50 Self-care tips that actually work

Feeling burnt out, running on empty, or just stuck in the endless loop of “I’ll take care of myself later”? This episode is your permission slip to pause and actually put yourself first.

Join me as I walk you through 50 self-care tips that actually work — from quick morning rituals and simple wellness swaps to emotional resets and spiritual grounding practices. And don’t worry, this isn’t another boring checklist. Think: real-life stories, humor, and practical hacks you can use today.

Whether you’re a busy mom, a recovering overachiever, or just someone trying to keep it together in this noisy world, you’ll leave with tools that make self-care feel doable, not overwhelming.

☕ Grab your tea, get cozy, and let’s make self-care less “someday” and more every day.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Real Self-Care
• 1:00 Body Care: Movement and Hydration
• 3:28 Sleep and Rest Essentials
• 5:35 Mental Self-Care Strategies
• 11:33 Emotional Well-being Practices
• 15:13 Spiritual Self-Care Approaches
• 20:25 Practical Self-Care Hacks
• 24:37 Final Thoughts and Implementation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi everyone, welcome back to the self-help podcast. If you're new here, I'm Dipali, and today we are talking about something we all desperately need more of. Any guesses? Okay, there could be plenty of things like that Sleep, fiber, exercise, oh my god. But today it's my favorite thing self-care. And no, I don't just mean bubble baths and sheet masks, though let's be real. Sheet masks were my favorite thing in my 20s and they do make you look like a friendly horror movie villain. But what I'm talking about today is real, practical self-care that keeps your body and brain from totally burning out. I've pulled together 50 self-care tips that actually really work and I promise I'm not just going to rattle them off like a grocery list. I will walk you through them with the stories, with humor and you know some anecdotes, so it feels more like we're just hanging out.

Speaker 1: 0:57

So grab your cup of tea, coffee, get cozy and let's dive in. Now let's kick off with the basics your body, because, honestly, if your body feels like a drained iPhone battery at 2%, nothing else is going to work right. Start your morning with water. Your body has been dehydrated overnight, so that's the first glass of water is essentially like plugging yourself into a charger. And while you're at it, stretch before the screens Instead of diving into emails or TikTok. Take 60 seconds to stretch your arms, roll your shoulders, maybe do some tapping, loosen up your spine. Your phone can wait, but your back cannot. Speaking of moving your body, take a short walk after meals. Just 5-10 minutes walk, it doesn't need to be long. Even those 5 minutes help digestion and clears your head. Before you flop onto the couch, what I generally do is, after I'm done eating, I just quickly go Instead of walking, essentially like a walk walk. I go to the kitchen, start tidying things up, move dishes around, clean up my dining table and things like that. It really helps. And while we're talking about small swaps, try this one Replace just one soda with water or herbal tea. Just one. I'm not saying ditch soda forever. It's a tough thing, let's not start a protest here. But just one small swap a day adds up.

Speaker 1: 2:17

Now here's another sneaky trick. Keep healthy snacks where you can see them. It's okay. I know it triggers my OCD. I'm like no, the snacks don't belong at the dining table, they only belong in the pantry. But heck, no. Only when I see healthy stuff will I be tempted, or will I be forced, rather, to eat them. So if chips are front and center just when you open the pantry, chips will be eaten. If fruit is the first thing you see when you're opening your fridge, you suddenly are a fruit person. We can all relate, right. When we have cut up fruits and veggies in the fridge, of course we don't want them to go bad and we're like okay, I don't feel very good about it, but I'm going to go and eat it anyway.

Speaker 1: 2:58

And speaking of snacks, don't forget movement counts too, and I call them my movement snacks, like sprinkling little snacks of movement through the day. No gym is required Dance in your kitchen, chase your dog, run after your child. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Do squats while you're brushing your teeth. Movement is self-care in disguise. And now on the topic of moving more, take the stairs when you can. It's free cardio, right Plus. Nothing humbles you faster than being winded by two flights. Take the stairs, let's switch gears to rest. Now. Your sleep environment matter. It has to be cool, dark and cozy. Think of Vampire Cave. Your nervous system will thank you. I cannot begin to emphasize how much my sleep has improved ever since I decided to keep the room cool, dark and cozy, just like a simple activity of making your bed, just like brushing it off, tidying it up a little bit before you hit the bed, makes a world of a difference.

Speaker 1: 3:57

Now, connected to that, try and keep a consistent sleep schedule. Go to the bed at 10 one night and 2am the next night confuses your body more than the daylight savings. I know it's very hard with a busy lifestyle and life takes over. Different commitments come up. Not two days are exactly the same and I have struggled with that too. There are days where I would go to the bed at 10 and fall asleep at 12, and there are days when I hit the bed at 11 and be off by 11 30. So, instead of fixating and stressing about a particular set time, try and give, give yourself a range that I will be, just to begin be, more lenient with the approach. I will be on the bed, say, between a 9 30 to a 10 30. So that way your timing is slightly variable and gives you a scope of change, and that doesn't stress you out right.

Speaker 1: 4:49

Finally, finish this section with one of my favorites get sunlight in the morning first thing. The moment you're up, out and about of the bed, you open the windows, you remove the curtains, maybe you go in your balcony. Just one minute of that activity helps set your circadian rhythm in ways that I've read, is very, very beneficial for your body, even if it's cloudy. I know, I live in Victoria. It's bright and tropical, it's bright and sunny, but some days are not like that right. So even if it's cloudy, just step outside. Your body clock knows the difference between sunlight and fluorescent light. You cannot trick that. So now your body's hydrated, stretched, well rested and sun kissed.

Speaker 1: 5:33

But what about the mind that loves to overthink? Honey, I can relate. I think I overthink overthinking. So let's talk about mental self-care now. First up, journaling. Not fancy journaling, not buying 500 gratitude journals and planners, just a simple, easy, good old brain dump. Your thoughts don't need to live rent-free in your head when they can live on paper. Just dump everything down, everything. You don't even need to put them in categories or you know whatever. What I do is I just simply keep a humble to-do list. I get it from the dollar store. Just dump everything that you possibly can and then later come back, revisit and then only segregate it between work and personal life. And speaking of brain dumps, try one before bed, otherwise your brain will wait until 1am to remind you of every embarrassing thing you have done, of everything that you need to do tomorrow and what you might possibly forget.

Speaker 1: 6:30

I picked this habit from my dad. From my father who, ever since I have known him, ever since I was a little kid, I would see him keep a small little diary, sort of a copy notebook, and a pen, underneath his pillow, and even while he's not like fully asleep and like he's struggling to sleep and things like that, I've seen him just taking that out, just dragging that out from under the pillow, just writing, scribbling something, and he's off. In those moments I would think like why, dad? Why are you so worked up? But now I understand what a powerful toolkit that is and I'm so blessed to be able to see him doing like that and at least take this incredible habit from him. So and my dad has I feel like my dad has 100 things that I could take from, but, oh my god, this habit is, I think, one of the top of the list. This and just writing things in general really helped me in life, among many, many other things.

Speaker 1: 7:26

Now, while we're on the topic of chaos multitasking it's a method. You are not multitasking, you're task switching. And task switching takes your energies, it drains you of energy and your brain hates it. Your nervous system hates it. Try doing one thing at a time.

Speaker 1: 7:42

Sometimes I feel like I'm way overstimulated by chaos and clutter and my OCD brain tells me no, I need to empty the dishes, I need to do things in the kitchen, I need to meal prep for tomorrow, I need to fold up my laundry. But what I have learned is that it stresses me out more than I can imagine. So what I've done now, when there are a bunch of things to do around the house, I just focus. I start and focus on one area at a time. So in my mind I'm like, okay, let me first do the dining table, the living room, and then I move to the bedroom and then, in the end, I do the kitchen and then conclude everything with the laundry fold. So when I kind of create space in my mind, telling my mind that I need to do this thing in this area only, I kind of accelerate my focus.

Speaker 1: 8:27

So try doing one thing at a time and when stress sneaks in, go back to the basics, simply breathe 10 slow breaths, that's it even in traffic or during an quote. Zoom call when you know nothing, when you don't want to say anything or you have nothing to say and you're nervous. Just slow breath, be in the moment. Speaking of mornings earlier, protect them, skip the doom scrolling. Give your brain something gentler to start the day with. I used to have a habit of seeing the time on my phone and then I got a wonderful, beautiful digital clock in my bedroom and that has changed everything. I don't need to see the phone. No one's calling. If it's important, the phone will ring and that's fine.

Speaker 1: 9:04

And while we're talking about mindset, let's address affirmations. Keep them real. Say things like I'm learning to handle things better Works a lot better than I'm a flawless perfection. I know this isn't even reality in my mind, so how do I affirm it every day? So I put up some posters on the mirror in the washroom so that you know, every time I'm passing around, I just generally see them and kind of gives me a hint of, or a boost of confidence. Every time, not necessarily just in the morning, anytime I'm in the washroom, I of course walk past my mirror and I'm like, hey, yeah, that's a good reminder and please, for the love of God, do not wait for giant wins. I have done that for a very large part of my life. Celebrate the small ones. Folded laundry win, survived Monday win, even with the blues. That's fine, but that's a win. That is an Olympic level win.

Speaker 1: 9:57

Now, which connects perfectly to this next one is declutter. Not your whole house, just one drawer, one corner, one bag, maybe just the fruit and veg drawer in your fridge, anything that brings you instant relief. And remember progress over perfection. Seriously tattoo it on your brain, frame it, put it at different places in your house. I have not done so many things just because I was worried that it will not come out perfect. This podcast is a perfect example of that. Like I procrastinated, I was so anxious and I was so worried. Okay, how would I do? You know what will people think? And I have some, some standards for myself. And what if I don't meet up to my expectations? What in my mind? I would fall flat on my face. I would feel like a failure. I would feel like a disaster. But no, now I remind myself day in and day out, done is better than perfect. So always remember that.

Speaker 1: 10:56

Last one in this mental section is saying no without over explaining no, thanks, I can't Full stop. That's about it. Your energy is yours to protect, not anybody else's. And if something is a no to you, of course, while it's a yes to someone else, I am sure you will either feel resentful or frustrated or angry, and we don't have time to deal with that sort of energy. So if you say a yes, you mean a yes 100%, with all your heart. But if you're wanting to say a yes, make sure that you're not saying no to yourself. All right, brain's breathing easy now. But what about the fears, those sneaky emotions that run the whole show? And I repeat, they run the whole show, at least for me.

Speaker 1: 11:36

So let's get into emotional self-care. Starting simple reach out to someone you love, your parents, your family A call, a text or even sending, maybe, a joke. I know my brother and I, we keep sending each other some stupid jokes on Instagram. My husband and I At this point I'm convinced both of them they don't even look at my reels. I know they don't, but we keep sending each other some, you know, laughable jokes, some stupid content, some relatable comic shows, things like that. And connection boosts mood instantly. And while you're at it, hug, yes, hug. I hug my little one-year-old maybe at least nine times in a day. It is very therapeutic to me and I know hugging and just physical connection and love and touch it lowers stress hormones. So unless you're hugging a cactus then maybe not. But I assume you know better On the flip side, do not be afraid to cry.

Speaker 1: 12:31

Crying is your nervous system hitting the reset button. I repeat crying is your nervous system hitting the reset button. Oftentimes, when you feel right, when you've cried and when you've said what you need to do, say and you know, just simple, plain crying, maybe in the washroom, or just expressing crying in front of someone you love, that's okay, it's all emotional detox. Never associate crying with weakness. That's such a big myth. Now for something lighter.

Speaker 1: 12:58

Smile at yourself in the mirror. Tell yourself you're beautiful. There are times very rarely do I look at myself in the mirror and I'm like hey, you're looking good girl, you've got some beautiful smile. I try and remind myself and I try and do that more often. Wear it first. But science says that it works. Fake it until your brain believes it. Speaking of rewiring your brain, practice gratitude out loud. Say it. Wow, that first sip of coffee in the morning, I live for it. I appreciate my tea Boom.

Speaker 1: 13:32

And while you're on forgiveness, start with yourself. Past you didn't know what current you know, so let them off the hook. It's all good. Protect your energy by choosing people who uplift you. If someone leaves you feeling drained and second guessing and doubting yourself, that's a clue. Do not hold up, do not hang out with them.

Speaker 1: 13:52

And while you're on giving energy, hand out compliments, genuine ones, to strangers and, of course, to people that you know and you love, but of course, of course, to strangers. Nice hair, or I love your shoes, or you dress up so well anything, anything really. Or you're so kind. Thanks for your kindness. Kindness is free. I read this quote the other day on a website Kindness is free to give, but priceless to receive. And what a powerful thought that is Making. Someone else's moment lights up and boosts your mood too. And don't forget yourself. Write down all the things that you're proud of, even small stuff. Even if it was getting yourself out of the bed when you didn't want to, even if it was taking a shot after two days, it's a win. And please be kind to yourself. Sometimes surviving the week is very well worth documenting.

Speaker 1: 14:38

So now let's wrap this section up with music. Make a high playlist, all the songs that you love, your childhood songs, your early 20s songs, songs that resonate with you for your current season of life. All of that, all the ones that make you feel unstoppable. And bonus points. If you dance, like bonus points, if you can dance like no one's watching, because, frankly, no one really is right. Okay, so, emotions are checked, brain is clear, body is good. We're blasting our favorite songs.

Speaker 1: 15:10

Now let's zoom out for the deeper layer, spiritual self-care. And no, you don't have to burn sage to join in. Start with meditation, even if it sounds intimidating, even with one minute, Think, mini reset, and not you're not trying to become a monk, but you're trying to gather yourself. You're trying to collect your thoughts. And, speaking of resets, get into nature, touch a tree, walk barefoot, feel the ground, free therapy, nature, fun, play. And not once in my life have I come back from a walk outside feeling drained. I have felt so much energy. There's just this strong energy, spirit, positivity and happiness within you that comes from spending maybe even five minutes outside in the nature, just taking a quick evening walk or just like disconnect from the world and just go outside. Just the fresh air. It's so therapeutic. And while you're outside, try watching the sunset, not through your phone but with your actual eyeballs, or maybe if you're an early riser it's a tough one for me maybe go see sunrise, it's beautiful. Prefer indoors, okay, no problem. Light a candle, maybe just hang around in your balcony Simple grounding and cozy, and let's tie this back together to gratitude Write Hang around in your balcony Simple grounding and cozy, and let's tie this back together to gratitude.

Speaker 1: 16:29

Write down three things daily. Small thing counts. Coffee was hot while I drank. It Is a valid gratitude feeling. Or my lunch was hearty and it made me sleepy, but it was so good, it was so delicious. Is a wonderful feeling to feel Connected to. That is digital detox. Once a week, unplug for a few hours. Tiktok will survive without you and for me.

Speaker 1: 16:54

I don't try and associate a detox, digital detox, with a set time in a week or a day. Instead, I just kind of stay away from my phone for some time in the day, intentionally, like when my son is back home. I don't want to look at the phone. I just want to be present with him in the moment and enjoy my life and just chat with him, even though he doesn't speak too much right now, but just ask him how his day was at play. 100%. Be in that moment with him, and that's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 17:25

Speaking of survival, creativity helps too. Paint badly, sing off, key doodle nonsense that's okay. Zero pressure, you do that. Or maybe putting a new mask, say a hair mask or a skin mask, or trying a new hairstyle, even if you fail at it. I love doing my hair and I have tried many different hairstyles, but, of course, I feel like I am just so naive, I'm just so new at it, like I fail terribly at it and I have stopped doing that. And that was something that came as a big shocker to me, because I used to love it all my life and now, because I'm chasing perfection and I'm like, no, it doesn't look good on me and this, and that I've stopped doing it, and I remind myself to do it more often, even if people stare. That's okay as long as you feel good in it, and for me, I don't even feel good in some of the hairstyles. Therefore, I stopped doing that, wondering okay, it's a waste of time, right? So we should not do that Now. Should not do that now.

Speaker 1: 18:29

Wanting a spiritual boost, help someone quietly volunteer or just hold the door service nourishes the soul. Just every time you remember, every time you appreciate, acknowledge or are grateful for something, say thank you, god. There are gazillion of things for you to be thankful for for the evening. Read something uplifting before bed, and it doesn't really have to be with a physical book. If that is the case with you, perfect. But I know some of us do not have the time to go to the library or just pick a book and sit and read. It could be something on, maybe, social media or just like any article on the internet. Anything and everything that uplifts you before your bed. And please, no crime dramas, unless nightmares are your thing. It sets me in a very different direction. So I don't want to be doing that before I hit the bed, but just a lot of gratitude in your heart.

Speaker 1: 19:16

And ever since I was a child, my mom used to do this with me and my brother. Both of us would lie down on the bed with her just before we were about to sleep and we we'd say a prayer, we'd say thank you to god, we talk about our day, how things went, and like what was so good about our day and and all that beautiful stuff. Finally create a mantra, short and grounding okay, one thing at a time, just one thing at a time. Even in the midst of chaos, even if your blood work that didn't came out fine, even if your reports are not looking okay, one day at a time, it's okay. We can all figure it out. And while I'm saying this, I'm also reminding myself everything will be okay, no matter how scary it gets. You will survive because you wait for it and life is always working out for your greatest good. So I often ask myself, like I went through hell on this thing. Why did that happen? And I don't have the answers yet, but I do know that it was for my greatest good. I know, I know for a fact that it was true. All right, so with all of this, you're now grounded, hopefully grateful, and slightly more zen.

Speaker 1: 20:19

Now let's wrap this up with practical stuff, like the quite easy hacks that secretly make self-care activities stick. So today, this night, start with planning. Tomorrow, so it starts tonight. Morning, you will send a thank you note. And while we are on mornings, keep your phone out of your bed. If you cannot keep it out of your bedroom, just out of your bed, maybe on the stool next to you or on your dressing table, whatever just out of your reach. Your sleep deserves better than your Instagram and TikTok at 2am. Speaking of mornings again make your bed Small, win instant auto, instant gratification. Plus. It looks like you're thriving, even if you're not, and you come home to a bed that is made and wow, that's an amazing feeling.

Speaker 1: 21:06

And when it comes to food prep, my love, even a little bit, and I'm not saying prepare the meals, lunches and dinners and breakfast for your entire week. It may work for some folks. I know it doesn't work for me. So what I do is I meal prep the ingredients so I have some cut fruits and veggies, chopped things kept in my fridge. So when I need to go make a meal, it's quick and easy in and out and I'm not like spending hours and hours in the kitchen three times a day. So it's less junk for tomorrow, less stress, and allows you to eat homemade food, right, because you then you then don't rely on the takeouts because you're like, okay, I have so much stuff in the fridge, let me go figure out what I need to eat and and I understand, especially when your mind works in reverse. I'm like on days, okay, I have so much to do, I have so much to eat in my fridge, but I still want to have those noodles. Those days are fine too, but for sure that's not happening seven days a week, so it'd be good.

Speaker 1: 22:01

Speaking of choices, spend money intentionally. Ask yourself will this actually improve my life or will it just end up in the closet of shame or fame, wherever you think you belong? Let's declutter again, but digitally this time. Delete the apps, emails haunting you and also physical clutter, for that matter. I have this habit of going around my house every 10-15 days and just look at things and see what thing is adding up to the clutter and just dump it in a box and then put it away Not like put it away in the storage, just put it outside, so I can always come back and have a look and see, okay, what's not adding up and what I can safely throw. Because if I keep piling those boxes, I'm just going against the grain of removing the declutter. In fact, I'm picking things from one place, putting it all in a box, calling it clutter, never getting rid of it.

Speaker 1: 22:53

So it feels amazing to do that and, just for clearing up space, fill it with learning something fun, not for just hustle or not to sound cool or appear cool in front of your friends, not just to add to your extra curriculars, just for fun, just for the pure joy. Maybe learn guitar badly or bake a loaf of bread Just for the pure joy. Maybe learn guitar badly or bake a loaf of bread, not to tell it to people, but for yourself. Whatever it could be it could be doodling, it could be painting your nails, whatever. Speaking of joy, schedule it. Literally put fun in your calendar like it's a meeting, like it's your dental appointment or your cleaning appointment or your pedicure or manicure or facials, which are, at least for me, scheduled, because if I don't schedule them, I don't get to them. Things crop up, life happen, plan changes and then I never get to do it. So schedule it. Now, every time I need to take my son to a play zone, I schedule it, I put it in the calendar out of the daycare into the car and in the play zone. That's how it works.

Speaker 1: 23:45

On the flip side, also schedule rest. There are days when I'm like no commitments, no doing nothing, just simple rest and take it easy days. And rest isn't lazy, it's not like, don't get me wrong, rest isn't what you get to do once you have worked your ass off. It's not that it's repair time. It's time to replenish your body, your mind and soul and finally create a bedtime ritual. I cannot stretch this enough. Stretching just riding up your bed, tea, skincare if it doesn't work for you, no problem. Something that you do to have a healthy bedtime ritual. Whatever signals to your brain that the day is complete and it was a wonderful day, even if it wasn't. You get to sleep, you're alive, you have so much beauty around you. You have love. You're alive, you have so much beauty around you, you have love, you have food, you have family, and there's no greater feeling.

Speaker 1: 24:33

So there we go 50 self-care tips that actually really, really work. Now listen, don't try to do all of them and hate me. That's not self-care, that's torture. Just pick one or two, start small and build up from there. I have, for that matter, listed down things that I need to introduce or incorporate in my life, and then we all know human psychology bringing in too many changes at the same time.

Speaker 1: 24:57

None of that was effective. In fact, it ended up stressing over stressing me, and I stopped doing any of that. So the key is to just pick one or two, stick to it and then slowly and gradually integrate and incorporate the rest of the activities if these align with you, okay. And remember self-care isn't selfish. It's how you keep up showing your life without feeling the burnout. And if you found this helpful, give it a thumbs up, share it with someone who needs a little reminder, and subscribe for more practical, science-backed, slightly sassy wellness tips with me, because, at the end of the day, you are your longest commitment, so please take very good care of yourself and I'll see you in the next one. Bye.