Self-care today seems only possible if you have the spare time and money. Unfortunately these are both finite resources and many of us can’t afford to “splurge” on today’s glamorous idea of personal care.

Below, I’ve put together a small list of easy, basic, and effortless self-care tips that go deeper than the mainstream trend. You can really do these anywhere, at any time and need only one thing: a positive attitude.

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Taking care of our whole selves goes beyond eating fresh fruit and veg every day and exercising properly. Stress (we all experience and ignore it) plays a damaging role on the body and cannot be willed away by a green juice. The mental health conversation is much more public and doctors/people stress the importance of taking care of yourself.

However, people still have a fantastical notion of self-care that is just not plausible for every day life. Aided by social media, the concept of taking care of your mind means taking the day off, gathering your favorite skincare and sitting poolside with your books and booze. I won’t lie, that sounds AMAZING but this type of personal care is just not realistic for long-term management.

We don’t need more products or long meditations exercises.  We need small easy to chew actions that we can incorporate effortlessly into our already busy lives.

I hope you find these tips helpful and doable! LMK in the comments how you self-care.

Stay Hydrated

Raise your hand if are going to throw something at the next person whos says ‘drink more water’. Yeah, me too; until I learned how important it was to maintain my water intake.

We live on water and our bodies are made up of it. When we stay hydrated our blood moves smoother, faster and provides fresh oxygen to every part of the body. Proper oxygenation means each cell runs and heals quickly. Water even keeps the brain alert and makes us feel more awake.

Next time you feel a little sluggish drink water and see how you feel!

Close Your Eyes and Listen

Whenever, Wherever. Just do it and don’t listen for anything specific. Open your ears to noise and you might surprise yourself. It doesn’t matter if all you can here is the heater, or someone typing in the next room. Forcing yourself to hear what’s around you makes sure you are aware without consciously thinking about being present in that moment!

Don’t like what you hear? Change it. Even if you can’t move make another sound louder — like music. We are affected by noise and react subconsciously to it. For example, I cannot stand when my dog licks her lips at night. I use a fan to cover it but I still experience disturbed sleep if Affie is particularly restless.

Do Something Different

We are creatures of habit but monotomy kills creativity. Do you walk the same way up and down the stairs? Have you ever noticed?

I totally repeat actions and small movements every day without realizing it. Every morning I take out Mocha’s food, add water, and microwave it. While the food is heating, I take out Affie’s and add water to that. I switch the food and pour M’s into her bowl. I add flax seed to A’s and olive oil to both.

Monotomy kills creativity. It may not feel like it at first, but these little routines can make you feel unproductive.

You don’t have to add anything new to your day. Just switch something up. For me, I could warm Affie’s food first or add the olive oil before the flax. Maybe, I can even make my coffee before my breakfast!

These three ideas may feel like nothing at all but that’s the point. Self-care shouldn’t be a luxury we only enjoy occasionally but something we work on every day. We consciously take care of our physical bodies so why are we cutting corners with our mental health?

Are these tips easy to incorporate into a very hectic life? What are your other self-love ideas? LMK in the comments!

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.