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7 self-care tips for busy women

By Dr. Sharon Stills, NMD

Feel like you don’t have enough time in the day to squeeze in self-care?

You can’t pour from an empty cup. But the good news is — it doesn’t take long to start refilling it. Check out our favorite quick tips for self-care ideas that can reverse depleting habits, helping you to brim with vibrancy again.

busy woman practicing 1-minute self-care tips

The best news for busy women — they each take one minute or less!

Delete digital distractions. Go through your phone settings and disable push notifications and other alerts from apps on your phone that don’t really serve a purpose. Do you really need to know that a new level is available on Candy Crush right when you are in the middle of a big work project? Irrelevant notifications are just digital distractions that break your concentration and also encourage you to spend more time on your phone, which exposes you to sleep-disrupting blue light. With a few swipes, you’ll reduce the digital clutter.

Social media cleanse. While you’ve got your phone out, open up your social media apps and go through to remove or hide toxic people from your friends and followers lists. Browse your accounts….do certain people post things that always make you feel drained or bad? Improve your social media experience by filtering them from your feed.

Tap away the stress. The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a quick and easy tool to lower stress and tension. To do it, you tap a series of energy meridian points in the body, unblocking energy flow and increasing feelings of well-being. We’ve got all the directions for “tapping” for stress relief here.

Take 10 deep breaths. When you are stressed or anxious, your breathing becomes shallow,  which then causes further anxiety and tension in the body. To reverse this, take a quick time-out and breathe deeply 10 times, extending your breath as far down into your belly as it will go. (Your deep breath counts if it pushes your belly out.) Breath in…and out…and repeat 10 times. Already feeling better? That’s because you have just activated your body’s Vagus nerve, which is the center of your body’s relaxation response.

Laugh. Laughter is the best medicine because it helps to break the vicious cycle of constant stress and anxiety and boosts your feel good hormones like serotonin. It doesn’t take long to laugh! Read some funny jokes or check out humor videos on Youtube — many are a minute or less.

Say something kind to yourself. You might go out of your way to compliment friends and family, but when is the last time you said something kind to yourself? Start with a brief but powerful affirmation by standing in front of a mirror and looking yourself in the eye. Say “I love you” and give yourself a compliment. You’re so smart! You have such pretty eyes! You are brave and beautiful! Then smile at yourself and let these words sink in. Watch this viral YouTube video for inspiration!

Say thank you. It’s free, easy and doesn’t need to take long at all to feel the life-changing power of gratitude. Shut off your phone, close your computer, get comfortable, and think about something or someone in your life that lights you up and makes you feel whole. Focus on these feelings and feel gratitude for the good things in life.

Now don’t you feel better?

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Last Updated: December 28, 2021
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