19 self-care ideas to dramatically improve your mental and physical health

Self-care days must be part of your weekly routine. In this blog post, I share with you 20 perfect but simple ideas to make you feel better mentally, emotionally and physically.

Glow all week long with these self-care activities!

Are all your responsibilities making you forget about YOUR VERY SELF?

It’s so easy to get caught up in everyday tasks you can forget about your own needs and wants. Even simple ones, like getting a good massage or putting on some lotion to make you feel soft and cozy.

And life can be tough. I know. 

Modern life seems to be an endless attempt to juggle piles of things to do, concerns, problems, obligations.

There are so many things that can and do go wrong with relationships, home, finances, family, friends, work… you name it.

I understand. It has happened to me too. And it’s okay, you know? That’s life!

But, even though you can’t control what happens to you, you can control how you react to different situations in your life.

In my opinion, one of the best ways to be prepared for any situation is to prioritize your well being.

And one of the best ways to make well being a priority is to practice self-care.

If a sh*tty situation happens when you’re tired or stressed, you’re more likely to react poorly to it and end up feeling regretful for the way you handled it.

That’s where self-care comes to play.

What is self-care and why it’s important

Self-care encompasses all the activities we perform specifically to make us feel better about ourselves physically, emotionally and mentally.

These activities fill your cup and are the perfect way to give yourself some love. When you feel self-confident, rested, relaxed and ready, you’re able to tackle any challenge that comes to you in the best way possible.

And that’s why self-care is so important.

So, if you’re wondering what are self-care activities and how to self-care at home, you’ve come to the right place.

Today I’m sharing with you 20 of my favorite self-care activities that are perfect for a relaxing Sunday at home.

These self-care activities are categorized by mental and physical health and well-being, but many of them serve both purposes.

Don’t be scared to have a pamper day at home for yourself. These ideas will make you feel relaxed and ready to face whatever life throws at you!

Get ready to glow all week long with these 19 perfect Sunday self-care ideas 🙂

Some people neglect mental health, but please keep in mind that mental health is like physical health; if you don’t take care of your body, it will start collapsing eventually, right?

Well, the same thing happens with your mental health.

That’s why taking care of your mental health is important.

First I’ll cover activities that are great to help you reach your full potential during the week, cope with stress, let go of anger and anxiety and feel calmer in general. 

19 self-care ideas to improve your life

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Mental health

1. Get creative

Foster creativity in your life and you’ll enjoy a bunch of benefits like reduced stress and anxiety and more self-awareness.

Take some time to do creative activities that involve colors such as coloring, painting, art therapy exercises.

Or give writing a try!

If you’re reading this, it probably means you can also write.

Try writing a fiction or nonfiction piece. Let your imagination run free and create your own fantasy world and characters or simply write a story of your own life.

Write a story about your childhood, people you love, places you’ve been to.

If you’re into more advanced stuff, then write poetry or a song.

Remember it doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. In fact, you can just throw it away when you’re finished so you don’t have to read it again if you don’t want to.

Don’t focus on the results of the activity; focus on the process instead.

Do you want to do something creative but think you have no idea how to express yourself through art?

Take a class! 

YouTube is an endless source of tutorials and how-to’s, so don’t hesitate to watch videos and follow instructions.

You’ll learn a new skill and that’s always a good thing.

2. Practice journaling

I’ve talked about the benefits of journaling before. I practice journaling once a day for around 10-15 minutes top.

However, for a good self-care session, you can just practice journaling for as long as you’d like, even more than 20 minutes if you feel like it.

Fill the whole thing if you want to.

Write about things that make you feel worried, stressed, anxious and also about things that make you feel happy, pleased, fulfilled.

A great exercise for this self-care day is to practice journaling for self-improvement and self-discovery.

Ask yourself questions about how you feel in general, how you feel regarding a specific topic, how you want to feel, what you need more of and what you need less of in your life.

You won’t regret it!

3. Show gratitude

I’ve been journaling about things I feel grateful for for the last two or three weeks and it’s changed my life forever.

On self-care Sunday, take a moment to reflect on the amazing things that make your life awesome.

We all have wonderful things in our lives. And so do you!

Think about the money you already have, the people who love you and care about you, the food you have on your fridge, your bed, your body.

Take a break from thinking about things you don’t have and reflect on how fortunate you are to have all of those things you do have.

I know it’s easy to focus on all our issues because we need to solve them and in order to do that we have to have them on our minds, I get it.

However, take a day off from it and focus on good things instead.

4. Play your favorite songs all day long

Music nurtures your spirit.

Create a playlist with your favorite songs of all time and play it all day long.

Turn the volume up if you want a good dancing session too or simply enjoy some background music while you do other stuff.

5. Visualize your dream life

Sit down and think about all the things you want in your life.

Think about that dream house, apartment or car. About places you’d travel to. Or about new relationships you want to build.

And let your body and mind absorb those dreams and wishes. Feel them as if it’s all a reality now.

6. Meditate

Meditation has fascinating benefits on our mind and body.

Meditate for at least 5 minutes.

Ideally, you’ll want to make meditation a habit. But if you haven’t tried it yet, your self-care Sunday is the perfect day to start!

7. Schedule at least 2 hours of no-screen time

Smartphones are like the air we breathe.

Or aren’t they?

Well, you probably think couldn’t live without it, when in fact it can prevent you from actually living, enjoying your meals, your quiet time and the people you love.

Schedule at least 2 hours of no-screen time. Turn your phone off (or at least your notifications) and enjoy your real life!

8. Clean a little

Cleaning the house can be exhausting.

And if you’re enjoying a relaxing day off you probably don’t want to end up more tired than you were before.

However, a little cleaning can go a long way when it comes to self-care.

Take at least an hour to gather everything that’s not where it should be and organize your house. Change your bedsheets so on Sunday night you can get plenty of rest on a neat bed.

9. Declutter

Gather everything you haven’t used in a while and donate it or throw it away!

A disorganized house equals a disorganized mind.

Follow Marie Kondo‘s advice. She’s my whole deal.

10. Read a book

Take some time to pick up that book you started reading months ago or to start reading a new one.

Find a book that can help you solve a problem you’re currently facing or something that can help you get closer to your goals.

Read something inspiring, a book that can teach you something useful for your life or a beautiful story you enjoy.

11. Watch Ted Talks

Instead of binge-watching Netflix forever, binge watch Ted Talks instead.

Watching these wise and knowledgeable people can teach you and inspire you.

And there’s no better way to spend a self-care day than nourishing your mind and soul.

These are my top 5 favorite Ted Talks of all time, no specific order.

1. How to Become a Millionaire in 3 Years | Daniel Ally | TEDxBergenCommunityCollege
2. Change Your Mindset and Achieve Anything | Colin O’Brady | TEDxPortland
3. Never, ever give up | Diana Nyad
4. My philosophy for a happy life | Sam Berns | TEDxMidAtlantic
5. How to stop screwing yourself over | Mel Robbins | TEDxSF

 

12. Get in touch with friends and family

Just like an amazing career, good relationships with friends and family are hardly the result of random chance.

Take some time to write a message to friends you care about and haven’t talked to in a while. Let them know you’re thinking about them and you’d love to know what they’ve been up to lately.

Schedule some time during the week to meet them for coffee or lunch if possible!

Physical health

Take this day to give your physical health a boost.

These activities are meant to take care of your body, but the great thing is they’ll make you feel better mentally and emotionally as well.

Plus, they’ll make you feel more confident during the week!

13. Prioritize sleep

Sleep as long as you want on self-care day.

If you’re like me and you wake up early every single day, that’s ok. Take a power nap after breakfast or lunch!

14. Take a long bath

Are you always in a hurry to finish things during the week?

If that’s the case, you probably don’t have time to give yourself a renewing bath.

Play some music and take as long as you need to!

15. Exfoliate

Get rid of dead skin and uncover your best skin ever.

Exfoliate your whole body, including your face (you’ll need to use a different scrub for your face only), your lips (coconut oil + sugar will do), your hands and feet.

Finish this beauty session with a good moisturizer lotion for extra smoothness.

16. Plan your meals for the week

Eating the right foods will not only make you look better, but it will also strengthen your overall health and boost your productivity.

On self-care day, use Pinterest to learn new recipes and use a weekly meal planner to plan your meals for the week.

Make sure you include enough veggies, protein, healthy fats and fruits.

17. Go out and breathe some fresh air

There’s no need to go far if you don’t feel like it!

Just take a walk around your neighborhood if you want and leverage this opportunity to feel grateful for the place where you live.

18. Watch your water intake

Drinking enough water has amazing benefits.

On self-care day, increase your water intake if you haven’t been drinking enough and start making it a habit to drink enough water during the week as well.

19. Cook a delicious, healthy breakfast

Last but not least, my self-care day personal highlight.

The meal I enjoy the most is breakfast, so I always cook a special, different breakfast on Sundays. I generally plan it ahead and of course, use Pinterest to get fresh ideas.

One of my favorites lately has been these pumpkin pancakes (I never use sugar as I prefer stevia) with this homemade strawberry jam. Tasty!

Conclusion

Self-care should always be part of your routine. Ideally, you’ll want to make this a habit instead of something special that happens every now and then.

This doesn’t mean you need to turn your house into a spa every single day, but you can take 20-30 minutes to do one of these activities every day!

Do you plan self-care days at home often?