“Take care of yourself!” “Put yourself first!” “You need some ‘me time’”. We’ve all heard it. Heck I wrote about it last week. When most people hear the words “self care” they think of massages, beach time, a fancy dinner out. That’s all well and good for everyone else but you just started a business, you’re on a budget. Maybe you don’t even like the beach. So what’s a girl to do? The truth is that self care can look however you want it to. Even if you do want the beach vacation with a full spa treatment but it’s not in the cards right now there are other options out there.
First, you need to let go of other people’s expectations and ideas of self care. This isn’t something that you’re going to snap selfies of (unless you want to) and post all about. Even if you do post about it you don’t need to explain yourself to anyone. This is your time, and you can experience it however you want to. I can’t tell you what you should do but I can tell you to sit in your thoughts for a little while and really think about what you need to recalibrate yourself a bit. There is just as much value in staying out late and dancing the night away as there is in sitting at home with a book and a cup of tea. What you really need is to find what works for you.
Now for the budget problem. Once again, this looks different with everyone so we’re just going to talk about some ideas that might work if you can’t do some of the more high ticket items. Beach vacations are great but they’re hard to manage on a busy schedule and for most people, too expensive to do more than once a year or so at best. One of the things I like to do is get into nature somehow. Maybe I can’t hear the crashing of the ocean but I can hear the wind rustle the trees in a neighborhood park. Most cities have massage schools where you can go get the massage you need for about half the price of a traditional massage. If you do like to go out dancing, you can find a low or no cover place to leave it all on the dance floor. Most of the high ticket options have a comparable lower cost plan available. I also highly recommend incentivising some of the things you really want so that you can work your way to them. Maybe once your business hits a certain sales goal or when you accomplish a particularly daunting task you get to do the thing you’ve been saving for.
Self care on a budget is challenging but it’s definitely doable. Sometimes the best self care is to stop and ask yourself what you want, then making a plan to get there. If you don’t know where to start, set aside some time to brainstorm. Set aside different time to make a plan. The switch from creative brainstorm to action plan is tough and needs a break. Prioritize a little self care every week. It can be short and sweet but take the time. Take more if you need it but even if you think you don’t need that once a week. You do. Learn to identify what your self care is and stop beating yourself up for taking it. If it’s draining your finances, spend some time thinking about what could help that’s more budget friendly but don’t give up your time. You need it.