5 Unconventional Ways to Tend to Your Self-Care
By Kelice Agosto
1. Create a vision board
Vision boards are a great way to visualize your goals and can be tethered to your
personal, work, or school life. Whether you create it the old-fashioned way of poster and magazine clippings, or create a virtual one through Canva, it will help map out your plan for that promotion at work or to finish the book collecting dust on your nightstand.
2. Use a positive reinforcement system
Positive reinforcement is a method used to modify behavior by adding something (ie. a reward) to encourage or increase behavior. For example, when you complete a chore such as washing the dishes, you reward yourself by reading your favorite book or enjoy a snack. I like to reward myself through binge watching Netflix shows and eating M&M’s as a treat.
3. Learn a new skill
Ever thought about starting a small business on Etsy, learning how to code, or how to master digital art? YouTube University and SkillShare are great ways to learn a new skill (and it’s free). There are an endless amount of tutorials and tips to help you get started. Once you learn and develop your new skill, you can add it to your resume.
4. Change your scenery
Sometimes it gets tiresome looking at the same four walls everyday. Change your
environment by going to a local coffee shop, your public library, or Roger Williams Park. Bring your work with you or a good book to read. Changing your environment can help you with your productivity. If you can’t change your scenery, maybe move your furniture around for a different look. Sometimes I like to go to Providence Public Library or Starbucks to do my work.
5. Plants, plants, and more plants!
Studies have shown bringing plants into your environment can reduce physiological and psychological stress. The calming effect plants have while performing a task can result in an increase in accuracy. Having plants around you also triggers one of our
neurotransmitters, serotonin, aka the happy hormone.
Sources
https://ellisonchair.tamu.edu/health-and-well-being-benefits-of-plants/
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40101-015-0060-8
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-neurochemical-self/201706/why-flowers-make-
us-happy
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/houseplants/for-human-health
https://positivepsychology.com/positive-punishment/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-food/202006/why-do-plants-affect-your-
brain
https://themighty.com/2019/05/weird-self-care/
https://ellisonchair.tamu.edu/health-and-well-being-benefits-of-plants/
https://www.sageandbloom.co/unusual-self-care-ideas/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5548820/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4419447/
Photo Credit: Fabian Møller @fabimoe