleasure in our other activities. Taking a break helps us focus on productivity and removes online negativity from our daily life.
Rewarding yourself helps you do meaningful and necessary tasks while still getting to use technology later.
Unplug/turn off electronics
Limit social media use to 30 minutes per day
Reward yourself with social media at the end of the day after being productive
Only engage with positive and uplifting social media content
Unfollow/remove negative social media accounts
Delete social media altogether
Watch a favorite movie or episode of a TV show
Don’t use your phone or watch TV in bed
Put away the technology an hour before bed
Bring Out Your Inner Artist
I imagine after you read the headline for this section your first reaction was, “I’m not good at art.”
The point of art therapy isn’t if you’re good at it. It’s about the process - not the product - because it’s about self-expression. Although, experimenting with different techniques can help you find something you’re good at.
Making art gives you a feeling of accomplishment, especially if you do find that you’re artistically talented. It’s an emotional release to express your feelings, and it relieves stress and relaxes the mind and body. One study found that just 45 minutes of art significantly reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Draw
Paint
Doodle
DIY project
Color
Make a mood board collage
Write poetry
Five Letters: Relax
Finding relaxing activities has so many benefits, including:
Lowering heart rate and blood pressure
Maintaining normal blood sugar levels
Improving digestion
Relaxing muscles
Improving concentration and mood
Improving sleep and lowering fatigue
Relaxation techniques help you cope with, manage, and decrease stress. The ability to relax will take practice. The more you do these activities, the easier it will be to relax. It also helps you notice physical sensations of stress. This way, you can identify stressors as you notice the physical symptoms and then prevent these stressors from getting worse.
Meditate
Deep breathing
Listen to relaxing music
Make a positivity playlist
Cuddle with a pet (if you don’t have one, go to a pet store/petting zoo)
Light a candle/use essential oils
Watch the sunrise/sunset
Take a refreshing power nap
Sing
Go to bed and wake up early
Dedicate a day to catch up on sleep
Improve your posture
Eat The Right Stuff
What we eat impacts all aspects of our health. While you don’t need to constantly diet or restrict certain foods, it’s important to be mindful of what you put in your body.
Trying some of these tips will make you more conscious of how you nourish yourself. They also help you prioritize better eating to take care of your body.
Cook
Try a new recipe
Bake
Drink a glass of water
Get a coffee
Drink tea
Have a warm drink
Substitute unhealthy snacks for healthier options
Eat whole foods
Garden
Make fresh juice or a smoothie
Have a detox drink
Go grocery shopping
Meal prep in advance
Make a favorite meal
Make breakfast and sit down to eat it
Socialize with People
Humans are social beings. Face-to-face contact triggers the release of chemicals that regulate our response to stress and anxiety. Maintaining close friendships as we get older helps prevent mental decline. These friendships also lower the rate of future depression and anxiety.
Not only does being social support our emotional wellbeing, but it has a connection to physical health benefits. Social people tend to have better habits and healthy lifestyles. Researchers have even found that those who aren’t social have a 60% higher risk for prediabetes, which generally leads to diabetes.
Spend time with friends and family
Call a friend or family member
Volunteer
Send a card or letter
Say thank you/write a thank you note
Do something nice for someone
Keep Your Brain Stimulated
The long-term benefits of mentally stimulating activities are still in question. Some studies show that they can help prevent or delay dementia, but other researchers say that there’s no connection.
Regardless, these brain activities can still improve thinking skills which diminish with age. These include processing speed, planning abilities, reaction time, decision making, and short-term memory.
Do a jigsaw puzzle
Visit the library
Read a book
Play crossword puzzles or word searches
Learn an instrument
Write a story
Play a memory game
Play cards
Treat Yo-self
These activities can help with relaxation which I mentioned earlier.
But these also impact hygiene. Having good hygiene can reduce acne, dry skin, poor dental health, and diseases caused by accumulated bacteria.
Besides helping us relax and improving physical hygiene, these types of activities motivate us through the day. If we spend time getting ourselves ready, we’ll feel like our day has more purpose and we’ll have the motivation to be productive. Pampering gives us the energy that reduces stress and tiredness while also boosting self-esteem.
Go to the spa
Get a massage
Take a shower
Take a relaxing bath
Do a facial/face mask
Get a haircut
Brush your teeth
Spend more time getting yourself ready for the day
Keep Up On Your Chores
Do you ever feel overwhelmed to do anything because of how many chores you need to finish? Or maybe you’re so overwhelmed by how much there is to do that you can’t find the motivation to start.
The University of California found that those who said their house was messy had increased levels of cortisol. Decluttering and keeping up with household chores are healthy habits to reduce this stress hormone.
Make your bed
Get dressed for the day
Do the laundry/put laundry away
Clean your room/desk/workspace
Clean out your closet/dresser
Wash the dishes
Wake up to a clean room
Declutter
Organize small spaces
Stay Motivated
Motivation is necessary for allowing us to adapt, be productive, and maintain wellbeing. It’s especially important during change. This is what drives us to have a sense of purpose and experience personal growth.
Everyone gets their purpose and growth from different activities. But they first need to feel motivated to do those things. Here are some ideas that will help motivate you to do the activities that give you purpose.
Watch a motivational TedTalk or another video
Listen to a motivational podcast
Journal
Use a mental health app
Plan out your day/week
Make a list of short term and long term goals with ways to achieve them
Make a highs/lows list, or just a highs list if you notice that you always include too many lows
Create a vision board
Fill in your calendar
Write positive affirmations and things you love about yourself
Make a healthy habit tracking log
Try on your favorite outfits that make you confident
Create a bucket list
Read inspirational quotes
Write a letter to your future self
Watch a how-to video on something you’ve wanted to try
Switch Things Up
Routines and schedules are beneficial since they keep us on track. They can also prevent stress since we know what to expect for our day. But like I already mentioned, always doing the same thing can get boring and we start to lose motivation.
Switching things up allows people to learn new skills, gain new perspectives, try new things, and break out of the monotony of routine. Doing new activities makes people more open to change and different possibilities. It also stimulates people both emotionally and physically.
Open your curtains or a window
Rearrange a room
Take a day off
Say no to (unhealthy) things that you feel pressured to do but don’t enjoy
Say yes to (healthy) things you want to do but have been too nervous to try
Buy or pick flowers
Do something spontaneous
Try something off your bucket list
Go to a favorite place
Do something new (from any of these lists)
Plan and take a vacation
Drive a new route home
Conclusion
If you’re finding it hard to motivate yourself to be productive or struggle to enjoy your daily routine, you may need to try new self-care ideas.
Doing activities that promote physical and mental wellbeing is necessary. When our days consist of habits that don’t promote this, we need to change our routines. Finding new ways to improve our health will enable us to be more productive, have more motivation, and continue to better take care of ourselves.
