30 Day Self-Care Challenge
Self-care challenges help us focus on our health each day and by participating, we’ve already shown up for ourselves.
I encourage you to track your progress daily as you complete each challenge, I know I will.
Remember, this challenge is for you and me, so make any modifications to the daily challenges as needed. Challenge accepted? Let’s get started.
Day 1: Hydrate
Not sure how much water is enough? A good rule of thumb is to drink of your body weight in ounces.
Drinking enough water is critical to our health because it helps our cardiovascular health, promotes healthy digestion, and improves our energy levels and brain function.
Don’t worry you can take ALL day to drink!
Day 2: Commit to Eating Healthy
Eating healthy can do a lot for our body like improve our skin, reduce inflammation, and increase our energy levels.
Today, challenge yourself to eat more plants and/or less processed foods for every meal and see if you notice any improvements in how you feel.
Day 3: Find Your Inner Yogi
Do a yoga flow today, focusing on your breath and your mind. If you really want to get the most out of this practice, set up your space to promote a sense of calm by opening a window, playing soft music, or lighting a candle.
If you’re new to yoga, don’t worry. There are several yoga poses that you can work into your practice like cat-cow pose, camel pose, bridge, and spinal twist. Here’s a great online yoga practice to get you started.
Day 4: Try Something New
Experiment and do something you’ve never done before. You could try a new recipe, start a new hobby, or change up your hairstyle. Whatever you choose, moving outside your comfort zone can give you a sense of accomplishment today.
It’s important to keep challenging ourselves and our brains because it can improve our memory, enhance our skills, and make us more creative. We may even find that we have a new hobby or interest.
Day 5: Find a Quiet Spot and Read
Pick a cozy comfortable space and read a book. Get lost in something other than what’s directly happening in your life—it can be a great escape. Your book can be on any topic you’d like, as long as it gives you a mental break and leaves you feeling more relaxed (or invigorated) than you felt before you picked it up.
Day 6: Get an Extra Hour of Sleep
Treat yourself and sleep in today. Plan accordingly to get an extra hour of sleep by either going to bed an hour earlier or waking up an hour later. If you need help sleeping in, try lowering the temperature slightly in your home or wearing an eye mask to make your space as dark as possible.
Day 7: Schedule Time for Your Health
Is there a health appointment you’ve been avoiding? It could be a yearly physical, a skin scan, or even a dental appointment. Whatever it may be, take this time to schedule it.
Don’t let checking up on your health be an inconvenience—it’s one of the most important things you can do for yourself.
Day 8: Create a Fitness Goal
Have you always wanted to run a marathon or be able to do splits? You’ve got this. Take this time to create a fitness goal to work towards. Create micro-goals like increasing your distance a little bit each time you go for a jog, or gradually improving your flexibility by aiming to touch your toes first. Make a plan—and celebrate milestones, both big and small—to achieve your goal.
Day 9: Start Your Day With Your Favorite Herbal Tea
Begin your day by enjoying a soothing cup of herbal tea. Not only is it a delicious way to start your day, herbal teas are full of antioxidants.
Day 10: Learn How to Grow Something
Gift yourself a plant or start an herb garden. Plants are decorative, fun to grow, they can help to improve air quality. Growing plants brings life into your home, and is a constant reminder that the things you give attention to can flourish and grow.
Day 11: Meditate for 5 Minutes
Find time for 5 minutes of stillness and meditation to clear your mind and find a sense of calm. You can do this in your home, outside in nature, or wherever you can avoid distractions. Here’s a great guided meditation.
Day 12: Create a Morning Routine
Start your day right with a morning routine. Customize your routine with activities that will help set you up for your best day. This could be sitting outside with a cup of coffee, making your bed, or doing a morning stretch—whatever gets you in the mood to tackle the day ahead. By beginning your day with a routine you love, you’re setting the tone for the day.
Day 13: Unplug
When’s the last time you took a break from your phone? Challenge yourself to keep away from your phone or any digital distractions for an entire day. If a full day without digital devices is unrealistic for you, try an hour or two.
It can be very beneficial to step away from the rings and pings for a while and only focus on what’s in front of you. This might also help you connect with the people around you today, or sleep better tonight.
Day 14: Replace Your Coffee or Energy Drink with Green Tea
If you find yourself choosing highly concentrated sources of caffeine like coffee or energy drinks, try replacing it with green tea. Studies have shown that drinking green tea may improve brain function, burn fat, help prevent cardiovascular disease, and protect your brain from aging.
Day 15: Start a Food Journal
Start a food journal, detailing what’s (literally) been on your plate. If you have any food sensitivities, this is a great way to figure out the foods that make you feel your best, and the ones that don’t. It’s recommended to not only take notes of the food you ate, but to also observe how it made you feel—both physically and mentally.
Day 16: Write a Blog Post
Reflect on your day, favorite memory, or a recent trip and write a blog post about it. Blogging can be a healthy mental release and a way to capture your thoughts. It can also just be a creative way to unwind at the end of your day. It’s up to you on whether you post it online.
Day 17: Skip the Added Sugar
Limiting added sugars from both food and beverages in your daily intake is important for your overall health. To make navigating your fridge or the grocery aisles easier, focus on whole foods like vegetables, fruits, lean meats, fish, nuts, and unprocessed, whole grains. Going without added sugar today will be a great experiment to see how much you rely on it every day.
Day 18: Write 3 Intentions for Yourself
Pick three intentions for yourself, or things that you want to achieve. Setting an intention—either physical, mental, or emotional—can be a powerful mental exercise. You’re mapping out what it is you want in life or what you want to improve on—which is the first step in achieving it. Write these intentions down and put them somewhere visible as a reminder of what you’re working towards.
Day 19: Take a Bubble Bath
Total relaxation is on your list tonight. Take a long, warm bath complete with bubbles, candles, and maybe your favorite book or magazine. While this might not feel like a challenge, a warm bath can do wonders for you. Taking a warm bath in the evening can help boost your mood, promote relaxation, and help you sleep better at night.
Day 20: Create a Zen Den
Everyone needs a corner or room in their homes that’s specifically designed to promote a sense of calm and relaxation—so create a zen space that you can utilize whenever you need. If your space is limited, consider adding a cozy chair, plant, and bookcase to a quiet corner of your house, or optimize your bedroom to promote relaxation.
Essential oil diffusers or mood lighting can go a long way when creating a calming space. Be creative with it, and design a space that is perfect for you to unwind after a long or stressful day.
Day 21: Get Rid of 3 Things You Don’t Use
It’s time to declutter your space and pick out things you don’t use to toss or donate. This helps you open up your life and your space for new or better things. If you haven’t used or seen it in a year, you probably don’t need it.
Day 22: Create a Bedtime Routine
Customize a bedtime routine that will help you wind down and eliminate stress before bed. Take a warm bath, unplugging from screens one to two hours before bed, drinking herbal tea, or implement a little aromatherapy.
Day 23: Start Your Day With Gratitude
Remember what you’re thankful for today. In the morning, before beginning your day, write down at least three things that you deeply appreciate. Focusing on gratitude, you can increase your positivity, improve your self-esteem, reduce stress, and boost your mood. It’s a great way to gain perspective during chaotic periods and remember that there are things to be happy about and grateful for.
Day 24: Go Green
Replacing a meal with a green smoothie or accompanying a meal with green juice is a great way to get a daily dose of fruits and veggies, which are packed with vitamins and minerals like vitamins C and E, potassium, and folate.
Need some inspiration to make your own green drink? Blend herbs with fruit or vegetables like kale, spinach, mint, apples, cucumber, ginger, mango, peaches, and pears.
Day 25: Dance Along to Your Favorite Tunes
Whether it’s to get you ready to start your day, a break at lunch, or while you’re making dinner, dance and sing along to your favorite tunes today. Don’t be afraid to get silly. Dancing is an instant mood booster, great for your health, and a good way to burn calories.
Day 26: Identify Your Stressors
Take a moment to identify the stressors in your life and write them down. By doing this exercise, you’ll be able to pinpoint the areas of your life that cause you the most stress or anxiety—this is important to manage stress and prevent it.
Day 27: Have a Spontaneous Date Night
It’s time for a little spontaneity. Have an impromptu date night with your partner at home, with your friend over a video call, or by yourself. You could do a fondue night, a picnic in your living room, play a board game, have a themed dinner, do a virtual workout class, build a fort, create a scavenger hunt, or get dressed up and have a romantic evening by candlelight. The ideas are endless.
Day 28: Go for a Long Walk
Schedule time during your day to take a long walk. Get out and enjoy the fresh air. Make it fun by going to your favorite path or trail. You can even make it a family activity, bring your partner along, listen to your favorite podcast, or call a friend.
Day 29: Send a “Thank You” Note
Being thankful and expressing gratitude is good for your health. It’s a simple practice. Is there someone in your life you’re truly thankful for? Let them know today. This will make you feel good, and the receiver of the note will probably feel better, too.
Day 30: Engage in Self-Reflection
Congrats, you’ve made it to day 30 of the self-care challenge! For your final challenge, take a moment to reflect on the last 30 days with the following questions:
Do you feel any different than when you started?
What was your favorite part of the challenge?
What was your least favorite part of the challenge?
What are you going to continue to incorporate into your daily or weekly routine?