SELF CARE

STARTED: 9th August 2022

FINISHED: 9th November 2022

Self care means different things to different people, so pick at least 4 of the following things, and make time to do them regularly over a 3 month period.

✅ 01 - BATHTIME - Find the perfect bath recipe! Experiment with different oils, salts, bubbles, candles, music etc.

I used to enjoy having baths all the time and then I got out of the habit because showers are so much more convenient. So I was glad to do this clause. I tried bath salts, bubble bath, a bath bomb, and taking Alexa in the bathroom with me to serenade me with relaxing bath time music. I didn't enjoy the salts or the bath bomb. They didn't change anything in the water (except for the bath bomb which turned the water glittery). There was no lovely smell or texture. However, the bubble bath was lovely. It almost forced me to relax. I also liked the sound of the bubble bursting. It was a little ASMR-ish, which was relaxing in itself. When I used to have lots of baths, I would play music, and that relaxed me because I was focussed on listening to the songs and not rushing to get out. So I think the perfect bath recipe for me is bubble bath and music.

✅ 02 - SLEEP - Work out your optimum amount of nightly sleep and aim to get it at least 5 times a week.

I've always needed a lot of sleep. For many years, I would have an afternoon nap pretty much every day, and still manage to sleep 7-8 hours per night.  If I didn't have to go work, I'm sure I could fall back into that habit! 

My alarm goes off at 6:45am for work each day, so in order to get my 7-8 hours sleep per night, I go to bed at 10:00pm. I obviously don't fall asleep straight away, but it doesn't take long. So by the time I've nodded off, I will get in my optimum amount of sleep!

❌ 03 - BEDTIME - Experiment with your bedtime routine - scents, white noise, temperature, lighting, screentime etc.

❌ 04 - DIET - Make a positive change to your diet - for example cutting out meat for 3 months.

✅ 05 - SCREEN TIME - Make an active effort to limit your screen time or time spent on social media.

I know that I spend time scrolling through my phone without any sort of purpose. It's completely pointless, but I feel like my fingers need to be doing something. This clause has made me be more conscious about reducing my time if I can. Although it hasn't reduced greatly, and some weeks it increases, I'm glad that I've made the effort and I know that I can do some crochet or cross stitch to occupy my time rather than scrolling my phone. 

Frustratingly, I did catch covid a few weeks ago, which meant I was home from work for a week. Even though I did use my time to rest and do the occasional bit of crafting when I felt up to it, I did spend a lot of time on my phone, watching videos and scrolling social media.

I started looking at this clause week ending 7th August where my weekly screen time was 48h5m (phone) and 18h13m (iPad). I made the conscious effort to reduce my time, and after 3 months my weekly screen time was 15h6m (phone) and 11h41m (iPad). The spike was obviously the week I had covid, but overall my screen time has reduced, and I hope to continue this.

✅ 06 - PAMPER - Regularly schedule in beauty treatments - such as massages or pedicures, or make time to give yourself home treatments.

For a few years I have been having back massages, and even though I'm not overly concerned with my appearance, I do also get my eyebrows waxed. I get these things done once a month. It's nice just to have a bit of a relax and have someone else take care of you. I can't lie, she's brutal with my shoulder and properly pounds it, but I do feel better aftwards!

✅ 07 - ALCOHOL - Give up alcohol for three months.

I don't drink a lot of alcohol anyway, but I still wanted to see if I was able to stop drinking when I went out.  I'm partial to a cider every now and then, and when I find a nice one, I want to drink a lot of it. I had my last alcoholic drink on 6th August 2022. It's been quite easy not to drink, but it's been frustrating as most places don't have a lot of non-alcoholic options for drinks. I've drunk more lemonade in the past 3 months than I would have liked, and as I'm not a huge fan of fizzy pop, this hasn't been ideal. It's my other half's birthday soon and we're going away for a few days. I will probably have a couple of drinks then, because I do enjoy the occasional drink. But I also know that I don't need to drink if I don't want to, and ultimately an alcoholic drink is just empty calories.

✅ 08 - YOUR CHOICE - Focus on your own area of self care - this might be meditation, buying yourself flowers, reading more, exercising more …

By doing various things in the Rebel Badge Book, I've been finding things that I enjoy. I've always been a bit arty and crafty, but found excuses not to do anything because, quite frankly, I can be a bit lazy. Now that I have the badges to focus on, and give myself a challenge, I've found that I've been enjoying trying new things and revisiting old things. I've bought myself flowers as suggested in this clause, which has been nice and brightened up the dining table. But I've also paid attention to myself more, and have lost a bit of weight by looking at what I eat, and doing exercise for my Fitness Badge. I've also been trying new crafts for my Craft Badge. And these things certainly have made me happy.