Self-Care is an area of my life that I have become more intentional about over the past few years. As the pressures of adult life increase I have found certain habits that I gravitate towards to help me feel sane. Here are my top 5 activities that I love to do for self-care.
1. Shower and Warm Fuzzies
There’s nothing like a warm shower to prepare you for a night of sleep after a long treacherous day! I love that this self-care activity doesn’t cost me any money up front and can be done from the comfort of my home. To jazz things up, I might try a new body shower scent or body scrub. A hot shower after a long night of studying plus a fresh set of pjs is 100% my kind of night!
2. Retail (Window) Therapy
Retail therapy has a way of making your troubles temporarily disappear – mind you your bank balance will slowly disappear also if you’re not careful. As a grad student with a part-time job and my own business, I’m fortunate to have a spending budget that allows me to pick up items here and there as a form of self-care. My poisons of choice are the blanket scarves at Aritzia, the collection is thriving! Most of the time I actually end up window-shopping and piling items into ZARA change rooms to host a mini fashion show with myself.
3. Hot Yoga
Anyone who knows me in real life knows about my love for yoga. For me this is one of the best forms of self-care and a regular practice is essential in my fitness routine. My favourite yoga studio happens to be Metta Yoga Calgary and if you’re following my Instagram page, you already know this as I post about them quite often. Throughout this quarantine period they have offered classes consistently for free and are currently running an awesome fitness challenge throughout the month of May – 100% my favourite local business to support.
4. Food
There are two main food places (plus one more I recently discovered) I head to when I want to treat myself after a not-so-grand day. The first is Chatime – my dedication and love for this brand is simply unrequited. My order – Brown Sugar Roasted Milk Tea with Pearls and Popcorn Chicken (no extra spices). Y’all I’m not sure what they put in that chicken but it SLAPSSSS!
Second place you may find me at is Thai Express. One of my good friends introduced me to this particular menu item early 2019 and till this day my Thai Express order has not changed. Whenever the outside world opens I highly recommend that you try the Basil Fried Rice with Chicken. I cannot begin to describe how heavenly this meal tastes – if you’re Nigerian, the rice – it too make sense! In face you’re welcome in advance.
Last but not least is a new restaurant I tried with one of my girl friends at the beginning of March called Jane Bond BBQ. I had been following their Instagram for quite a while determined to see if the images they posted lived up to their worth in taste. Needless to say, it did. If you enjoy Jamaican-inspired BBQ-style good home cooking then this is THE SPOT for you! Highly recommend the corn on the cob and corn bread.
5. Increased Productivity
This may seem counterintuitive to the idea of self-care but oddly enough I find that increased productivity and shifting my focus can help to clear my mind. For instance if I am feeling pressure from school work, instead of abandoning work entirely, I may put my energy into another productive task such as creating blog content, Instagram content or revamping my websites.
There are soooo many more ways to take care of yourself besides the five I have just listed. What do you do for self care? Let me know in the comments below!
Until the next time!
ANTHONIAxo
