30 day self care challenge

I’m sure you all know how important it is to take care of yourself, as well as those around you. Self care is one of the best ways to focus on you and helps you to feel good about yourself. Self care can be as simple as trying a new mascara, or writing down what made you feel good that day. To get you started I created a 30 day self care challenge to give you some ideas over a 30 day period. Take each day as it comes and see how it makes you feel.

Day 1- Start a daily gratitude journal

Head over to my recent post on tips on how to start a daily gratitude journal. By recognising the good parts of every day you’ll gradually be able to see past the negative and feel more positive about life.

Day 2- Catching up with an old friend is a self care challenge essential

They say it’s good to talk for a reason. By catching up with an old friend you’ll be able to unload any worries, and feel happier that you’ve seen someone you love spending time with.

Day 3- Stay off social media for a whole day

It’s easy to get wrapped up in social media spending hours trawling through updates from other peoples lives. Whilst it’s great to see what your friends and family are up to, increased exposure can lead to feeling of depression and anxiety. Do you often see images of people having fun on holiday or in relationships and think your life is rubbish in comparison? Remember people rarely post the negative aspects of their life online and could be facing internal struggles you can’t see. It’s not all as positive as they may make out. The best way to take practice self care is to take time away from social media. You can try it for the self care challenge and then try to do it every month if you find it helps boost your mood.

Day 4- Download the Calm app

The Calm app gives you access to sleep stories, meditation courses and relaxing music. Members state the Calm app really helps them reduce their anxiety and stress levels over time. The app costs £2.42 per month but you can see if it’s right for you in their 7 day free trial.

Day 5- Listen to your favourite music

When you listen to your favourite music do you feel happier as you listen singing along to the lyrics? It’s been found listening to your favourite music can help boost your mood and reduce depression. It can even lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and reduce pain.

Day 6- Go for a brisk 15 minute walk

Walking by yourself gives you time to think and reflect on your life. If your daily life is very busy this is the perfect time to focus on yourself and enjoy the peace and quiet. You could even take photos of the changing landscape as the seasons pass.

Day 7- Discovering the importance of meditation is fundamental to the self care challenge

Meditation is great as it can help you maintain a sense of calm and peace in your life. As you meditate you focus your attention in one place which can help to eliminate the stresses in your life. Regular meditation is a great way of self care as it can reduce stress levels, anxiety and help you to reduce negative emotions. You can use the Calm app to get you started or check out the free advice online.

Day 8- Listen to a new podcast

There are so many podcasts these days on a huge variety of topics. Podcasts are a great way of learning something new or discovering new facts. Unlike books you can learn something new without having to directly focus on the material, for example you can drive at the same time as listening. Podcasts are really useful if you don’t have a lot of time to yourself, so you can still enjoy yourself whilst having to go to work or take the kids to school.

Day 9- Try a new recipe

There’s nothing better then food and discovering a new recipe that you grow to love. Home cooked food always tastes the best and you know exactly what’s going in it. A healthy diet means a healthy mind and body. Why not try something new over at allrecipes.com.

Day 10- Spend as long as you can in the bath

Make the water as hot as possible, put some invigorating bath soak in and relax the time away. You could read a book, listen to a podcast (two for one self care) or just lie there and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Day 11- Try some new makeup

Ever wanted to try a new look? Why not buy that lipstick or eyeshadow you’ve had your eye on and spend half an hour making yourself look beautiful. Trying out a new look is great self care as you’re spending time on yourself and you’ll look great at the end.

Day 12- Declutter something

Did you know clutter can actually have a negative effect on your mental health? It sounds daft but when you struggle to find room in the cupboard for your shoes as it’s full of rubbish, or the freezer is full of lots of half empty bags of food (or ice) it can be incredibly frustrating. Whether it’s a drawer or the cupboard, when you finally declutter something you feel a real sense of achievement. You’ll find it really easy to put things away and you’ll be so much happier going into that cupboard or drawer knowing you won’t struggle for room.

Day 13- Practice deep breathing

Oxygen is vital for our mind and body to function. When you’re worried or stressed your muscles start to constrict and your breathing may become shallow. To counteract that take a long deep breath through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. Repeat this around 10 times and you will help to bring extra oxygen to your brain, and you will find your muscles and mind should start to relax.

Day 14- Treat yourself to something new

Whether it’s a new book or a top a little bit of retail therapy is great boost for the mind. Shopping gives you a sense of control over your life which is something you may feel is missing as you can’t control what happens at work or the people around you. So by choosing to buy something that you love – no matter how small- you’re focusing on you and what you enjoy.

Day 15- Go to bed 30 minutes earlier

We’re often set in our ways when it comes to bedtime- I know I am. However some times it feels good to go to bed 30 minutes earlier then normal. You could read for a little bit and go to sleep earlier then normal meaning you wake up feeling more energised the next day.

Day 16- Do a reverse bucket list

I’m sure you’ve all heard of a bucket list- but what about a reverse bucket list? With a reverse bucket list you write down everything you’ve already achieved in your life, whether that’s getting a degree or going to somewhere you’ve always dreamed of going. It gives you a great sense of achievement knowing how far you’ve come.

Day 17- Make your favourite meal

Plan ahead in the week and set aside a day in which you make your favourite meal. When I know I’m getting to eat something I really enjoy, it really increases my happiness as food is definitely something I look forward to.

Day 18- Write down a list of everywhere you want to go

By planning ahead and writing down some of the places you’ve always wanted to go to, you’ve got something to focus on and look forward to. Until you write it down, that trip to New York or Las Vegas is just an idea that can easily be forgotten. Why not go even further and propose dates you’d like to go to these places.

Day 19- Have a game night

Getting your friends and family around for a game night is one of my favourite parts of the 30 day self care challenge. As you have fun interacting with your friends and family, laughing and enjoying yourself, you will relax and your stress levels will drop. Energetic games will tire you out and help you to sleep easier as well.

Day 20- Wake up 30 minutes earlier

Getting up 30 minutes earlier is great for self care as you have more time to focus on being productive and getting your daily tasks done. Once your tasks are complete you have more time to spend on you and what you want to do.

Day 21- Watch your favourite show

Whether you enjoy comedies or dramas, spending time watching your favourite show is a great way to relax and focus on you. For at least 30 minutes you can slip out of the real world and live life through the characters.

Day 22- Do a hair mask

One of my favourite ways to pamper myself is with a hair mask. There’s so many lovely hair masks available now that will help restore dry, tired locks. After the hair mask your hair will feel more vibrant and alive which will make you feel happy on the inside.

Day 23- Read inspirational quotes to boost your mind

Reading inspirational quotes is an amazing way of inciting wisdom and positivity in yourself. It can help you feel more creative and inspired to make a change in your own life.

Day 24- Create a vision board for your life

One way to imagine where you want to be in life is to create a vision board. Cut out images from magazines of things you want to own or have in your life. For example a nice three bedroom house with a garden, a brand new car and three children. You don’t have to put a time limit on it, so every time you feel down you can look at your vision board and know what you will achieve in your life.

Day 25- Spend the day outside

Being at one with nature makes you feel free and more alive. Spending time outdoors can help lower stress levels and your blood pressure. You could spend a hour doing some gardening, going on a hike, doing some nature watching at your local park or even getting that adrenaline flowing at places like Go Ape.

Day 26- Try a free online workout

Exercise is one of the best ways of increasing the levels dopamine on your brain. Dopamine is the happy hormone and that’s why you feel so great after a workout. Feeling good about yourself is one of the most important principles of self care. Check out YouTube for lots of free online workout classes.

Day 27- Write down a list of five things you love about yourself

If you’ve already started your gratitude journal (see point one), this is a great place to put the things you love about yourself. We are often our own worst enemies and are quick to put ourselves down. By writing down five things you love about yourself you can focus on these daily and over time stop criticising the things you don’t love.

Day 28- Watch the sunset

I find watching the sunset so very peaceful and serene. Watching the sky explode into a rainbow of different colours is something you can really get lost in.

Day 29- Practice yoga

Yoga is great for self care as it has both physical and mental benefits. With moves such as downward dog you can help improve your strength, balance and flexibility. The focus on the different moves can also help mentally as it helps to relieve stress and anxiety.

Day 30- Make something new

Whether you enjoy paint by numbers or you love crafting, making something new is a great way of forgetting about the daily slog. I always find seeing the end project at the end really makes you feel happy inside as you’ve created something beautiful that you and others can enjoy.

I hope these tips help you start your own 30 day self care challenge. If you think your friends and family will benefit from the self care challenge, please give the post a share on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.