Self care became a buzzword during the pandemic. But for some, it’s still not a priority. I’ve been digging into wellness and collecting information and tips about how people can develop and improve their self care.

I came across several resources that list anywhere from 5-8 different areas to focus on when building a comprehensive self care plan. But for many people, self care is still just their beauty/skincare routine instead of enhancing it to cover so much more.

Full disclosure: I’m definitely not a girly girl. So I never got into pampering myself with weekly hair appointments, spa days, and stuff like that. But I can totally see how routinely pampering yourself with all kinds of beauty services, can feel like it is all that’s needed for self care. You look good, so you feel good.

But I do think it’s important to not only make non-negotiables with your beauty services, but also for anything else you need to do to make you feel your best. Both internally and externally. So one of the 8 areas of self care is physical care. So not only is it about beauty services, but it’s also about exercise, fitness, and nutrition. Maximizing impact on your physical self care has to include those components.

Another area is financial self care. That means, you take time to work on your finances and make sure you are headed toward your financial goals. Reducing debt, saving and investing along with overall good money management is a part of having a healthy financial self care routine.

Psychological self care, also known as mental self care, refers to how you feed your mind and your thoughts. How do you stimulate your mind? Good self care in this area could be reading a personal development book or setting boundaries on how often you get on social media.

Emotional self care deals with how you process your feelings and consequently your behaviors. It could look like a regular appointment with a therapist, or journaling. Having a good cry could definitely be a healthy part of your emotional self care routine.

Managing your personal space and your surroundings so that you can thrive is a part of environmental self care. You may decide you need a change of scenery during the workday, nights or on the weekend. A change of environment is sometimes all you need to get refreshed and prepare for the next week. Do you actively try to limit time with negative people? If so, that is a part of a healthy social self care plan. Getting out and regularly meeting new people is good for building a social life, but it is also important to maintain connections to those VIPs in your life.

Spiritual self care likely looks different depending on your belief system and how (or if) you practice your faith. It an range from meditation to prayer to yoga or connecting with nature or astrology. It is completely personal and specific to you, but whatever works to keep you in a good space.

Finally one last area of self care relates to your career. Professional self care is how you prioritize yourself and your needs in the workplace. Do you take breaks when needed? Are you able to say “no” when you have too much on your plate at work? Advocating for yourself at work in small ways counts toward improving your professional self care.

So with so many areas of self care to pay attention to, it definitely requires time to figure out what you need to implement so that you can be your best and not get worn down. What’s one area that you’re going to focus on first?