Are you taking care of you? Self-care is important for everyone, but we tend to place it last on our list.

I believe self-care is about self-love and understanding that you actually have to give yourself love to be happy in your heart.

Self-love means loving yourself for who you are and understanding that you are important too.

Loving yourself brings about that necessary confidence.

The confidence to break through fears and meet your goals.

Reminder: you are no good to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself.

But self-care can be difficult to maintain.

I’ve been guilty of letting my goals slip… ahem – not going to the gym 3 times a week or overeating.

So yea, self-care requires self-discipline.

We have to remind ourselves that it’s important to start self-care – now – rather than waiting until things get out of hand.

We all have ups and downs in life. And it’s essential to relieve stress the best way we can.

Summer is the perfect time to revamp your self-care priorities.

I’ve written up a list of self-care activities to try out during the summer.

And… of course, self-care is different for everyone so tweak away, pick and choose what areas you want to focus on.

For Making Memories.

1. Take a vacation or staycation. Taking a trip will definitely make for fun times and good memories. Euro trip? Cancun? Beach? Local attractions? There are plenty of options to look into.

2. Be by the water. Spend some time at the beach or lake and watch the sunset, build a sand castle, or collect sea shells. Baby turtles hatch all year but summer time is the best time to see them.

Being by the water doesn’t have to mean going to the beach. Water parks, big and small, are a great option. When was the last time you jumped off a diving board – dare to jump!

3. Outdoor activities. Instead of eating indoors, take it outside on your patio or have a picnic at a park. What about watching meteor showers while stargazing or catching fireflies?

4. Off the grid adventures. Explore the summer beach roads and participate in some of the adventures along them. Take a hike or camp in the wilderness. If you’re up for it have fun kayaking or canoeing.

5. Playful activities. I don’t know about you, but I like to break out of the seriousness in life. Schedule time for fun with board games or giant versions of them. Click here* or here* for examples.

Do things to help you reconnect with your inner child: have a water gun fight, bubble blowing contest, play childhood games like hopscotch or 4-square. Let’s redefine play!

For Your Mind.

6. Read a book/listen to an audiobook or a podcast. I’m a big user of audiobooks and podcasts. I prefer them over reading books because I am under the impression that I can multitask. Reading/listening is a great way to take a break from all that chatter in your brain.

7. Relax and unwind. Take time to relax with a nap, even better if you can enjoy one in a hammock.

Do you feel like you are always on the go? Try to prioritize and cut down on things to do each day to give yourself more time for self-care.

For a mood boost, create a positive music playlist.

8. Journaling. Journaling is a great way to relieve stress. Writing down your thoughts can help put things into perspective and get things out of your head. Personalize it with a nice notebook*.

For Your Relationships with Yourself and Others.

9. Get rid of negativity. Are there any stressors in your life that you can cut out? Try to avoid gossip and drama that brings negative energy.

Are you a people pleaser?

Relationships work best when they are give and take.

So if it makes sense, try saying “No” to things you don’t want to do – in the nicest way possible of course. It’s ok to say “No” and people should understand.

A friend once told me, “Sometimes we have to teach people how to treat us.” We shouldn’t feel guilty for taking care of ourselves.

10. Forgive yourself of the past. We all know the past is something that can’t be changed. We have got to forgive ourselves so we can move on. So live and let go of the little things.

11. Be happier. Treat yourself with kind words and be thankful for who and what you have in your life. Try to cut back on complaining as these thoughts can bring down your mood.

12. Host or attend a gathering. Spend time with your friends and family. Host a kitchen party with simple food pairings or have a small get together to keep feeding those relationships.

13. Volunteer. Studies have shown that volunteering can boost your mental state. Volunteering brings people together to work towards the same goal of helping others – and it feels good to help.

For “Me” Time.

14. Pamper yourself. Add “me” time to your schedule by soaking in a bubble bath while reading a book. Do an at home mani/pedi or get it done professionally – go all out if you can.

Massages are an awesome stress reliever. I am always falling asleep when all is said and done.

Here’s a new one: try adding Eucalyptus in your shower for stress relief.

15. Go places alone. This is a big way to get to know yourself. Face your fears by going to the movies or a restaurant – these don’t require you to speak to people and you may feel weird at first.

But go for it anyway!

You can also mix it up by going to meet and greets or shows and festivals.

If you can brave these, your self-confidence will definitely gain a boost.  And what a great way to work on your social skills!

For Your Body

16. Start a new wellness routine. Try out a new wellness routine. Be sure to include exercise for at least 15 minutes a day and avoid sitting too long.

Some great summer activities for exercise are swimming and biking. Bring your friends, family, and/or pets along for a nature walk.

17. Add stretching. Add morning stretches to your daily routine or give yoga a try.

For Your Interests

18. Get out of your comfort zone. Getting out of your comfort zone can be extreme like jumping out of an airplane or setting a goal of 100 days of rejection like Jia Jiang did in his Rejection Therapy experiment. He wrote about it in his book Rejection Proof*.

But you don’t have to start big.

Instead, you could start by having a conversation with a stranger or eating something you find weird.

Being uncomfortable is part of your personal growth and can contribute to your overall happiness.

Whatever you choose to do, you should take it as a learning experience regardless of the results.

19. Start a new habit. It takes time to start a new habit. But it also takes time to perform an existing habit.

Find ways to replace a bad habit with a new healthier habit such as having fun experiences instead of overeating or taking walks instead of sitting on the couch and watching TV.

20. Spend time on your hobbies or start a new one. Hobbies are great because doing things we are good at is a great confidence booster.

Some hobbies include hiking, running, cooking, painting, games, and reading. There are plenty more to choose from.

It doesn’t hurt to explore new ones because you never know what you don’t know.

21. Create a summer bucket list and complete it. Keep your list short and simple, maybe have a list of 5 things you want to do and will be able to complete by the end of summer.

Some ideas you can add to your simple summer bucket list are going to an amusement park or learning to juggle.

For Your Home

22. Get organized/declutter. Take some time this summer to organize things in small chunks like cleaning out your sock drawer – those lost matches have been waiting long enough and their mates have moved on to the black hole of the sock universe.

Take the time to start collecting items to get rid of. You can prepare for a summer yard sale or donate the items.

Fix 3 small things from your honey-do list like replacing that porch light bulb, changing out your air filter, and tightening up loose pot handles.

23. Refresh your home. Open your windows in your house when it’s cool to get stale air moving out and replace with fresh air. You can also buy flowers to freshen up the environment and bring your mood up.

24. Clean your home. Take some time this summer to perform some deep cleaning that you have been putting off. Perform simple tasks like making your bed each morning for a good start.

For Nourishment

25. Meal prep. Try to prepare your meals ahead for the week. Keep things simple to cut down on having to make too many decisions. Create simple go to meals and backup ideas just in case.

26. Eat fresh foods. Nothing like fresh cool foods during the summer season. Chilled watermelons are a favorite for us. Try adding more plant based foods to your diet.

27. Drink water. Try sipping on more water throughout your day to help you complete the old rule of having eight glasses of water a day. Have a glass in the morning to jump-start your day.

28. Start a new skin care routine. As you are spending more time outdoors in the summer, sunscreen is a must for your summer skin care routine.

For those that can’t wear sunscreen, remember to use alternatives such as hats or clothing that offer sun protection.

How about trying a full body scrub as part of detoxifying your skin?  Or you can add moisturizing your entire body to your routine.

29. Use essential oils. Essential oils are mostly used in diffusers* to stimulate the sense of smell. Try diffusing different oils for certain moods such as lavender oil for its relaxing effects.

Conclusion

Self-care is a continuous cycle. We should pencil it into our busy schedules in order make sure our self-care goals stick.

There are so many areas that you can focus on for yourself and it can be overwhelming.

So take it one day at a time.

Stay refreshed this summer by unplugging and spending more time on you and your loved ones.

(Or whenever you want – who says you have to wait ’til summer!)

Happy tweaking!

What are your favorite ways to practice self-care? Please share, I’d love to know!