In a world that glorifies being busy 24/7, let’s take a look into why dedicating one day a week with no plans is the ultimate self-care.
By Leslie K. Hughes
It’s safe to assume that we all have intentions to improve ourselves in one way or another. For some, improvement may mean incorporating more exercise into your life. For others that may mean working less and playing more.
Regardless of what your hopes are for yourself and your future, they all fall under the category of bettering your self-care. But I think it’s time that we look deeper into what the term “self-care” means.
I think the way to live your best life and carve the path to make your hopes and dreams come true is by dedicating 1 day a week where you make zero plans. I mean nothing. If anyone wants to make plans with you on that day, even if it’s to chat over coffee, it’s a “I can’t” from you.
Before you deem me a flake and write off this idea as something silly that isn’t realistic when you’ve got work, friends, maybe a significant other, potentially children, and more to balance, hear me out.
Working out, taking a bath, meditating, journaling, reading a book, treating yourself to a shopping spree – these are all great forms of self-care that I fully support and regularly do. They are scientifically-proven stress relievers. However, that hour or two of respite from the craziness of life is not enough.
Self-care is not about scheduling an hour here and an hour there. It is, more importantly, about not scheduling anything.
Pause for a moment and think about all the commitments you have this week. Do you feel overwhelmed with what you’ve committed to? I know I used to (and still sometimes end up in this place). You may not initially feel stressed about all that’s on your calendar. We have been trained to be busy and often, it’s what feels right. But when you finally take a day to slow down, or when you hit the end of a week filled with commitments, chances are good you realize how mentally and physically exhausted you truly are.
The modern-day world is all about maximizing our time, our potential, the opportunities that present themselves to us. And I don’t mean to bash that, because it’s how growth happens, and it’s how we continue to improve as humans.
However, a person can only handle so much commitment before they break. And, in all aspects of health and self-care, I always think it’s better to be preventative rather than prescriptive.
So, pick a day where maximizing your time is the least of your concerns. Set aside an entire day where you can do whatever the f*** you want. Don’t wait until you hit the wall of exhaustion.
There are no rules on what you should or shouldn’t do on your solo day, just as long as you make no commitments ahead of time.
At first, this will likely feel challenging. Our minds have been trained to always have something going on, to always have plans on our calendar. Society has told us that if you’re sitting at home alone on a Saturday night, it’s because you have nothing better to do.
But society is wrong.
Sitting at home alone on a Saturday night can be just what your body wants and needs when you peel back the guilt you have for doing so.
If you aren’t there yet it’s okay. It will take practicing how to love yourself more in order to not experience FOMO on your no-commitment days. But once you reach that level of self-love, you will find that you crave those days where it’s just you and yourself with a completely cleared schedule to do whatever your heart desires.
Because what says “self-care” and the “best version of yourself” more than doing exactly what you want?
So, give it a try starting this week. Pick one day with no commitments and see where it takes you . . .
