Sometimes you may just want a moment to relax about a stressful or long day. One way to do that is to practice self care. Self care makes others feel good and helps them to become better people, both mentally and physically. 

“Self care is any action you take to help yourself be the best version of yourself,” Amy Boven, the school counselor of Imagine Prep Surprise, said. “Self care is setting aside time to make sure your most basic needs are met including eating, being comfortable, and having rest.”

You can practice self care in many ways. 

“Being mindful of how you are feeling during these activities is key,” Boven said. 

Boven shared what she enjoys to do to practice self care.

“Personally, setting aside time during the week to go to the barn and ride my horse is one of the most important self care acts for me,” she said. “I also set work boundaries for the weekends and I do not access my work email or take work related calls during certain times of the weekend so I can focus on the time I have with my family.” 

A few ways I like to practice self care is by exercising or working out, meditating, listening to music, going on a walk, or even just taking a nap. Some other ways I know to practice self care are to read, clean, watch YouTube or Netflix, or hang out with your friends or family. There are many other ways you can practice self care, and there are a few apps that can help you with that.

“One app that is popular for self care related items is the Calm app,” Boven said. “The app features different exercises to help users de-stress and relax.”

On medium.com, Jess Carpenter gave her unbiased review of her experience on Calm. “It’s filled with hundreds of meditation practices and sleep stories that are written and recorded by some of the top experts,” she said. “Calm also has sessions for how to train your mind to focus, like the one led by Lebron James.” 

The app is completely free, however, you are able to purchase a subscription on there for a better experience.

Personally I haven’t tried this app out myself, but according to medium.com it is very easy to use. There also is always new content and the narrators’ voices are calming. As well as this, you’re able to adjust the nature sounds in the background so you can listen to your meditation or sleep story exactly the way you would like. 

“One thing I really love about the app is that it sends daily mindfulness quotes,” Jess Carpenter said. “These are considered to be their reminders, and while I don’t think they are strong enough for me to stop what I’m doing and start meditating, I did find that they made me more mindful in the moment.” 

She also stated that although there are a few cons of the app, there is more good in it than bad.

Another app that is related to self care which I personally use sometimes is called Headspace. This app is completely free as well, but you can purchase a subscription. There are free meditation sessions, exercise sessions, and sleep sounds. Although you need to purchase the subscription to access a lot of these, the app offers a free session every day along with the large amount of other free sessions.

If you have trouble staying hydrated or drinking enough water every day, I know a great app for you. There is an app called Plant Nanny, and it motivates you to drink more water every day. When you first get the app you are allowed to choose a plant, and for it to stay hydrated and to keep growing you have to feed it water. To do that, you have to drink water yourself and put the amount you drank into the app. 

“The app calculates how much water you should drink using your weight and activity level and reminds you to drink water regularly,” Spoonuniversity.com says. “If you don’t drink enough water, your plant dies like mine did several times.” As well as this, the app also gives you notification reminders to drink water. Overall, I believe Plant Nanny would be very helpful and useful for everyone.

An app related to organization which I also use sometimes is called Trello. With this app you’re able to create a board, and in that board you can add lists. In the lists you can add cards. The cards have many features such as checklists, pictures, due dates, etc. You can also add notes and comments to cards. Trello is a great app for you to keep track of any school assignments, meetings or events you may need to attend, or anything that you need to keep track of. You can customize everything however you would like so that it is organized the way you want and so it is easier for you. As well as this, you’re allowed to add other people to your boards. Trello is definitely one of the best organization apps to use in my opinion. It is very easy to navigate and helps a lot.

“It is a common expression that ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’ which I agree with to an extent,” Boven said. “There are seasons in life where we may be drained for various reasons but life still requires us to keep moving forward so it may feel like you are pouring from an empty cup for a season.” 

Overall, self care helps you to become a better person mentally and physically. Even just an act of kindness, a few minutes of meditating, or drinking a little bit of water is an act of self care. 

“Self care and organizing time for self care can help you to feel like your best self which ultimately has positive physical and mental outcomes,” Boven also said.