Self-care can take many forms, and it often looks different for everyone. It’s not always about lighting a candle and taking a bath — although that is one of my personal favourite self-care rituals.
For many of us, self-care has been misunderstood or deprioritised altogether. We’re often taught to put others first and ourselves last, believing that rest and personal time should only come after everything else is done. In reality, that mindset leads straight to burnout.
True self-care is about filling your own cup first. When your cup is full — or even overflowing — you’re able to show up more present, patient, and energised for the people and responsibilities in your life.
It’s also about recognising that it’s not your job to constantly pour from an empty cup for others, especially for those who rely on taking energy rather than learning how to refill their own.
Self-care doesn’t have to be indulgent, expensive, or time-consuming. It can be simple, practical, restorative, or quietly enjoyable — whatever helps you feel more grounded, organised, and like yourself again.
Below, you’ll find 100 self-care ideas designed to help you relax, reset, and feel accomplished, so you can face the world feeling more balanced and supported.
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100 Self Care Ideas
Gentle Daily Reset Self-Care Ideas
These simple self-care ideas focus on slowing down, grounding yourself, and creating calm rhythms in your day, especially when life feels rushed or overwhelming.
Make Your Bed
The first self-care idea begins at the start of the day. As you hop out of bed, make it straight away behind you. You will head off into the day feeling organised, which increases productivity and reduces stress.
Relax into the Day
Allow yourself some time to relax into your day each morning, however that looks for you. Maybe it’s starting with a meditation or some exercise. For me, it’s definitely a hot cup of tea and a few pages of whatever novel I’m currently reading.
Breathe Deeply
Take some time out of your day to simply breathe. Close your eyes and be present as you take a few big, deep breaths. Feel any tension leaving your body as your muscles ease.
Drink Water
Make sure your body is being hydrated with plenty of water throughout the day. If you don’t already have one, grab yourself an insulated water bottle, so that you’ve always got cool water on hand.
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Take a Shower
Depending on the weather, take a lovely long, hot or cold shower. Turn on some relaxing music and light a candle to create mood lighting. Spend some time massaging your body and exfoliating under the healing water.
Get Dressed Up
Dress up in something that makes you feel amazing. Whether it’s a gorgeous dress or a sequin top, go all out – this isn’t for anyone else but yourself. You don’t even have to go out, but if you can find somewhere to wear the outfit, all the better.
Switch the Alarm Off
Turn the alarm off one day on the weekend and sleep in until you damn well please. Let your body rest until it naturally wants to get up without the intrusion of being woken early.
Get Up Early
Okay, I know I just said to ditch the alarm, but there is also a huge self-care benefit to getting up nice and early on the odd occasion to seize the day. If you have a lot on your ‘To Do’ list that you want to accomplish, get up early and make the most of the entire day, from start to finish.
Nightly Unwind
Take some time out for yourself to unwind before bed each night. Maybe it’s reading a few pages of a book in bed or doing a guided meditation. It could be as simple as sitting outside and listening to the night sounds away from the busy household and devices for a few minutes. Whatever works for you.
Mental & Emotional Self-Care Ideas
These self-care ideas support your mental health, emotional regulation, and inner wellbeing by helping you process thoughts, feelings, and stress.
Meditate
Spend some time tuning out from the world around you and into yourself. If you’re not good at doing your own meditations, find a guided meditation on YouTube to follow along with.
Sit, Breathe & Be Still
Find somewhere comfy and relaxing, whether that’s inside for you or outside in nature. Sit, focus on taking nice, deep breaths, and take some time to just be.
Positive Affirmations
Jump online and find some positive affirmations that really hit for you. Write them down in a notebook or journal, so that you can refer to them regularly. Or, you could go one better and stick some of them up on your mirror as daily reminders.
Mood & Emotional Check-Ins
Take a moment to reflect on how you’re truly feeling, beyond the daily pressures and expectations of others. Filling out a Mood Journal page each day is a nice way to track your general well-being.
Gratitude List
Spend some time creating a gratitude list. It’s time to take stock of all that you’re grateful for in your life. Right from the simplest of pleasures, to the people, the things, and the experiences.
List Your Achievements
Make a list of your achievements and feel the sense of accomplishment and gratitude that comes with it. You could focus on this year’s achievements, or you could list all of the big milestones you’ve reached throughout your life.
List Your Goals
Make a list of your goals and stick it somewhere as a reminder. Tick off each goal as you achieve it and take a moment to congratulate yourself before moving on to the next thing.
List What You Love About Yourself
We are our own worst critics and tend to focus too much on the things we don’t like about ourselves. Put together a list of the things that you do love about yourself. Use it as a reminder whenever the negative self-talk comes back in.
Say Yes or No Intentionally
A huge one for this list of 100 self-care ideas is to say “yes” when you truly want to say yes, and say “no” when you truly want to say no.
Too often, we agree to things out of obligation, loyalty, guilt, or just not wanting to disappoint. The problem is, it’s often at our own expense. When you’re coming from a place of self-love, you must honour your own truth despite the reactions or expectations of others.
Just Cry
Yep, if you feel the need to cry, head to a space where you’re by yourself and let it all out. Crying is one of the most cathartic ways for us to release what no longer serves us and heal from the burdens.
Tech Hiatus
Give yourself a timeout from technology and fully switch off from the notifications, emails, calls and other daily tech demands. Put your phone on silent, let the computer go to sleep and be unavailable.
Nature-Based Self-Care Ideas
Spending time outdoors is one of the most effective forms of self-care, helping to reduce stress, improve mood, and reconnect you with the present moment.
Swim in the Ocean
If you live near the ocean, head out and revitalise yourself in the healing sea waters. If you don’t live close to a beach, make a day trip of it, or head to a nearby freshwater creek instead.
Swim in a Pool
Go for a swim for the pure purpose of floating, paddling, and just relaxing. If you don’t have your own pool handy, find a local community pool.
Walk Through a Forest
You don’t have to be a hiker to get the forest benefits. Find a nice bush or forest walk where you can meander at your own pace and feel yourself recharge with the energy of the trees.
Walk Your Local Area
Go for a walk around your local streets or park. Sure, we drive our local area a hundred times a month, but how much do you actually take in when you’re whizzing past? Go for a wander and really take in your surroundings.
Soak Your Feet into the Earth
Kick your shoes off and stand barefoot in the sand, soil or grass. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths as you feel Mother Earth’s energy fill your soul.
Garden
Get out into the garden and pull some weeds or tend to the plants. Get the hose or watering can out and give your plants a nice drink. Plant some new seedlings or repot some growing plants.
Pick Flowers
Collect some nice flowers, branches, and leaves from the garden and bundle them for the house. Pop them into a vase or jar with water. You could make up a couple and spread them around the house to add a touch of nature.
Coffee in Nature
Get a nice coffee and go for a nature walk or sit on the beach. Wherever your happy place in nature is, go there and really savour that coffee while you switch off for a while.
Cloud Gazing
Find a nice grassy spot to lie down and look up to the clouds. Watch them as they move and float on by. What pictures can you make out?
Stargazing
Turn all the lights out and head outside to wonder at the stars. If you live around too many lights, go for a drive out of the city and compare how many more stars you can see without the city lights. Download the Star Walk app and use it to find the constellations and star signs.
Watch the Sunset
Go to your favourite natural location and watch the sunset. You can find out the exact sunset time with most weather apps. Think about all that you’re grateful for and appreciate the good things that have happened throughout the day.
Greet the Sunrise
Get up early and bring in the new day by watching the sunrise. Listen to the birds as they get into the day and bask in that amazing first dawn hour.
Sun Yourself Like a Lion
Okay, so this is the Leo coming out in me. But honestly, sitting in the sun for 10 minutes (unless it’s the dead of summer) fills up your Vitamin D tank and warms your whole body. This self-care idea is especially brilliant in winter when all you want to do is thaw out.
Camping or Hiking
Go camping for the weekend or take a hike out in nature. Totally leave the stresses of your day-to-day life behind and switch off in the great outdoors.
Wander the Markets
Find out when the various local markets are on in your area. Go for a wander, enjoy the food and soak up the atmosphere. Maybe even buy something special for yourself or keep an eye out for Christmas and birthday gifts for others.
Take a Ferry Ride
Take a ferry ride at night in the city and enjoy the lights. Or cruise the river during the day and stop somewhere nice for lunch.
Rest & Relaxation Self-Care Ideas
Rest-focused self-care ideas help your nervous system slow down, allowing your body and mind to properly recharge.
Bubble Bath
Don’t just take a regular bath, add some bubbles or bath salts, light a candle, put on some nature sounds (‘rainy day music’ is my fave) and soak it up with a book or magazine.
Get Lost in the Flames
Sit around a fire and let your mind wander as you stare into the flames. If you don’t have a fire pit or fireplace handy, a dark space with a few candles will provide you with the same relaxing experience.
Candles & Incense
Light some candles and incense to create a beautiful ambience. Choose scents that you really love, which will lift the whole vibe of the room.
Take a Nap
Set your alarm and let yourself drift off to dreamland for a wee while. You’ll hopefully wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Do something that will really tire you out, then hit the sack for an early night. A good, solid night’s sleep is worth its weight in gold. You’ll wake up feeling so refreshed and ready for a super productive next day.
Take An Entire Day Off
I know it sounds crazy to take a full day off to do absolutely nothing. But sometimes that’s just what our soul needs to unwind and reconnect. No work-related tasks, no housework, just spending an entire day doing what makes you smile.
Spa Day
Have a spa day at home with candles, incense, bath bombs, champagne, cheese & crackers, a good book or some magazines, a face mask, and nail polish. Go all out! Or, if you prefer, you can book yourself into a Day Spa and let someone else pamper you.
Aromatherapy
Make yourself some aromatherapy blends. You can make up roller bottles for your temples or wrists, plus you can make a nice cooling spray for summer.
Creative & Expressive Self-Care Ideas
Creative self-care encourages self-expression, play, and flow — all of which are powerful tools for stress relief and emotional well-being.
Dance
Put on your favourite music and dance like no one’s watching (because they probably aren’t)! It’s all about letting loose and feeling good.
Paint
Painting is so therapeutic, whether it be a picture on canvas or revamping an old piece of furniture. Find something to paint and set yourself a project.
Draw
If you’re a drawer, get out your sketch book and pencils and take some time to draw. If you’re not particularly good at drawing, give it a go anyway. Find something easy that you can look at and try to replicate. Or just freehand and let the creative juices flow.
Colour In
There are lots of adult colouring-in books available these days, which are really relaxing. This is a task you can do while enjoying some quiet time, watching TV, listening to music, and even on public transport.
Knit or Crochet
If you don’t know how to knit or crochet, but have always wanted to learn, gather your supplies and watch some YouTube tutorials. If you’re an old hand with the wool, kick back in the recliner and knit away.
Build Something
If you’re handy with the tools, create a building project for yourself. Maybe it’s a chicken coop for the backyard or a new bookshelf.
Create Playlists
Create a variety of playlists with compilations of all your favourite songs. One to suit each mood. A chill mix, a heavy mix, a dance mix… whatever your tastes are.
Turn Up the Music & Sing
Now that you’ve got your playlists sorted, turn up your favourite songs and sing as loud as you want! If you feel like you’ll be disturbing the neighbours, go for a drive where you can sing until your heart’s content.
Nourishment & Food-Based Self-Care Ideas
Food-based self-care is about nourishment, enjoyment, and slowing down to truly savour what you eat.
Cook a Healthy Meal
Next in these 100 self-care ideas is to cook yourself a delicious, soulfully healthy meal. Heck, make enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day and the freezer for lazy nights.
Bake Sweets
Bake something sweet and delicious. A slice, a cake or muffins would go beautifully with a nice cup of tea and a book or magazine.
Bacon, Eggs or Pancake Breakfast
Make yourself bacon & eggs or pancakes for breakfast. Add all the sauces and trimmings that you love! A lavish breakfast doesn’t need to be expensive; it’s all about the love.
Go Out For a Meal
Treat yourself and head out for a delicious meal of your choosing. It can be fancy, or it can be simple, whatever your heart desires.
Order Takeaway
Totally give yourself the day off from cooking and order your favourite takeout. No thinking about what to cook, no preparation and no dishes!
Eat a Yummy Dessert
What’s your favourite dessert? Either make it yourself or go and order it from somewhere. Who cares what time of the day it is!
Relax with a Tea or Coffee
This item on the list of 100 self-care ideas might seem a little obvious, so let me expand. When was the last time you made yourself a nice loose-leaf tea or quality coffee and sat down to enjoy the whole thing without getting sidetracked while it goes cold? Now’s the time to do that and enjoy it.
Have a Picnic
Pack yourself a nice picnic and head to somewhere in nature that speaks to your soul. The beach, a park, a lookout with a view, even if it’s under a beautiful tree in the backyard. Pack a book and a picnic rug and enjoy some time out from the busyness of life.
Physical Care & Body Self-Care Ideas
Physical self-care focuses on looking after your body through movement, relaxation, and gentle care.
Get a Massage
Either get someone to give you a massage at home or book yourself in for a professional massage. You deserve it!
Give Yourself a Facial
For a nice pick-me-up, treat yourself to a facial at home. Start by cleansing your face twice, then exfoliate. After that, apply a face mask and relax for 5–10 minutes, gently remove, then moisturise.
Paint Your Nails
As ladies, we always feel better when our nails are painted. Who knows why, it’s just a lovely little pick-me-up. If you want your polish to last more than two days, get it professionally done.
Get Your Hair Done
Book a hairdresser appointment and get a fresh haircut, colour, perm, style… whatever you want!
Physical TLC
Take a shower, shave, wash your hair, exfoliate your body, pluck your eyebrows and give yourself some physical TLC.
Stretch Your Body
Stand up, stretch your arms above your head, then around to the sides. Move your head from side to side and front to back. Bend down and touch your toes (or as far as you can go).
Do Yoga
Stretch your body with some yoga moves. Find a guided session on YouTube and follow along.
Exercise
Head to the gym, do a sport or go for a run to get the endorphins flowing.
Home & Life Organisation Self-Care Ideas
Practical self-care ideas help reduce mental clutter by creating a calmer, more organised living and digital environment.
Couch Makeover
Redecorate your couch with throws and cushions to give it a new look and feel (using what you’ve already got, if you can). After all, the couch is the number one place we gravitate towards when we want to relax at home.
Rearrange the Furniture
Pick a room where you’re able to rearrange the furniture (e.g. lounge room or bedroom). Give it a good vacuum and dust as you’re moving the furniture around. This will help to get the energy flowing, removing all the old, stagnant energy and creating a fresh ‘new’ space.
Declutter Your Closet
One of my favourites of these 100 self-care ideas is to give your closet a big purge. Get rid of anything that’s stained or damaged, donate the items that don’t fit or that you don’t like and pare it down to just the items you love.
Declutter the House
Self-care isn’t just about your body; it’s also about the space surrounding you. Clearing out the physical accumulation in your home will clear out any stuck energy in your vibratory field. Your mind will feel so clear on the otherside. What a massive weight off your shoulders!
Declutter Your Emails
So, we’ve decluttered the wardrobe and the house; now it’s time to declutter your emails. Delete (and unsubscribe to) anything that can go, then create folders to organise what’s left. Your inbox should be fairly clear once it’s all sorted, reducing email overwhelm.
Social Media Declutter
Go through your social media accounts and declutter anything and anyone who doesn’t bring positivity to your life. Unfollow pages you don’t need anymore, ‘mute’ toxic people who you can’t unfriend and get rid of people who really don’t need to be on your friends list.
Get Organised
Get your schedule and weekly tasks organised. Use a yearly planner and fill in things as you go. You could create an organiser chart on a pinboard to visually see your schedule.
Complete a To-Do List
Knock over your ‘to-do’ list of all those little tasks that you’ve been putting off for ages. Being able to tick the items off the list will close those windows that are running in the back of your mind, hence freeing up your headspace.
Sort Your Finances
Yep, getting on top of your money creates financial freedom, which is why it makes my 100 self-care ideas list.
If you want a deeper budgeting system that’s super easy to incorporate for life, here are the Barefoot Investor steps anyone can follow.
| Basic Budgeting |
|---|
| 1. Log all of your regular bills & expenses on a spreadsheet |
| 2. Work out how much you need to put away each pay cycle to cover those expenses |
| 3. Set up a ‘Bills’ account & transfer that amount across every time you get paid |
| 4. Set up as many bills as possible to be paid via ‘Direct Debit’ from that ‘Bills’ account |
| 5. Open up separate bank accounts (“buckets”) for all of the things you need to set money aside for (e.g. gifts, car maintenance, schooling, emergencies) |
| 6. Work out how much needs to go into each of those accounts each pay cycle & divvy it out |
| 7. Keep your ‘Everyday’ account for spendings only so that you don’t leave yourself short for bills |
| 8. Keep a running grocery list on the fridge so you know what you actually need when you do the shopping |
Entertainment & Low Energy Self-Care Ideas
These low-effort self-care ideas are perfect for days when you want comfort, distraction, or simple enjoyment.
Read a Good Book
I’m an avid reader, so I’ve always got a good book on the go. I recommend you do too (if you enjoy reading), that way, when you’ve got time to switch off, you’ve got something to reach for. If not, head to the library and grab yourself a book that really interests you and set aside some time each day to get stuck into it.
Stack Up at the Library
How good are libraries! There are so many resources you can borrow for free, it’s awesome. From physical books to audiobooks and eBooks, as well as DVDs, magazines and more. Head to the library for a browse and get yourself a stack of items to kick back and enjoy.
Visit a Museum
Check out what’s showing in the museums and galleries around your town. Find something of interest and go for a meander.
Listen to a Podcast
Choose a topic of interest and browse some podcasts on the subject. Be inspired, educate yourself and soak up the information.
Binge a Netflix Series
Give yourself permission to totally veg out with a good series on Netflix, daggy clothes, TV snacks and all.
Movie Night
Have a movie night, complete with your favourite beverages, snacks and snuggly blanket. Enjoy a movie marathon and stay up as late as you like. Maybe tomorrow is the day you switch off the alarm!
Go to the Movies
Take yourself out on a date to see a movie. Watch whatever the hell YOU want to watch – no need to compromise and settle for an action movie (unless you want to, of course)!
Play a Board Game
When was the last time you sat down with friends or family and played a good old board game? There are hours of fun and laughter right there.
Play an Online Game
If you’re a gamer, it can totally be considered self-care to jump online and enter a virtual world for a few hours. If not, there are plenty of other online games to choose from. Hidden objects, word games, block games, farming games, etc.
Do a Puzzle
Put on an audiobook or something inspirational and work away at a jigsaw puzzle. It’s super relaxing, but keeps the hands busy while the mind is free to follow what you’re listening to.
Do a Crossword
Keep your brain active by doing some word or number puzzles. Think crosswords, sudoku, find-a-words and Words with Friends.
Connection & Relationship Self-Care Ideas
Social self-care nurtures meaningful connections while still respecting your energy, boundaries, and emotional needs.
Catch Up with a Good Friend
Make some time to step away from your world for a while and catch up with a good friend. Even if you’re separated by distance, you can still have a phone or video call.
Be Present with Your Kids
Switch off and be completely present with your kids. Put the devices down, have a meal together and chat about your days. Kids don’t want for anything fancy, just to have all of you be right there with them.
Quality Time with Pets
Spend some quality time with your pets. Cuddle them, take them for a walk, talk to them, throw the ball. Obviously, it depends on your type of pet, but just be with them and shower them with love.
Pay it Forward
Take a few minutes to do something nice for a neighbour, friend or complete stranger. Spontaneously giving without expecting anything in return is often so much more satisfying than receiving. This one is great for the soul.
Laugh
Have a good, solid belly laugh. Watch some comedy on YouTube, head to a comedy club, watch a funny movie or hang out with that friend who just makes you laugh till you cry.
Eliminate Toxic People
When it comes to self-love, eliminating toxic people from your life should be number one on the list. Unfortunately, we can’t always get rid of everyone who’s toxic (co-workers, family members), but you can do your best to reduce your time with them and honour yourself first.
Growth, Reflection & Intentional Living Self-Care Ideas
These self-care ideas support personal growth, reflection, and creating a life that feels aligned and intentional.
Write in a Journal
Already have a journal? Great! Pull it out and write whatever it is that needs to come out. If not, get yourself a dedicated notebook for journaling your daily thoughts. The words don’t need to be edited or make sense; it’s simply somewhere for your thoughts to land.
Learn a New Skill
Is there a skill that you’ve always wanted to learn? Be it something handy, creative, useless or useful, go and give it a crack.
Start a Hobby
Have you always wanted to learn a new language or take a woodwork class? Now’s the time to start it up and add a new hobby to your life.
Plan a Holiday
Book yourself a holiday or plan your dream holiday if you can’t go yet. You can use Pinterest and Google for inspiration to put together the details of where you want to go and how it might look for you.
Go for an Aimless Drive
Jump into the car and drive aimlessly while listening to a good podcast or your favourite music. There is no end destination; it’s all about the journey.
Burn & Release Ceremony
Hold a burn and release ceremony to rid your life of negative attachments. Write down what it is that you want to release, then burn the paper in a fire or over a candle and release it back to the universe.
Self-care doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming to be effective. Small, intentional actions done regularly can make a big difference in how supported, balanced, and energised you feel.
If you’re short on time or need something you can do right now, you might also enjoy these quick and easy self-care ideas you can do in just five minutes, perfect for busy days or when your energy is low.
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