8 Ways Everyday Health Editors Practice Self-Care

To practice self-care, you need to make time for it! Having trouble? Consider senior editor Linda Thrasybule’s weekly ritual of taking Sunday to schedule your TLC for the week.

“On Sunday afternoons, I like to tackle certain tasks so I’m mentally prepared for the week,” Linda says. Planning and cooking meals so she has leftovers during the week or scheduling her workouts makes her feel like she’s got a handle on things. “I feel less overwhelmed,” she says, adding that this prep time helps her maintain a healthy lifestyle overall.

Quick Tip Use your paper or digital calendar to jot down your plans for the week. Whether they relate to your career, your workout routine, or your social engagements, identify your priorities and fit them into your schedule. And just like that, you’ve just designed your own self-care plan.

When you’re caught in a whirlwind of fast-paced obligations, life can feel overwhelming. For executive editor Amy Kraft, self-care means taking a step back from her busy life as a working mom and spending time with girlfriends.

She recollects spending a weekend away with a friend (and without spouses or kids) at a ski lodge in the Poconos in Pennsylvania: “After a weekend of spa treatments, hiking, and dining on food that we had no part in cooking, I returned to my family recharged and able to be present for their needs.”

Not only does this time with friends help her decompress, but Amy also finds it benefits her marriage, too. “My husband is so laid back and appreciates that I need time away to be with friends every now and then," she notes. "His empathy for my needs keeps our marriage strong.”

Quick Tip Prioritize time with your friends where possible, and make an effort to follow through on plans you make with them. Start traditions that fit all of your schedules, whether it’s a monthly catch-up or an annual trip.

If you’re working remotely and missing a previous daily commute, give Everyday Health’s VP of Editorial Valarie Basheda’s self-care hack a try: Start each weekday with a walk outdoors.

“Working remotely can feel confining at times, and using my former commute time to walk instead gets me out of the house before I start my workday at the ‘office,’” she says. “I use that time to mentally prepare for the day ahead or listen to the news or a podcast. At other times I may catch up with a friend, whether they are walking with me or we are talking on the phone.”

One nice thing about walking is its approachability, Valarie points out. “I’m not a gym rat by any stretch, but I do believe in the power of exercise, and walking is an easy way to get moving,” she explains.

Quick Tip Even if you do have a daily commute, try incorporating walking at other times you’d take public transit or a car. “You can walk pretty much anywhere — and walking in a city or on a beach or in a small town will give you different experiences than just driving by,” Valarie says.

Plant care and collection became a major hobby during the pandemic for senior associate editor Monroe Hammond. Cold weather has a similar effect of confining us indoors, but an apartment full of greenery brings its own kind of warmth.

“It started innocently enough, with a few hanging pothos,” they say. “But New York City has so many small plant shops, and unlike visiting a botanical garden, you can touch everything!” Their collection has since ballooned. Checking on plants each morning as they nurse a cup of coffee has become a daily grounding practice for Monroe, and an extension of self-care.

Quick Tip If you’re a new plant parent, start with common ones like money trees, pothos vines, or ZZ plants, which are among the lower-maintenance varieties. Once you feel confident about keeping them alive, you can branch out to more exotic types of plants that require more careful, regular care. And don’t let anyone tell you succulents are easy, Monroe says. That’s a myth!

Doing the same type of exercise over and over again can become blah real quick. If you’re feeling bored by your workout routine, it may be time to change things up. When editor Christina Vogt did that by taking up indoor rock climbing, she reaped a host of unexpected benefits from the choice.

“I always look forward to going after work (usually twice a week),” she says, adding that the activity provides a means to socialize and get out of the house because she works from home.

What’s more, indoor rock climbing encourages her to practice mindfulness, which Christina notices helps with stress management, and boosts her sense of confidence and accomplishment. “At the climbing gym I go to, the climbing routes are organized by color and numerical level of difficulty (with 5 being the easiest and 11 or 12 being the hardest). I started at 5, but recently I've been able to complete a couple of 9 routes, which is a great feeling,” she says.

Quick Tip Ease into your new exercise routine. “If you're new to climbing like I was, it's probably a good idea to start out at once a week (if you plan to go consistently), because you'll have sore muscles afterward,” Christina says. “Over time, I was able to increase to twice a week (and sometimes I've gone three times a week). There are some people there, though, who are really advanced and I think go every day.”

Like Christina, Maura Corrigan, editorial director of integrity and special projects at Everyday Health, treats her workout — in this case, martial arts — as a form of mindfulness. “It’s good for me physically and mentally. It's walking zen and incorporates actual meditation; it's community, and it gets me out of my head,” Maura says.

Maura wasn’t anticipating that when she began the practice years ago. “I was expecting some physical benefits but was surprised by how quickly I felt the mental: I was more focused, happier, in general had greater clarity of mind, and found it easier to deal with difficult situations and people,” Maura explains.

As a bonus, martial arts have allowed Maura to stay connected with her community, including during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when her classes were held outdoors and online, as well as helping her prioritize hydration, nutrition, and healthy sleep habits.

Quick Tip Stay disciplined, and don’t make excuses. “It's so important to be consistent with your activity — for your mental health as much as your physical health. Getting up can be hard (if you have to do your activity in the a.m.), and getting there can be hard, but you'll never regret a workout,” Maura says.

If you have a dog or a cat, or another animal companion nearby, taking time to love and care for them can be an act of love and care for yourself, too. That can be true even when you consider the difficulties being a pet owner can pose. Executive editor and dog owner Pam Kaufman knows the feeling well.

“Taking care of a dog can be hard, but loving on a dog is one of the most comforting things ever,” Pam says. “I didn't really know that until I got my first dog, a rescue, about two years ago. Maisie is not great on a leash, which can make walking her a little aggravating, but back in my apartment she is my best WFH buddy.”

Pam explains Maisie’s presence provides a welcome relief from everyday stresses. “She spends most of the day sleeping at my feet. When I need a boost, I just look at her sweet little face or pet her soft fur. Her tail wags like crazy when I pay attention to her. It is very uplifting!” Pam says. “And when I say silly things to her — that’s my love language — I feel like I relax and start to breathe more deeply, which gets some extra oxygen going to my heart and brain. It feels good.”

Quick Tip Keep your cell phone in your pocket during dog walks. “I’m always tempted to catch up on phone calls when I take Maisie out, but I’m usually able to resist. It’s much more satisfying just to enjoy the fresh air, exercise, and quality time with my dog. When I’m not on my phone, I’m also more open to chatting with other people walking their dogs, which is a good antidote to the isolation of remote work, and I can have fun watching Maisie interact with her doggie friends, too,” Pam says.

As for me (Melinda, executive editor), I believe when you look good, you feel good. My way of doing just that is by regularly setting aside time to treat myself to a manicure at my local salon. Manicures make me feel feminine, confident, and put-together. I view them as an act of self-love and pampering.

This self-care habit is also a way to connect with my community and forge new relationships. Each time I go in, my manicurist and I exchange updates on one another's jobs, relationships, and other important life events. Whenever I schedule a mani, I look forward not only to freshly polished nails, but also to the friendly conversation I know I'll enjoy during my appointment.

I totally get that having your nails done professionally (and especially on a regular basis) can feel like an unnecessary expense, but for me it’s well worth it.

Quick Tip If a salon treatment isn’t in your budget at the moment, set aside a weekly time for a personal care ritual you really enjoy, like painting your nails, treating yourself to a face mask, or experimenting with new makeup.