I have always been a huge advocate for self-care. Ever since freshman year of high school, I had a daily self-care routine I would follow. When the world shut down and everyone in my county was forced to shelter in place, I noticed that I stopped following my routine as frequently as I used to. With the decline in my self-care, my mental headspace declined as well. When I realized the correlation between my self-care and my headspace, I decided to take action and reinstate my self-care routine.

I firmly believe having a regular self-care routine is very important, and I remember first trying to create mine and feeling kind of lost trying to figure out what would work for me. I've compiled a list of some of my favorite self-care acts to inspire you to create your own routine!

1) Create and maintain a good skin care routine

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

One of the things I struggled with in middle and high school was self-image. I couldn't change the way my body was structured, but I could put my best face forward with clear skin. Find skincare products that work for you and create a routine that works best for your schedule. My best advice for this self-care idea: find a gentle face wash, wash your face twice a day, put on sunscreen in the morning and reapply throughout the day, never sleep with makeup on, and do a face mask between twice a month or once a week!

2) Put some makeup on

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

For some of us, putting makeup on is a normal, daily ritual done before leaving the house for work or for school, and it's so incredibly easy to lose your sense of normalcy in lockdown. Sometimes just indulging your creative side and doing your makeup helps you get into a better mindset because you're giving yourself that bit of normalcy your brain has been craving. You can even switch up your look and do something you would normally never wear out of the house!

3) Cook your favorite food

Photo by Kevin McCutcheon on Unsplash

With services like DoorDash and UberEats being so fast and convenient, it's easy to just order something similar to your favorite meal. However, if you make the food yourself and eat the fruits of your own labor, it can be so much more rewarding and you get a sense of accomplishment that you wouldn't have gotten if you had just DoorDashed that ravioli you'd been craving.

4) Bake cookies

Photo by Rai Vidanes on Unsplash

Not only one of the easiest things to bake, but cookies are also some of the most delicious baked goods out there! While they're in the oven, your kitchen starts to smell like the cookies and they can be saved for days after you make them! They're a great reward for finishing up that season of the show you just watched, too.

5) Clean your space up

Photo by Volha Flaxeco on Unsplash

This can definitely be one of the most time-consuming actions of self-care, but is definitely one of the most rewarding. Personally, this is one of the hardest ones to do for me. However, seeing how much progress I made on cleaning up whatever space I chose – my bedroom, my closet, my bathroom, etc. – gives me such a huge sense of accomplishment and definitely can help with improving your mental headspace.

6) Have a good sleep schedule

Photo by Gregory Pappas on Unsplash

It is so easy to get caught up in binge-watching Netflix or scrolling through TikTok until the early hours of the morning, but we all know that doing that isn't good for us. Creating and maintaining a good sleep schedule is definitely one of the easiest forms of self-care and definitely one of the best in the long run.

7) Meditation

Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash

This one is definitely tricky, especially if you're like me and have a restless mind. Taking time to be calm and quieting your thoughts can be a great way to start or end your day, or even a great way to take a break in the middle of a hectic day. It's a fairly simple ritual to do, and it's completely up to you on how you do it!