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Career Development Denise Alexander
When you’re busy taking care of your family, working a full-time job, going to school and handling other responsibilities, it can be easy to forget to make time for yourself. This is why it’s important to practice self-care to stay motivated and avoid burnout. Self-care can come in many forms such as physical, emotional and social.
There’s no right or wrong way to practice self-care. Some things may be effective for one person but it might not be effective for another. Here are a few self-care tips for you to try:
Getting enough sleep is important for maintaining your physical and mental health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one-third of adults in the U.S. report getting less than the recommended amount of sleep per night. Not only can lack of sleep impair your judgment, but it can also leave you more at risk for health conditions like depression, heart disease and obesity. Seven to nine hours of sleep is the recommended range for adults. Sleep can increase energy and brighten your mood!
It’s easy to lose track of accomplishments, especially when you’re juggling multiple responsibilities. Recognizing and celebrating those accomplishments is an important part of self-care. They can be big achievements like a job promotion or graduation, or they can be smaller accomplishments, like completing a difficult assignment or finishing a book on your reading list. Keep a record of your accomplishments to remind yourself of how far you’ve come and to motivate you to continue working hard.
Be grateful for the little things! Some people find it helpful to document what they are grateful for in a journal so they can look back at all the positive things they have written. Other people will fill a jar with slips of paper so they can see how "full" their life is of things they are grateful for. It can also be beneficial to show your gratitude toward other people. You can say thank you, leave an extra tip at a restaurant or call up a friend to say you appreciate them. By showing your gratitude, you create a positive environment for yourself and the people around you.
Spending time with others is a great way to help your mental health. If you can, spend time with a friend or family member. If you can’t travel or leave the house, consider a virtual hangout with friends! Your friend group can be your support system. They can help encourage you, and help you express your emotions.
If you’re someone who spends a lot of time surrounded by people, it could be beneficial to spend time by yourself. If you have more moderate introversion over extroversion, you might be more drained after social interaction. Taking time to be alone with your thoughts, listening to music or watching a favorite film are all great ways to relax. Journaling is also another great way to spend time alone.
Treating yourself to some dessert can sometimes improve your mood, but it shouldn’t be something that you do every day. Eating healthy is an important part of self-care because when you have a poor diet, it affects other aspects of your health. Find some healthy meal options and treat yourself in moderation.
We all have long-term goals that we strive for, but setting and accomplishing smaller, short-term goals are important too. It can help put you in a better mindset to achieve some of your other long-term goals. You can set new goals like learning to knit or play a new sport, or you can break up your long-term goals into smaller goals. For example, maybe earning your diploma could start with you accomplishing a smaller goal of finishing a paper or assignment.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2023 / Occupational Outlook Handbook 2022. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.
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