Healthy Self-Care Goals
Everyone wants to strictly follow new goals we set for ourselves. While it’s a great idea to strive for self-improvement it can also be difficult to stay on track and frustration quickly comes when we break a personal goal.
It’s not healthy, physically or mentally, to beat ourselves up when we don’t exactly meet our set goals, so let’s talk about some easily achievable goals that should help both your mental and physical health.
1. Prioritize Activities That Make You Happy
We all have busy schedules whether it’s work, school, or family, but carving out time for yourself is an important part of mental health. Usually, goals focus on "grinding" and being productive, but it’s important to pace yourself and think about what’s sustainable long term.
Whether it’s setting up an hour on your calendar to meditate, turning off your phone and picking up that new fiction book that’s been on the table for months, or making sure family movie night happens at least once a week, prioritizing these activities is a great goal. These hobbies outside of typical “productive work” can help add balance to your life if you're stressed.
You won’t feel burnout as quickly when working at your job or as stressed when trying to get the kids ready for school. Don’t guilt yourself, these moments with loved ones and moments for focusing on your own personal self-care are essential.
2. Go Through Your Material Possessions
It’s a great goal to go through your material possessions like clothes, books, and other trinkets at least once a year. We accumulate things and thoughtful maintenance of your belongings can help keep stock of everything and make sure possessions don’t become an overwhelming factor in your life.
We’re not suggesting a minimalist lifestyle or a drastic change here, but it could help your mental clutter to not have as many physical items in your home that clutter your space and your mind. Don’t give up things you love, but there are certainly things you can pass on to others that you don’t love anymore.
3. Clean Your Spaces Regularly
Speaking of helping your mental clutter, cleaning regularly will surely do just that. A regular cleaning schedule is also going to benefit your physical health. Making little improvements here and there in cleaning your home makes a world of difference.
Regularly vacuuming and dusting with a soft cloth that will pick up dust from surfaces will help your allergies. Dust bunnies collect countless organisms from dust mites to bacteria that can make you sick so regular cleaning is important. Turn on a cleaning playlist or do some intermittent cleaning during commercial breaks because every little bit counts.
4. Clean Your Indoor Air
Indoor air is more polluted than outdoor air. While we can’t individually control outdoor air quality we can control our indoor air quality.
Yes, we’re Oransi and tout air purifiers so you knew this was coming, but cleaning your indoor air with air purifiers will help maintain your mental and physical health. Air purifiers with HEPA filters and a strong motor will clean your indoor air of dust and airborne bacteria that causes illness while activated carbon filters will help with VOCs. Cleaning your indoor air helps to mitigate these harmful particles.
5. Regularly Reach Out To Loved Ones
We all get busy whether it’s work or school or a new hobby. While those are important to focus on, it’s also important to make time to regularly reach out to loved ones. Talking on the phone, over video chat, meeting up for a coffee or dinner, or just texting a friend or family member helps your mental health.
We get wrapped up in our own lives and troubles and stressors that we forget to step back and have a moment to relax. Worrying and stressing is a part of life, and it can quickly feel overwhelming. Reaching out to loved ones regularly helps us get out of our own minds and lives and reconnect with friends and family.
6. Get Outside More
Going on a daily walk is a great goal for self-care. We’re not saying you need to keep to a strict workout routine, but any daily outside activity whether it’s walking or just sitting outside while reading or talking with a friend. Getting a little sun or just breathing in fresh air everyday helps your mental health.
There are great tools that show a live report of your area’s air quality. You can use this to track air quality health in your area and make sure you’re not planning a big day out where you’ll be miserable breathing in polluted air.
7. Be Kind To Yourself (And Others)
We’ve listed out several great self-care goals, but even if you can’t keep these goals every second of every day doesn’t mean you’re failing. It’s a lot healthier to be kind to yourself and forgive yourself when you aren’t perfect because no one is, and the pressure we put on ourselves to follow set goals is real.
If you talk to yourself negatively or are constantly using self-deprecating humor, try thinking if you would say the same things about your best friend, your spouse, or your child. Most of the time we’re a lot less forgiving of ourselves than we are of our loved ones, so give yourself the same kindness you would show others.
Everyone needs a break and putting pressure on ourselves to stick to some arbitrary goal doesn’t help anyone, so be nice to yourself and others!
