The first time I heard the term “Self-care Sunday,” I rushed to the internet to find out what it was about because it sounded interesting. I went on Google only to realize that I had already been practicing it for some months.
A few months ago, I had just resigned from a job that was more stressful than I could handle to become a freelancer. However, after a few weeks, I still felt almost as stressed as I did while I was still working full-time, and it felt pointless to work as much when the whole point of resigning was to reduce stress.
So, I decided that Fridays would be my day off from work. I would put in all the work I could from Monday to Thursday and wouldn’t do any work on Friday. On Fridays, I would wake up to relax and do things I found helpful to my physical and mental health, and I would resume work on Monday again.
After this decision, work actually became more enjoyable. I worked, not with a mind of “when will this work ever end?” but with a sense of “counting down to my free day.” That made work more exciting, and with the excitement came more productivity.
Today, I’m a preacher of self-care Sunday or self-care day, if you choose to call it that. I encourage you and everyone to make it a ritual. To make it more appealing, I’ll start by making a list of some benefits you can enjoy if you indulge in it.
Your Mental Health Needs It
I once thought that we should all include taking care of our mental health in all our to-do lists, and even though this is the first time I’m typing it out, it’s not because I doubted the validity of that thought.
Your brain needs to stop thinking about fixing things for once. Let it not think about spreadsheets and machines but focus on laughs. Give your mind some rest from the weight of worry about how another day at work will be, and let it look forward to a day of fun.
You can also use these days for mental exercises, like meditation and journaling. While journaling helps you process some thoughts, meditation helps you reduce the mental stress that you’ve built up so far.
These breaks ensure your mental health stays intact and controlled. You don’t know how your stressful job is constantly eating at you mentally. Just pump that break occasionally, and you will find that you’re worrying less and that your mind is sounder for handling what your job throws at you.
It Boosts Physical Wellness
Your body will also benefit from a day when it doesn’t have to wake up early, rush a bath, write or type reports, walk or drive from office to office, be restricted to certain work hours, and all the things that your job demands daily. Give it some recess.
Let it rest from all of these and do things that aren’t physically demanding. It starts with waking up whenever you wake up that day and just taking it easy all day.
You can get in some deep morning workout if that’s your vibe. Then, you can spend the rest of the day relaxing on your favorite sofa to binge-watch a show from your list, wrapping yourself in bed and trying to finish that book you’ve not had time for lately, or take a long and leisurely walk to a park and enjoy nature.
This relaxation will give your body the rest it needs, and at the end of the day, you will feel rested. If your work gives you body aches, you’ll feel less of them, if not none, and your body can perform better when you return to work.
Rest and exercise will also keep you healthy, and living in good health is a necessary ingredient for a happy and healthy life.
It’s Good For Productivity
With your mental health in a good place and your physical health thriving, you can expect to be more productive. Even though the idea of rest might not sound like it, productivity actually needs it.
You have a mind that’s thinking clearer, so you can plan better for the week ahead. You have a body that is coming back to work with fresh energy and motivation so you can get right into your tasks.
There’s a good feeling that you get from taking time off to take care of yourself that makes you feel ready to resume work. That feeling can carry you through tasks that would normally scare you.
It Encourages Mindful Living
Making self-care Sunday a part of your life makes you more in tune with living in the moment and experiencing every second. When you’re relaxed and doing things you love for fun, you’re not under pressure to meet deadlines or do it in a way that must please your boss.
Instead, you’re experiencing the thrill that comes with every second spent doing the things you love. You’re feeling every rise and fall as you ride a roller coaster, every word as you read a novel, and every touch as you do your skincare routine.
When self-care Sunday is a ritual, it means there’s a day when mindfulness is key. Mindfulness makes you a generally happier person, which is good not only for you but also for everyone around you—family, friends, and colleagues.
It Becomes Easy to Make It a Routine
I’m talking about self-care Sunday now, and some readers are probably wondering if it’s something they can do long-term. All I can say is just start and see how it goes.
We both know that the more you do something, the easier it becomes to keep doing it, so if you think self-care Sunday is a great idea—and I know it is—and you’d like to enjoy its benefits, the key is to start.
The more you do it, the easier it will be to keep doing it, and the more it benefits you, the more convinced you will be that self-care Sunday must be a part of your life.
Tips for Your Self-Care Sunday Ritual
I’m putting myself into the shoes of the reader who is at the point convinced that self-care Sunday is a practice to adopt and wondering how to go about the day. Here are some things I consider great ideas.
Start with Gratitude
The tone of your self-care day should be positive, so you want to start the day with something that can set the mood—gratitude. It puts your mind on the things you’re blessed with instead of those you wish you had.
If you give it just a little thought, you’ll find many things to be thankful for. Even looking around your room and seeing things you can afford to buy for yourself or gifts you’ve gotten can give you a lot to be grateful for. Everything you have is something to be thankful for.
One way to make yourself see how much you have to be thankful for is by writing them down. Write the things you have, the names of the people who care about you, the opportunities you’re currently enjoying, and everything that makes life better, and you’ll see that you have more things to be thankful for than you think you do.
Pamper yourself
My rule for this is simple: think of something you love and do it. Forget what you saw others do in a movie or a magazine as their way of pampering themselves. It’s all about you. It doesn’t matter how silly or boring it sounds—if you love it, then do it.
I’m saying this because when many people hear the word pamper, things like a spa day, reading a book, or a warm bath come to mind. And while many would brag about this as the height pampering for many, others just want to get on a giant pendulum swing and feel the thrill.
Yours may be none of this, but if it relaxes you and helps you blow off stress, consider adding it to your self-care Sunday activities.
Unplug
There’s a reason I don’t like to mention gaming and movies as suggested activities for people who are having Self-care Sunday. As someone whose work involves using screens, I believe this is a time to let the screens rest as much as possible. There is a world outside your screen with pleasant experiences for you. Go and enjoy it.
If your work doesn’t involve too much screen time, then I’d say you can use that day to enjoy your screens—catch up on chat conversations, watch all the TV shows in the world, and play all the video games you can find. However, theres still a part of me that still fights the idea of screen time. It’s just me, though.
Find time to relax and observe the world around you. Watch the cars that move past your house, and when you see a neighbor, wave at them. Walk around your house or down your street and pay attention to things you won’t normally notice as you breeze to work. Hang out with a friend and chat over everything and nothing. Just keep those devices aside for this day.
Sort Your Thoughts
Life happens so fast that we hardly have time to think deeply about many things, so use this day as an opportunity to indulge your mind. Earlier, I mentioned something about freeing your mind and trying not to overthink work issues on your day off, but this could also be a good day to sort out some thoughts.
Nothing too serious or deep—just some underlying thoughts that you’ve never really had time to process. Simple thoughts like what schools you can afford for your child who’s going to college or when you’ll actively start working on changing your career and how you’ll go about it.
On this day off, your mind is free. You can dwell on these thoughts without many distractions and come up with actionable answers. You can plan in the quietness of your mind. Of course, you won’t spend all day sorting out these issues, but you can take some minutes just to make these important decisions.
Prepare for Work Again
What’s a better time to prepare for the next work week than your off day? As you do all your fun and relaxing activities, keep some time aside to get set for the next work phase ahead of you. For me, who works from home, this means cleaning up and arranging my room so it feels conducive to work in and setting goals I want to achieve before the week runs out.
For those who don’t work at home, this preparation may involve cleaning the house so that they can return to a serene space after work, packing their work bag so they don’t have to do the early morning rush the next day, and, if you’re like me, preparing meals to store so that feeding through the week amidst work is easier.
Add preparation to the list of things to do on your Self-Care Sunday, and you’ll enter your new week with better clarity and less stress, and you will be more prepared to crush your goals.
Will You Join Me?
I didn’t even know I was already about the self-care Sunday life, and I already enjoyed the benefits. Now that I know about it, I plan to keep it up. I’m inviting you to join me.
It’s fine if you can’t do it weekly because of the demands of your work or for any other reason, but you can try it bi-weekly. If bi-weekly is really, really, really impossible, try doing it monthly. I can’t promise you everything, but I can promise that you will love its many benefits.
I think it’s a good idea to save this article so you can easily find it in the future when you want to give me feedback on what Self-care Sunday does for you. Also, I believe there’s someone in your circle who should read this. Please share it with them.
So authentic. Thank you for writing.
Thanks so much, Cionne.