Discover what practical self-care is and learn how to relieve stress and anxiety by practicing this type of self-care.
You might imagine self-care as a frilly activity that involves only the most relaxing activities.
In your mind, there are probably candles and desserts and massage chairs involved.
Though that is one aspect of self-care, it is not the only one.
In fact, there are 6 types of self-care that are necessary in order to effectively make you feel rested and ready for work.
The type of self-care that I will be sharing today is probably the least glamorous of all of them but it’s also one of the most immediately helpful forms of self-care you will try.
It’s called Practical Self-Care and it involves more productivity-based activities that help make your life less stressful in the future.
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Here’s a small example from my own life.
When I was growing up, I was constantly losing things.
Not only was it annoying but it made my life more stressful on a daily basis because I was always running late and wasting time trying to find things I had lost.
In my third year of university, I had a roommate who was incredibly organized.
Seeing the way her life was clearly made easier through her organization inspired me to get organized, too.
Ever since then, I have made changes in my life that have made me more organized as a whole and every change that I made drastically improved my overall wellbeing.
Today, I no longer get stressed by little things like losing an important document or struggling to find my keys.
The little annoyances in my life simply don’t exist anymore and it has truly made me a more relaxed person as a whole.
That, my friends, is the power of practical self-care.
I’ll admit, it’s not the most attractive form of self-care.
In fact, sometimes it’s downright difficult work.
But trust me, it always makes your life more enjoyable when it’s done!
Today, I will be sharing 19 different ways that you can use practical self-care in your own life to relieve stress and anxiety on a daily basis.
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What is practical self-care?
Practical self-care is one of the six types of self-care. It involves activities and tasks that address core parts of your life in order to alleviate the stress you may feel from ignoring those things later on.
It could fall under the category of administrative tasks or management tasks and it serves the purpose of making your life easier in the future.
5 general examples of practical self-care:
1. Organizing: filing papers, cleaning closets, budgeting, updating technology, etc.
2. Simplifying: Decluttering the house, cancelling unnecessary plans, letting go of things you don’t need, etc.
3. Addressing forgotten tasks: doing ignored items on your to-do list, deep cleaning, doing a home project you’ve been dreaming about, etc.
4. Planning ahead: Making monthly checklists, creating routines, setting goals, etc.
5. Improving personal skills: learning something useful, doing professional development, etc.
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How do you practice practical self-care?
The only thing you really need in order to practice practical self-care is time.
Though it’s possible to fit practical self-care into smaller portions of time, I would recommend you set aside 30 minutes or more for it, if you can.
The reason I would recommend you set aside a good chunk of time for these activities is that it might actually add to your stress if you are unable to accomplish the task you wanted to do within the time frame.
For example, if you wanted to clean your fridge for practical self-care but only set aside 5 minutes to do the task, you’d probably only get half of the task done.
It might actually end up making you more stressed because you now have a half-finished job that’s looming over you.
Consider the task you want to be done and schedule a reasonable amount of time to see that task to completion in one hit rather than trying to do it in bits and pieces over time.
You will find that it is much more effective when done this way.
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Why is practical self-care important?
Though it is not the most exciting type of self-care, it is incredibly important for stress management.
When you let little things pile up or get forgotten, you will get increasingly stressed and anxious by the weight of tasks you will eventually have to address.
By taking deliberate time to focus on those procrastinated activities, you are helping balance out your life and relieve your stress.
Additionally, there are so many little annoyances in a day that, more often than not, can be solved so that you don’t ever have to deal with them again.
By taking time for practical self-care, you are making your daily routine significantly easier to handle.
And when your days are easier, you are bound to feel a lot less stressed.
It’s not exactly rocket science but it is a fact that we often don’t consider.
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How to relieve stress and anxiety with these 21 practical self-care activities
Do organizational activities for practical self-care
1. Organize papers
One area that can get really frustrating if you don’t have a good organizational system is paper.
With mail and newsletters and random notes made on a daily basis, it can get really stressful when you can’t find what you need quickly.
One great practical self-care task that will help you solve this problem is to create an organizational system for your papers and to take time for it on a regular basis.
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2. Clean and organize closets
Because they are often hidden by doors, closets are places that can get extremely messy and overwhelming.
But they are areas that you have to deal with regularly and they can make you feel anxious when you have to face a mess on a daily basis.
Instead of struggling and stressing every time you need something from the closet, take time to organize it in a way that helps turn your interaction with closets into an enjoyable (or at least neutral) experience.
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3. Update and organize your finances
When you go from day to day without having any clue what you’re spending or how much is in your bank account, anxiety can start to build up over time without you even noticing.
But eventually, little payments will start to get stressful because you won’t actually know if the payment will go through.
Or perhaps you miss a bill at some point and have to pay extra money for missing the due date.
These things are all stressors that can be avoided if you make it a regular habit to review your finances.
The nicest part is that this task doesn’t even take that long, so you can receive great rewards for very little effort.
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4. Pay attention to your technology
I know quite a few people who are constantly stressed by their technology.
Every time they go to take a picture they have to delete a few things because their memory is full. Their computer desktops are a mess of files so it takes forever to find anything. Their technology crashes regularly because it hasn’t been updated recently.
Imagine how much nicer your life would be if you had a clean, functional phone and computer instead of technology that is cluttered and unreliable.
Take some time to clean out your phone to immediately relieve stress.
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5. Rearrange rooms that aren’t working for you
Back when I was teaching, I learned that the layout of a room really mattered.
If I arranged the desks too close together or put the pencil sharpener at an awkward spot, absolute chaos would ensue. One crucial part of making sure a school day went well was to ensure that every item and piece of furniture was placed in its optimal position.
The same rule works at home.
If you have a chair you are constantly stubbing your toe on, or a piece of furniture that is really annoying to move when you vacuum, then use some of your practical self-care time to find a better place for those things.
Again, making these small changes can really make a big difference in your daily life.
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Simplify your life for practical self-care
6. Declutter your space
You may be thinking, “Isn’t this the same as organizing?”
It really isn’t.
Organizing a space means putting items in a more comfortable arrangement so they are more aesthetic or easier to find.
Decluttering a space means getting rid of items that are no longer needed in order to create a more open space filled with only the things you absolutely love.
Take a closet, for example.
If you own a lot of clothing, it doesn’t matter how much organizing you do- your closet will always feel a little too tight and uncomfortable. You’re closet’s not messy, it’s cluttered.
When this is the case, it’s time to decide what you use the most and get rid of anything you don’t need.
This can be a difficult task for many people but it is always a worthwhile endeavour.
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7. Simplify your schedule
If you are someone who gets stressed out by a busy schedule, then this practical self-care activity is perfect for you.
Personally, when I look at my schedule and see no opportunity for solitude in that schedule, my anxiety automatically worsens. I need time by myself and if I don’t get it, I burn out quickly.
When I am starting to feel overwhelmed, I sit down with my planner and decide if there are any tasks or events that can be removed from my schedule in order to make time for the solitude I need.
Once I’ve done that, my anxiety immediately disappears and I feel better knowing that there is time in my schedule for my priorities.
Your priorities may be different from mine but the idea is the same.
It is important to take time for the things you love and if your schedule feels too packed to fit in that thing, then you might find yourself more stressed.
You can instantly resolve that stress by taking a look at your schedule and dropping a few things you don’t really need to do.
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8. Let go of what no longer serves you
This is a phrase that I hear a lot in my yoga practice but it can be applied to so many other things in life.
Do you have a kitchen appliance that you haven’t used to this day? Get rid of it.
Do you have a toxic friend that has done nothing but add stress to your life? It might be time to move on.
Is there an email subscription that annoys you to receive every week? Unsubscribe!
Once you start to notice the things that are starting to cause stress or anxiety in your life, letting go of that thing can make a big difference in your overall wellbeing.
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Tackle forgotten tasks for practical self-care
9. Do long-forgotten items on your to-do list
Remember those things that have been sitting on your to-do list for ages but you always make excuses not to do them?
One good practical self-care activity is to finally tackle that thing you’ve been putting off.
This can be one of the more immediately satisfying self-care activities for this category as you will feel that sense of accomplishment for finally doing something you’ve been procrastinating for a long time.
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10. Deep clean something you have in your house
I don’t know about you, but I’ll often find myself feeling anxious about the things I own that I haven’t taken care of in a while.
I’ll get a little stressed every time I use the toaster because it’s been a while since I’ve cleaned it. Or I’ll notice the same stain on a baseboard and get annoyed that I haven’t fixed it yet.
It can feel really cathartic to pay attention to some of the more minute details in your house.
Here are some smaller things you can do for practical self-care that you might find satisfying:
- Clean the windows
- Polish the silverware
- Deep clean a kitchen appliance
- Sweep and wipe down a cupboard that never gets cleaned
- Wash the baseboards
- Clean a bathroom or kitchen drain
- Deep clean a carpet
- Clean the inside of your car
- Wash a cleaning appliance (a vacuum cleaner, a broom, rags, etc.)
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11. Buy something you’ve had on your list for a long time
There are lots of times where we’ve had something on our shopping list for a long time but somehow always forget to buy when the time comes.
Sometimes, it’s an item that is relatively hard to find and you’ve simply never taken the time to search for it.
Whatever that item is, set aside some practical self-care time to finally find it and buy it.
It will be one less thing that you have to think of in the future!
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12. Do a home project that has been on your wish list
I can tell you from personal experience that a home with too many unfinished home projects can add to your daily stress significantly.
Growing up, my family home was full of unfinished problems.
Some of them were inconsequential and some were downright comical, but others were a real source of stress for everyone.
For example, the unfinished baseboards were barely noticed.
The electrical socket that sometimes shocked you when you touched it was actually pretty funny.
But the front door lock that sometimes jammed and locked you inside the house was incredibly frustrating and inconvenient.
When we finally took the time to change the lock (which only took about an hour), the stress we faced whenever we left or entered the house completely disappeared.
It is worth it to take time to fix the things that are bothering you in your home and a lot of the time it only requires a YouTube tutorial and a couple of tools.
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13. Do something you always make excuses not to do
I’ve got a good example for this one.
Upon returning from China, I complained on a weekly basis that there were no hotpot restaurants nearby.
But whenever given the opportunity to actually look for one, I would say I was too busy or it wasn’t really a priority.
One day, I decided to do a Google search to see if there were any nearby hotpot restaurants.
And you know how many I found? Seven.
There were seven hotpot restaurants within a half-hour from my house.
I had been stressing about this for weeks when all I needed to do was take time for a simple Google search.
If you have something that you’ve been complaining about regularly but haven’t made any moves to solve that problem, set aside time during your practical self-care routine to finally start working towards a solution.
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Relieve stress and anxiety by creating plans and routines
14. Create a monthly checklist
A monthly checklist is simply a list that you use on a monthly basis to make sure you stay on top of things that otherwise get forgotten.
It reminds you of tasks that regularly get left alone for too long and it ensures that you never feel overwhelmed by things you need to do.
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15. Do a brain dump
A brain dump is another thing that can be great for practical self-care. By making a list of all of the things you want to get done, you are getting your worries out of your head and onto a piece of paper.
Your mind will feel lighter and you won’t have that nagging feeling of forgetting something important.
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16. Establish weekly or daily cleaning routines
Creating actually routines for cleaning can take a lot of the stress away from your life.
Instead of waiting until the house is too messy to clean, an established routine can help maintain a clean house so that it never feels messy.
This can help relieve stress and anxiety because you will no longer be living in a messy environment.
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17. Create routines for regular tasks
The more routine tasks that you can do without thinking too hard about it, the more relaxing your daily routine can become.
If you are someone who thrives on spontaneity, this might not be a self-care activity for you.
But if you are someone who often gets stressed by decision-making, then this is a great step to take.
Create morning routines, night routines, after-work routines, and any other routine that takes a bit of the pressure off of your decision-making.
Check out the Habits & Routines page for more ideas!
18. Set a new goal or review old ones
If you have been feeling stressed because you feel like you’ve been stagnating lately, this is a great activity to try.
Choose a goal that you feel will help you improve your life and go for it!
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Improve your personal skills for practical self-care
19. Learn a new household skill
Is there something around your house that you always have to ask someone else to do but you could probably learn how to do yourself?
Consider taking some time to develop a skill that will help you with things you usually need to ask someone else to do, especially if it is something you know would be less stressful to simply do yourself.
Here are some examples of tasks that you could likely learn how to do yourself that you might not know how to do:
- Fix a rip in clothing
- Unclog a drain
- Do simple repairs on a bathroom appliance
- Hang a picture frame
- Change a lightbulb
- Fill a small hole in the wall
- Change a car tire
20. Do professional development for work
If there is something in your work routine that stresses you out because you don’t understand it, you might benefit from taking some self-care time to learn more about it.
Sometimes, being more competent in your daily tasks can remove a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety from your day.
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21. Learn something that you regret not knowing
This might sound like an odd one but it can be a great experience to learn something that you often wish you knew.
Think of moments in your life where you wish you knew the answer to a question you received or where you wanted to be a part of a conversation but didn’t know enough about the topic at hand.
Personally, I always wish I knew more about philosophy since it is one of my favourite things to talk about.
During some of my practical self-care time, I listen to podcasts about philosophy so that I can understand more about it.
You obviously don’t have to do all of these practical self-care activities in order to feel good but if you choose a few to start with, you will be sure to notice a difference in your daily life.
Try them out and see what works best for you to relieve stress and anxiety.
How do you relieve stress and anxiety with practical self-care?
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