Do you find your own self-care routine getting put on the back burner? Everyone around you is calling for your attention, and as a woman, you feel the need to put them before any form of self love.
This is common for us. I know I went through the same thing when I was with my ex-husband. I made sure he had everything he needed. He came before me.
In all the chaos of watching over other people, we need to be sure to get our own self-care routine in.
This is something that I call training.
Your inner warrior will struggle to come out without the proper training and commitment. Routines are the perfect way to ensure you are taking time for yourself every day and building the strength for your warrior to become strong and powerful.
Building your Self-Care Routine
Here are my top tips for building a schedule to train your inner warrior.
Find your relaxation
The best part of a self-care routine is that it brings you inner peace. This looks different for everyone.
A couple examples could be:
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Reading
- Listening to music
For me, I love to lift weights. So, I start my day by drinking my pre-workout, then getting my sweat on.
Take the time to really find what brings you peace and serenity. Whatever it may be, ensure you enjoy doing the activity and it actually brings you joy. If exercise brings you complete dread, then don’t force it to be a part of your self-care routine.
Define your goals
When it comes to creating your training regimen, goals can really benefit your progress. Define what you would like to come out of your routine.
Are you looking for inner peace? Are you looking to improve on your personal development?
Figure out what part of your warrior you are looking to train with this schedule and write it down. Put it somewhere you can see it everyday and focus on it when building your routine.
Be committed and disciplined
This may be obvious, but being committed will be the biggest reason for your success. The thing about commitment is that it can truly put you to your limits.
Starting your commitment is easy. The motivation that is soaring through you will make the first few days feel like a breeze, but then that motivation will wear off.
Believe me, it will.
That motivation is not sustainable for any long term commitments-and your self-care IS a commitment. So when you wake up one day and feel down or tired, that is when discipline will step in and kick you in gear.
So remember, while motivation will start your commitment, discipline will keep you committed.
Wondering who I am? Find out here!
Incorporate it into your life
Once you have the foundation of your routine, you can start implementing it into your life. Schedule the time into your day ahead of time so that you know when that time hits, it’s time to get training.
It’s important to look at your schedule as a whole, all events, work and commitments should be written down so you can fully see where your new warrior training schedule can easily fit it.
AND ACTUALLY DO IT!
Set Boundaries
This is where “actually doing it” comes into play. There may be times in your schedule that you will be interrupted. I see this all time, in my own experience and from people around me.
My family is very close. As a result, there are plenty of times they ask me to go out or for favours. That is totally fine to do! However, if those hangouts or favours overlap with my self-care routine, then that’s a problem.
Suddenly, my self love is put on the back burner because I felt the need to put my schedule aside.
Setting your own boundaries is very important! No matter what, when you schedule that time into your day, you do it!
Be flexible
Now, I just said in the previous point to do your routine the exact time you schedule it. This may be the opposite than the next point I’m about to make.
When I say “be flexible,” I really mean that your schedule may need to change. If you notice that your self-care time is constantly getting interrupted, then it is time to move it to another spot in your day that is not so popular.
Also, you may find that the activity you chose for your self-care is not bringing you any peace but is actually causing quite a bit of frustration. This means you might need to switch that activity up.
And that’s ok!
The only way to find out what works best for you is trial and error.
And yes, you may have multiple trials before you find success.
Tracking is your friend
You might be thinking, how do you track a self-care routine?
It’s simple!
If you have a big wall calendar, use check marks to check off the days you completed your training. Also, a big thing about self-care is tracking how you feel before your routine, during, and after it. This will help you gauge whether it is working for you or if you need to change something up.
Journaling is a great way to track your feelings! And after a certain amount of days, you can look back and see the progress you have made. This is a big thing!
Seeing your progress will keep you motivated!
Give yourself grace
Lastly, give yourself some grace. Not everyday is going to be easy. You will have days where you just don’t want to get off the couch or shut off the TV. Or, if you’re like me, and struggle with depression, then some days you just won’t have the energy.
The down days are the most important days to get your self-care routine in, but don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work out for that day. Life happens, it isn’t easy, and the more you realize that, the more forgiving you can be if it gets too hard.
Give yourself grace to not be perfect.
You are strong.
You are a warrior.
Looking for more tips? Here are couple more blogs that give great ones:
- How to Start A Self-Care Routine You Will Follow – Moira Lawler
- How to Start A Self-Care Routine – Matthew Sacco