How To | Practice Good Self-Care

Adapted from the NOLS Blog

Taking breaks is good self care. Catherine Rocchi

At NOLS, one of the most important skills we teach in the backcountry is self-care. Self-care includes practical actions, like putting on a jacket when you’re cold, but it also includes speaking up to your group when you’re tired, or asking to stop when you feel a blister forming.

Self-care is just as important to practice at home as it is in the backcountry. Here are a few ways you can practice good selfcare and survive this busy season:

Eat Well

Keeping your body appropriately fueled with food will help you maintain energy throughout the day. This doesn’t mean avoiding sweets and snacks altogether (too hard!). Instead, it means making sure you eat a square meal so you’re running on something besides vending-machine food.

Sleep Enough

There are always a hundred things to do— and they can all wait until you’ve had a full night’s rest. Being sleep-deprived means you’re more likely to be grouchy with your co-workers or make small mistakes on your projects. Try forgoing that last television episode or that late-afternoon cup of coffee to get to sleep sooner.

Exercise

Exercise is a great way to help your body produce endorphins and reduce stress. It gives you something else to focus on besides the endless items on your to-do list.

Ask for Help

Despite what you may believe, you cannot do everything! And that’s just fine. Good leaders know how to share tasks when they’re overwhelmed, or simply to create more fun in something that would be boring to do alone.

Take Breaks

Give your mind and body a rest. Taking a break and doing an activity that’s unrelated to your tasks is a great way to come back to those tasks with a fresh perspective. Read a book, go for a walk, or simply sit and watch snow fall. Sometimes, doing nothing is the best thing for you to do.

Do Something Just for Yourself

It’s easy to get caught up in what others are asking you to do. Doing something just for yourself—no multi-tasking!—will get your attention back to you. It isn’t selfish. It allows you to show up at your meetings, family events, and the breakfast table as your very best self.

Try these tips and see how you like them— you may be surprised at how good it feels to take a little time for you!

Check out the NOLS Blog for more original stories!