January 8 is National Bubble Bath Day!

Do you take bubble baths?

No?

Me either, honestly.

But I did think that it ties in pretty well to a resolution for the New Year. In 2020, I resolve to take care… of myself. Join me in taking care of YOURself.

Why is this important? At the risk of sounding cliched, remember the safety procedures they give you on the airplane. Whose oxygen mask do you put on first? Yours or your child’s? 

Yours, of course. Because you can’t help anyone else when you yourself are gasping for air. A lot of people reading this post really like to help others! You’re diligent about taking care of your family. First, you have to have the resources to care for them, and that means self-care first.

Bubble baths are one way that people manage self-care, and certainly they can be relaxing. As can taking some time out for yourself to read or meditate, have a cup of tea, etc.

What is self-care if you don’t like massages or cups of tea or bubble baths?

Self-care isn’t just about relaxing, or laughing alone with salad (seriously, have you seen those stock photos?) Taking care of physical and intellectual health is just as important as me-time.

Playing sports with your buddies? Self-care. (As long as you’re not out there weekend-warrioring and ending up injured.) Biking with the whole family? Self-care. Walk after dinner? You guessed it!

Making sure that you have the time set aside for you and your family is also important for self-care. This might seem obvious. But how many groups do you volunteer for? Does that eat into your time for yourself and your family? Setting boundaries as to what is reasonable and what is not is necessary to make sure that you don’t get burned out. And resentful at how much work you’re doing.

What you can do for better family time and comfort

Put down your phone. Unless you’re a first responder, you don’t need to be accessible to everyone at all times. Multi-tasking is literally impossible. You might think you’re multi-tasking, but really your brain is just switching back and forth very quickly. That fatigues the brain, which makes mistakes more likely.

While you’re on your phone, you’re not with your kids or spouse or other important people in your life. Your relationship is with your phone, not them. And you’re absorbing the details of others living their best lives, ads designed to hook you immediately, celebrities doing whatever they’re doing. Which actively causes unhappiness. Put down that phone!

Even adjusting your physical surroundings for safety and comfort is self-care! When you’re at home, move things out of the way so you have fewer trip hazards. Spend a lot of time at the computer at home? Give yourself an ergonomic setup! Adjust your work height surfaces so you’re not hunching over or cricking your neck. Back safety isn’t just for the workplace. 

If you stretch out for the same material a lot, like when you’re working on your hobbies, move them within easy reach.

It might be harder at work, but do what you can. Maybe your company will spring for a sit-stand desk, or at least set you up with an ergonomic workstation. We’ve got plenty of posts about how important it is to set up correctly to avoid injury. Send your boss to our page if they give you any pushback on workplace ergonomics!

Tell us how you’re resolving to take care of yourself this year in the comments!