When you search for what is your favorite way to practice self care, you probably expect to find answers such as shopping, getting your nails done, or getting a facial.

But, you won’t get any of that here.

If that is what you are looking for, then just head on out because we are going to do something different on this page.

We are going to talk about real self care.

The type of self care that nourishes your mind, body, and soul, so that you can move forward in life and not be distracted.

The type of self care that can be done even when you have 3 kids yelling and arguing, your dog barking at a squirrel, your spouse asking you to help him find his keys for the millionth time, all while you are trying to complete an article that needs to be done by midnight.

Oh, that’s not your life?

That’s my life!

Yeah…unfortunately that is my life.

Ugh…let’s get started.

What is Self Care

Yeah, girl, we are going there. I know you want to hear what is your favorite way to practice self care and believe me, I am going to get there. But, I have to make a pit stop.

The reason why is because I am realizing that a lot of people don’t truly know what self care is.

They confuse self care with self-soothing, and I’m not blaming you at all. I’m blaming the media sis.

Self care is something that helps you take care of yourself, and it is something that helps you move forward in life.

It does not distract you from your problems or your emotions.

Whereas, the media portrays self care as this exuberant thing.

It makes it seem like to practice self care you need tons of time and money when that is not the case AT ALL my dear.

You know what, keep reading because I’m about to tell you all about what is your favorite way to practice self care, or should I say my favorite way.

What Is Your Favorite Way To Practice Self Care

Drumroll, please…Now is the time that I tell you, what is your favorite way to practice self care or should I say my favorite way to practice self care?

Okay, so my favorite way to practice self care is spending time alone.

I know, I know, this comes as a shock because you are looking for something exciting and thrilling, but spending time alone is the bee’s knees!

Do you still say that?

Did I show my age? Oh well!

Anyways, because my life is always so busy and I am always planning, I realize a lot of my life I spend planning, instead of living in the moment.

This means I am missing out on the true moments of joy, gratitude, and creating memories with my family and friends. As well, as being able to get to know me.

Spending time alone allows me to check in with myself, get to know myself, and realize what I am feeling.

>mark class="wp-block-coblocks-highlight__content">Spending time alone helps me to figure out who I am, what I want, and what I need. This way, I don’t get lost in my everyday life of being a mom, wife, business owner, friend, and daughter.

When I am alone I get to spend time with the person who matters most in my life, myself.

I get to pour into myself all the things I need to make me happy, fulfilled, and make sure that I am living the life that only I could dream of.

Remember, you only get one life to live and that’s it!

It’s time you spend time alone with yourself, and make sure that you are using it to create everything you ever wanted and needed.

Now that you know what is my favorite way to practice self care, you may be wondering:

What I do when I am alone.

How am I able to get to spend time alone when I have so much on my plate.

Well, I am going to tell you both.

How To Spend Time Alone When You Are Extremely Busy

Whew! Life is super crazy all the time, right!

While I am writing this, I have one kid trying to crawl on my lap, another asking me for an apple, another playing in my hair, and my husband trying to have a conversation with me.

Can you say overstimulation?

It’s time for me to do what I need to do so I can spend time alone and get things done!

This means it is time to set boundaries, plan, prioritize, and focus.

Set Boundaries

Okay, so I answered, what is your favorite way to practice self care. I told you it was being alone, but the biggest reason why I get to be alone is that I set boundaries.

I let my kids know and my husband know when I need time alone.

I set my phone on, do not disturb, and get to work on my business, meditating, taking a nap, or doing whatever I want to do during that time.

Plan

So now that everyone knows not to disturb me when I need time alone, the next step is to plan it.

You see, when you plan something, you are less likely to miss it.

For example, when you have a date with your spouse or your friends, you add it to your calendar and let everyone who needs to know that you will be absent for a while, (setting boundaries).

You prepare for this date by adding it to your calendar, picking the place you want to meet up at, and what you are going to do.

You need to do the same for yourself.

Write down your date with yourself, on your calendar.

Plan where you want to go and what you are going to do.

With your busy life, you don’t get much time alone, so there’s no time to waste at all.

Prioritize

Do you ever get so excited for something only to realize you can’t go because you have so many things that still need to be done?

Well, not anymore!

When it comes to figuring out what is your favorite way to practice self care, you have got to learn to prioritize!

>mark class="wp-block-coblocks-highlight__content">When you prioritize, you plan out all the things that need to be done.

Then you will complete the most important one first down to the least important task.

Therefore, you will have accomplished a lot and not feel the need to miss out on something important to you.

Focus

One thing I noticed, and you probably have too is that when you focus on a task completely, and not get distracted, you get done a lot faster.

To help you do this more frequently, set a timer for 20 minutes, and select one task to do during that time. Hopefully, you will pick the one that has the most priority.

You will be astonished at how much you get done.

>mark class="wp-block-coblocks-highlight__content">Focusing while I spend time alone, helps me to make sure I effectively use my time.

This leads me to tell you what I do when I spend time alone so that you can figure out what is your favorite way to practice self care.

My Favorite Ways To Practice Self Care When I Spend Time Alone

Now that you know how to effectively go about spending time alone, I don’t want to leave you hanging and not show you what I do when I spend time alone.

This way if you choose to spend time alone too, you won’t be sitting there thinking, now what.

Meditate

One of the things I like when spending time alone is to meditate.

Meditating gets a bad wrap because it is thought that you have to completely clear your mind of anything and everything when that isn’t the case.

With meditation, you are learning to observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment.

This way you will understand them and yourself much better.

Goals

I’m a Type A girl, so goals are my thing!

Goals help to give me a sense of purpose and hope because I am on a journey to accomplishing something.

Goals are important because they help provide you the direction that you want to go to.

Writing goals when you have time alone, helps you to see if your life’s going the way you want it to go.

Of course, you can use habits to help you reach your goals, but that’s another topic.

Check-In

Sometimes when I am alone, I just sit and check-in with myself.

This helps tremendously because sometimes my days are long and horrific.

Bad things happen but when they do, spending time alone helps me to cope with them.

Before, I would go on about my life, because there is always so much that I needed to do.

Whereas now, I take a step back and ask myself, “how are you?”.

I let whatever emotion that comes up, flow naturally.

I may have a good cleansing cry or a dance full of elation.

Whatever it may be, I sit there and let it happen because it’s what I need to continue to perform at a level that I expect of myself.

Relax

Now, these days are my favorite!

Because I am a Type A person, I am constantly seeking ways to achieve and accomplish new things that I set forth for myself.

This can be draining because I don’t turn off or know how to relax.

So on days when I feel myself feeling super overwhelmed and I can’t seem to focus at all, I know it’s time to relax.

I do this by first allowing myself to relax.

I tell myself that it is okay to take this time to relax and that I need it.

I then nap, watch something that makes me laugh, or hang out with my family by playing a game or watching a movie with them.

The Last Thing You Need To Know About What Is Your Favorite Way To Practice Self Care

To sum everything up about what is your favorite way to practice self care, I would like to say that for me it is spending time alone so that I can make sure that I am fulfilled in all 9 areas of self care, (insert link).

Spending time alone helps me to continue to know who I am, what I want, and what I need. Knowing these 3 things helps me to feel fulfilled in life and love myself.

It helps me to realize that I have a purpose and everything happens for a reason.

But this doesn’t mean that spending time alone is going to be your favorite way to practice self care.

Oh no, sweetie. Just because I like it doesn’t mean that you will too.

Self care is different for everyone!

What makes me happy may not make you happy.