The 5 Most Underrated Self-Care Habits That Will Transform Your Day

Unpopular opinion…

Achieving your goals doesn’t always lead to the most significant impact on your well-being.

Sometimes, it simply comes down to your daily habits.

For the past 3 years, I’ve been filling up my day with simple but powerful rituals that have made a drastic difference to my mental health and overall well-being.

In short, they’ve changed my life.

And instead of keeping them to myself, I thought I’d share the love.

Here are the 5 most underrated self-care habits that have the potential to transform your day.

Habits vs. self-care habits

Simply put, a habit is a learnt behaviour.

This habit has been repeated so many times throughout your life that it has become something you do without thinking about it. For example, brushing your teeth in the morning.

If you think about it closely, your entire daily life is made up of tiny habits.

Some habits actively benefit your overall health, while others do not. For example, mindlessly scrolling on social media or eating a lot of processed food could be seen as unhealthy habits.

It’s therefore essential that you focus on building habits that positively contribute to your physical, mental and emotional health and benefit you long-term.

I like to call these self-care habits.

A self-care habit is anything that you consciously do to support your daily well-being. Think about setting clear boundaries, engaging in exercise and getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night.

The importance of self-care habits

Most healthy habits you build will have a positive impact on your daily life, productivity and future success. They have the power to turn you into the person you want to become. Which for most of us, is our ‘best self’.

Self-care habits, on the other hand, solely focus on supporting your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

After all, how can you expect to show up as your best, most productive self if you’re denying your mind and body the self-care they need?

But adding self-care to an already overwhelming to-do list is not always going to be realistic. And that’s why building a sustainable set of self-care habits just makes sense.

Because you can easily incorporate them into your daily routine.

Especially if they’re as simple as the ones below.

By being proactive with building habits that support your daily well-being, you can start to experience a number of benefits, including:

• Reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Better stress management
• Increased discipline, determination and resilience
• Improved energy levels, productivity, focus and motivation
• Better quality of sleep
• Improved relationships (not only with yourself but with friends, family and colleagues)
• Greater likelihood of achieving long-term goals

The 5 most underrated self-care habits

I know, I know… I’m the poster child for doing things on your own terms.

Yes, I deeply believe self-care is unique to you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find inspiration from new places.

The below self-care habits changed my life, and I firmly believe they have the power to transform yours, too. And that is the reason why I wanted to share them with you.

But by all means, only take what works for you and leave the rest. Or find your own self-care habits that will support your daily well-being.

Because once your mind has been taken care of, the rest won’t be so difficult.

I encourage you to bookmark this blog post so you can refer back to it whenever you need to.

1 | Reading in the morning

Waking up in the morning can sometimes be a struggle. Especially if it’s dark and cold outside or you’re in a low place.

But adopting specific self-care habits that you find enjoyable can give you a reason to wake up.

This, for me, was reading.

I used to choose fiction books that would allow me to escape to a new world and become engrossed. Think psychological thrillers or magical fantasy, a.k.a. Harry Potter.

These books were my version of a page-turner, compelling me to read every morning and holding my attention on my commute to work.

Reading gave me that passion that I was missing in my past 9-5 life.

And although I now wake up excited by my day, I’ve still kept the habit of reading in the morning.

It has supported my mental well-being in ways I didn’t even know were possible, including:

• Mentally stimulating my mind
• Easing stress and anxious morning thoughts
• Preparing me for the day ahead
• Encouraging creativity and imagination
• Boosting focus and concentration

So if you dread opening your eyes in the morning, start by reading a fiction book for 10-15 minutes and see how it benefits your daily well-being.

2 | Practising gratitude

Finding gratitude in everything I do has been an essential part of my well-being journey.

Whenever I’ve hit a rough patch or things haven’t gone to plan, it’s important for me to remind myself of all the good things that continue to light me up inside.

To take a moment to appreciate the smaller things in life and focus on the things that bring me joy.

No matter how tedious those things might be. For example, being grateful for a warm bed, being healthy or having access to clean water. I never want to take things for granted, and regularly practising gratitude keeps me grounded in this way.

For that reason, practising gratitude has become a non-negotiable part of my morning routine.

After my morning reading ritual, I grab my gratitude journal (this is the exact one I use) and give myself a few mindful minutes to list down 3 things I’m grateful for, 3 things I’m looking forward to and one positive affirmation.

This instantly boosts my mood and sets me up for a more positive and meaningful day.

No wonder they say practising gratitude is the simplest thing you can do each morning to become happier.

You are opening yourself up to so many mindset shifts, including:

• Reducing negative thinking
• Boosting positive and resourceful thinking
• Cultivating more self-awareness and compassion
• Appreciating the smaller things in life
• Feeling more optimistic about life
• Relieving stress and overwhelm
• Decreasing anxiety and depression
• Forming a deeper connection with yourself

3 | Swimming

Swimming is one of the best physical exercises you can do for your overall health, as it moves the whole body.

But it’s also a powerful mental health exercise.

In fact, swimming is my therapy.

There’s something about being in the water that makes me feel entirely at peace with myself.

I think it’s because swimming is one of the few things that you can do entirely on your own terms. You don’t need to rely on anyone else. It’s just you and the water.

As soon as I get in the water, my mind instantly feels calmer, and my anxious thoughts are eased.

Not to mention, my mind and body feel extremely energised and invigorated afterwards.

It’s proven that moving your body first thing in the morning helps to boost your heart rate and increase blood flow and oxygen levels. This can help you feel more awake and give you the energy you need to tackle the day ahead.

So for that reason, whenever I get the chance (most mornings right now because I’m living in Greece), I head on down to the beach and get in a morning swim.

The sea is a place where I can go to think, get clear on my actions for the day and just be.

The ultimate form of self-care if you ask me.

4 | Getting outside for fresh air

It doesn’t matter where I find myself or what the weather is.

Come wind, rain or shine, I will, without fail, get outside.

Not only is this the simplest self-care habit on the list, but it’s also the most affordable.

Because fresh air is free. It’s everywhere.

And there is no excuse not to get outside for at least 5 minutes every day. Inhale, exhale and practice the 54321 grounding method.

Have you ever felt instantly calmer or gained more clarity after walking in nature?

That’s because fresh air is therapy.

It is proven to help you cope with stress and overwhelm by helping to clear away the cobwebs.

So do not take this natural element for granted and invite it into your daily schedule, either first thing in the morning or after work.

Your well-being will thank you!

“Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies.”

Erich Fromm

5 | Muting all notifications

Out of all the self-care habits on this list, muting notifications is by far the most underrated.

Maybe because it’s not seen as a true habit, or because people have never thought about it.

The truth is, I can get distracted pretty easily.

Mid-lockdown, my procrastination was at an all-time high. I used to spend hours scrolling through social media. I guess I was still in the mindset where I wasn’t confident in my path, and I lacked clarity and direction.

Now that I have a vision that I’m deeply in love with, I wake up with a purpose every single day.

And that means that I have zero time for distractions — most notably, notifications.

I’m not bragging, but I receive a lot of emails, messages, social media notifications and DMs a day. If I were to stop what I was doing every time I got a new notification to respond, then chances are I would get nothing done.

So I’ve made the decision to turn off ALL notifications so I can purely focus on my daily priorities.

This is self-care in the sense that muting all notifications allows me to perform at my best each day (whatever my best looks like that day).

It also reduces the likelihood that I would get distracted and start mindlessly scrolling on social media, adding to my overwhelm and, dare I say, comparison cycle.

Final thoughts

Remember, just because something works for me doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll work for you.

I’ve detailed each one of these non-negotiable rituals because they’ve supported my well-being in ways that I didn’t know were possible and changed my daily life in the process.

And I generally believe they have the potential to transform your day, too.

But only if these habits are generally something you enjoy.

The bottom line is that if you adopt healthy habits that suit you and your personality, you’re more likely to stick with them.

For example, there’s no point in building the habit of swimming every morning if you cannot swim.

So, take what you need and leave the rest. Or find your own version of these self-care habits.

Do what works best for you, always.

You’ve got this,

Thalia xx