How to nourish yourself with self care through the day

Every Wednesday over on Instagram I share some fun “Wellness Wednesday” reels.  It’s an opportunity for my slightly silly side to come out (I’m a Gemini so it has to happen occasionally!) but it does have a serious note, stemming from my passion to help others bring more self care into their day to day life. 

Recently, I received a comment on one of my self care posts asking about nutrition and how to bring that into our self care routine and deal with the highs and lows we go through each day. So I have partnered with my amazing friend and fitness and nutrition coach Tabitha Parker to create an infographic to help bring nutrition into your self care routine.  Taking time to plan your nutrition and self care activities throughout the day is the perfect way to feel nourished in your body, mind and soul.  Making sure you are tapping into your body and its needs is so important to help you have a successful and productive day. 

You can see the infographic at the bottom of this post sharing our combined thoughts. But first, let’s take a deep dive into the self care side of things. 

We wanted to look at how to nourish yourself with self care throughout the day, not just in a morning routine or a nice bath before bed.  There are so many times throughout the day when we are triggered, have high or low energy or need a self care boost, so read on for my tips as to how to boost your self care as you work through your day.

Start the day strong

Starting the day with a positive mindset can help you shift your energy for the day ahead. One of my favourite ways to start the day strong is with gratitude journaling.  The simple task of sitting quietly, in the present moment for a few minutes and writing down three things you are happy and grateful for and why.  The ‘why’ part is important because it allows you to really tap into the energy of that thought and understand why it is important to you in that moment.  As we focus on building an attitude of gratitude, we will appreciate more around us in our day, both big and small and it can be a wonderful way to set you up for a strong day. 

I also love to make a cup of coffee and put on some great upbeat, happy music to boost my mood - how about creating a “positive mindset playlist”, a collection of all of those favourite songs that you know put you in a positive frame of mind?

Dealing with stress

There will always be moments of stress throughout our day, whether that comes from big or small stressors.  We can’t eliminate stress, it’s how you deal with it that counts. 

Taking some time to focus on your breath can help calm, centre and ground you. A little breathwork can help to reduce your heart rate and blood pressure with some slow, focused breathing. Here’s my tip for you… breathe in for the count of three, hold your breath and breathe out for the count of six.  I recommend doing this five times to feel the benefit in a nice quiet space. This is a great tool to do in between meetings when you want a shift in mindset, some clarity of thought or a great way to defuse an emotional situation.  You can do it with your eyes open, in a room full of people, no one will know, so it’s a good tool when you’re back in the office too!

The “4pm Energy Slump”

We’ve all been there, that late afternoon energy slump where your brain and body would rather down tools for the day but you know you need to push forward to complete a few more tasks.  Rather than reaching for sugary snacks or making another coffee reach for your water bottle instead. Make sure you are keeping hydrated throughout the day to maintain a level of alertness.  

Water is our best friend, our body is made up of roughly 60% water and we need to make sure that we keep hydrated to allow our body and all its processes and energy needs to be working at their best.  Taking regular sips from a water bottle by your side will help you keep your water levels topped up.  And if you hit that energy slump, try my bonus move -  put your favourite song on and have a dance, shift your energy and raise your mood. 

Planning an evening routine

It’s really important to begin your night-time routine at least an hour before you want to go to bed so that your brain and body have time to begin their sleep cycle and help you get a nourishing night of sleep.  Think about your evening routine... is your phone the last thing you look at before you close your eyes to sleep?  Don't let it be!

Make a shift and build a new habit by spending the last hour before bed, away from your phone.  Set your alarm, put it on ‘airplane mode’ and leave it out of arms reach.  A more positive habit to switch in its place is visualisation in the last few minutes before you go to sleep.  In our sleep, our imaginations play out -  visualisation before bed can be a great way to manifest what we want in life. 

Take the time you are normally checking social media, reading on your emails or catching up with the news to visualise instead.  Think about what you want to do, experience and receive.  Feel the feeling of how it would be, express gratitude for it already being in existence and close your eyes and visualize yourself experiencing all you desire. Repeating this daily is a great practice for getting in touch with what YOU truly desire, having time for YOU and allowing your brain to switch off from technology.  Getting in touch with your mind, body and soul before a great nights sleep is a great habit to form. 

While you’re building your own evening routine take some time to tap into what relaxes you: maybe it's having a bath or reading a book.  Make time to unwind from the day by creating a routine so that your body gets used to getting ready for sleep in a similar way each night and it should be easier to drop off!

You can read Tabitha’s wonderfully detailed blog on the nutrition elements in her blog post right here

Don’t forget to check us both out on Instagram @tab.parker @rachelletham and for more detailed self care tips @selfcaresurvivalkit

If you want some inspiration for building your own self care kit head over to the Self Care Survival Kit Shop and browse my carefully curated collection.  Remember, self care isn’t something to tick off the to-do list once. It’s the repetition of tiny habits, daily in order to build a consistent routine.