Does self-care feel like a luxury that you just don’t have time for right now? Are you so ambitious that you are in hustling mode and feel that every minute has to be used productively? If so, this blog post is for you! Keep on reading to find out why self-care isn’t a luxury but in fact a necessity and that it will help you to be more successful, as well as 11 self-care tips for ambitious women.
Why self-care is essential for an ambitious woman?
As an ambitious woman, it is easy to think that self-care is a fluffy topic and not something to need to really engage with. You might feel as if there are more important things to spend your time on. You have big goals to achieve and they aren’t going to happen whilst you are sitting in a bubble bath or taking some time to cook and eat a really wholesome meal. Now whilst you aren’t going to achieve your goals whilst doing those activities, the fact is that self-care supports your success.
You might think that you are Wonder Woman (and I’m sure in your own way you are), but you are a human being and humans have one body and one mind, which is not looked after will deteriorate. Therefore, if you want to be able to perform at your best then you NEED to take time out of your busy schedule and look after yourself in the shape of some self-care.
When you establish good self-care routines and take the time out regularly for self-care it will mean that the rest of the time to spend trying to achieve your goals you’ll be able to work to your best. You’ll be happier, have more energy and be more focused.
That makes sense, doesn’t it? If you take the time to look after yourself then you’ll be able to perform at your best when you are working towards your goals and therefore achieve them quicker.
Hopefully, you can understand how committing time to self-care isn’t taking you away from achieving your goals, but actually helping you to achieve your goals. So the question is what does self-care look like and how can you practice self-care in your life.
11 self-care tips for ambitious women
1. Schedule time off
I’ve put this tip first because time off is essential, but so many ambitious women don’t take enough time. As mentioned earlier to perform at your best you need to regular time take to rest, recharge and re-energise. However, it is easy to get caught up in hustling mode and keep on going. That is why scheduling time off in advance is key. Blackout days in your days weeks or months in advance and don’t book anything in (other than self-care activities).
2. Use positive language and self-talk
Sometimes we say things to ourselves that we would never say to other people. It is time to stop being so hard on yourself and instead show yourself come compassion and love. When you talk to your self positively and use positive self-talk you’ll boost your self-esteem, self-confidence and so many other things.
3. Find, and practice, a stress relieving activity
Stress is a part of life and as an ambitious woman, you are likely to have periods of your life that are highly stressful. Becoming stressed isn’t an issue but staying stressed is. Therefore, you need to discover activities that act as a stress reliever for you. Taking the time what helps you to de-stress now will allow you to know exactly what to do when you are stressed in the future.
4. Get enough sleep
If there is one thing that seems to suffer when people are motivated to achieve their goals it is sleep. It is easy to get caught up in thinking that by putting in more hours you’ll achieve your goal quicker, but getting enough sleep is essential for your health. As a self-care habit decide on a bedtime and stick to it.
5. Have a digital detox
Digital devices have changed the way we live our lives and whilst they are useful in so many ways it can be a great form a self-care to take yourself away from them all. You might start with just a few hours and build up to a few days or even a whole week. Bonus self-care tip is to then take yourself into nature.
6. Listen to uplifting music
Music has truly transformation powers. It has the ability to change our mood in such a small amount of time so why not take advantage. Work out what type of music uplifts you and create a playlist so that you can easily listen to that music when you want to. You might decide to listen to the music in the morning to get you ready for the day ahead or have it on standby for moments when you need a pick me up.
7. Take some deep breaths
This self-care tip take hardly any time (I know that makes you happy) but is still powerful. You can do this exercise anywhere just stop what you are doing and take some deep breaths. Breath in for 4 and out for 4. Concentrate on breathing in and out, and how that feels in your body. You can do this for as little as 5 breaths, but 10 is ideal.
8. Laugh
You only get one life and it should be filled with laughter. As children as days were filled with laughter but for some people are they grow up laugher stops being an everyday occurrence. What makes you laugh? Watching something on TV? Talking to a good friend? Doing something ridiculous? As long as it isn’t hurting anyone else – do it!
9. Move your body
Our bodies were made to move but in modern life, it is easy to get caught spending the majority of your day sitting down. Show your body some self-care and move it. How you decide to move your body is less important than just moving it. Maybe you like to walk, run, dance, do yoga or play squash. Try different ways of moving your body and pay attention to which ways energise you so you can do them again in the future.
10. Create, and then read, a compliments file
Do you truly appreciate how amazing you are? If you don’t then creating, and reading, a compliments file is a great activity for you. A compliments file is where you collate all of the compliments that people send you. Once you’ve originally created your compliments file you can continue to add to it and take the time to go back through your file and remind yourself of just how fabulous you are.
11. Have a bubble bath
I couldn’t possibly write a list of self-care tips for success-driven women and not include a bubble bath. It may be a massive cliché, but if so many people love it there must be a reason. Sitting or lying in a hot bath feels soothing on your body and if you lock the door it can become your sanctuary if what may possibly be a madhouse. You can make your bath as basic or elaborate as you want. Some common things to turn a normal bath into a self-care bath are playing music, adding Epsom salt, lighting candles, reading a book or having a glass of wine.
There you have it! There are 11 self-care tips for ambitious women.
I hope you now have a few ideas on how to add more self-care into your life. A little bit of self-care really can go a long way and by making self-care a normal part of your life you’ll notice the benefits in all aspects of your life (including achieving your goals).
I would love to know in the comments about how you love to practice self-care.
