5 Self-Care Ideas You Won't Find on Pinterest

I’m so over this Delta Variant.

If I didn't know better, the Delta Variant sounds more like a macroeconomics concept, a sad Beck album, or Delta's new line of puddlejumper aircraft with direct service from O'Hare to...Sheboygan.

With Labor Day on the horizon, I'm sharing some original things I've done (or intend to do) to keep my mental wellness in check.

Here are five tips (in no particular order):

1. Stay in a nearby hotel/Airbnb. When I was 5 or 6, my parents and I traveled five miles down Route 10 to stay at the Hilton for a weekend (it had a pool). It was such a simple but indelible trip that I've resurrected this tradition several times within the last 18 months. There's something about sleeping in fresh, starched sheets (that you don't have to clean).

2. Plan a day around how you'd like to feel (not what you'd like to do). We get so caught up in activities that we often shove the resulting feelings aside (or, at least, I do). Therefore, try choosing a particular feeling you'd like to feel (i.e., "adventurous") and then plan the day with activities that might give you that feeling (i.e., try some new recipes from TikTok creators, do a cold plunge, etc.). This might spice up your life in the best way.

3. After choosing a number between 1-100, toss out that number of items/pieces of paper/junk from your home/car/office. I did this after my Mom died, and I found it was a way to push through the discomfort of getting rid of all of her things. You can download a free counter from the App Store. This method is especially helpful if you don't know whether a half-empty container of dish soap sparks joy or not.

4. Listen to some retro jazz on YouTube. When I don’t feel like being cognitively overloaded, I like to listen to music like Vintage Coffee Music on YouTube and this while I do menial labor around the apartment; it can really take the edge off. (Don't worry - I'll let you know when I hit the E-Z Listening/Muzak phase of my life).

5. Read a real book. I love reading a real book (as opposed to a tablet) because I can feel the progress of reading within my hands (on a tablet, I often have no idea where I am in the book, and sometimes I can get confused). I especially love doing this before going to bed.