1. Take THE shower that includes your whole beauty, hair and skincare routine. Exfoliate, shave, self-tan, moisturize, style your hair, do your manicure and pedicure… spend time being mindful about taking care of yourself.
2. Go on a 24h social media detox. It’s a good practice all year round but especially on days in which you could have a bigger temptation to compare and bring yourself down. If you are a bit sad, or in a mood, or it’s a day when you know people are going to be posting a lot you don’t have to watch.
3. Practice meditation, mindfulness and focus on deep breathing. If you have trouble doing it without guidance you can listen to a guided meditation podcast or use an app that conducts the process.
4. Turn off the lights, light a scandle and listen to the associated playlist. Enjoy. No need to explain, there’s nothing more relaxing.
5. Get your journal, look for a set of self-love prompts, think of 3 affirmations and write away your deepest thoughts and desires to liberate them into the world. Don’t overthink, the idea is to release whatever thoughts are going through your mind without filtering.
6. Workout, do yoga or pilates, go on a long walk… whatever you feel like. The purpose is to move your body and feel the serotonin that runs through later.
7. Have enough sleep for your body to be rested. Don’t feel guilty if you are tired and need to take a nap. Be conscious about your energy and how your body feels.
8. Prepare a dinner date for yourself, cook your favourite meal or (only if you are awful at cooking) you can cheat and order the best place for takeaway near you. You have to dress up with an outfit that makes you feel good about yourself and set the table with the fine dishes and glasses.
9. Think of a self-love affirmation that resonates with you, write it down in a post-it and put it somewhere you see it every day to have it as a reminder.
10. Do a DIY project such as pottery, altering clothes, painting, redesigning your space, giving a new life to a piece of furniture… It’s an opportunity to find a new hobby or to spend quality time doing what you love.
11. Read a self-help book or listen to a mental health awareness podcast and write down all of your thoughts and take it as a learning experience. Write them in an easy-access place so you can reach for them as many times as you want or need.
12. Create a vision board with your dreams and aspirations, places you want to visit, goals you want to achieve… Basically, anything and everything you want to incorporate into your life.
