Keeping It Together in Times of Uncertainty (Self-Care Tips)
The world is so weird right now. In a matter of a week my daughter's school was closed, potentially for the rest of the school year, so she's home with me full time. I am so lucky in that I work from home for the most part, but I work for small businesses where their livelihoods could be negatively affected in the coming months. Plus I have my own small candle business. Adding a kid to the mix of my daily routine has been completely throwing me off. So I figured I'd write about what has been keeping me sane, and hopefully what will continue to keep me sane in the next coming months.
Try and keep a routine as much as possible. In the mornings I usually rush to get my daughter ready for school, drop her off, and then work out, shower, and mentally prepare for my day. Now, it's a little bit tougher, but we've been doing some morning stretching/yoga together which has been very cute (although not as intense of a workout I usually try and get) and I'm grateful for the extra time with her.
Get dressed, even though I'm not going anywhere. I think we can all agree that even when we have nowhere to be, that getting dressed, putting on a little bit of makeup can just make another ordinary day that much better.
Stay hydrated. I feel like I've fallen a little bit off the wagon on this one, and I get these intense migraines when I'm not hydrating like usual. The migraines have been coming more than usual, and I'm sure the hydration levels + stress aren't helping.
Do not eat 50 snacks a day. (@myself) Maybe if I read this back later I'll actually not eat 50 snacks a day. It's tempting AF, not only because we have a boatload of snacks (and bad ones at that), but because my daughter's an enabler and asks for a snack every 15 minutes. I've been trying to keep an apple or an orange near me at all times so if I feel peckish I reach for the fruits.
Do something you've been putting off for a long time. I've got 15 books that I've wanted to read forever. I want to blog more. I have 3 word search books that I want to get through (fun fact, word searches calm me). I've listened to some new podcasts that I hadn't heard before. It's really important to me to keep my creative juices flowing, and with some extra time hopefully I can do just that.
Get outside. I know this isn't feasible for everyone, but I don't know what I would do if I couldn't walk outside for a few minutes every day. Cabin fever is so real, and my daughter is hyperactive sometimes. We just take a walk in the neighborhood, or I'll take her for a bike ride around the circle. Vitamin D is so necessary in a time like this.
Keep in contact with people you love. I've been using FaceTime now more than ever before (and trust me when I say I used it a lot before). I'm calling my friends and fam all over the country just to stay in touch, check in on them, see how they're doing. I'm not saying you need to be talking to your friends all day, but this time is incredibly socially isolating, and I know I personally need a little extra.
Self-care it up. I've been taking longer showers, exfoliating my whole ass body, lighting candles every chance I get, putting on masks, drinking copious glasses of wine, painting my nails, putting on lipstick because it makes me feel good. And that's that on that.
I'm curious, what has been helping you? Take care of yourselves.
xx
Danielle