30 Self Care Ideas For A Bad Week

Self care ideas for a bad week

Most self-care lists assume you have energy, money and a free afternoon. This one assumes you have none of those and are trying to get to Friday.

Thirty ideas below, sorted by how much you have left in the tank.

Small things for a hard week

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Five minutes or less

  • Drink a full glass of water. Genuinely, start there.
  • Open a window and stand next to it.
  • Change your top. Not the whole outfit, just the top.
  • Put the phone in another room for ten minutes.
  • Wash your face with cold water.
  • Write down the one thing that must happen today. Only one.
  • Step outside the front door and come back in.
  • Text one person the word 'hello'.

For a very low energy evening

  • Eat something warm that came out of a packet. It counts.
  • Have the shower even if you do not want it.
  • Light a candle and turn the big light off.
  • Watch something you have seen before.
  • Go to bed at eight. Nobody is checking.
  • Cancel the thing. The relief tells you it was right.
  • Put clean sheets on the bed - the highest return for the effort.
  • Let the washing up wait. It will still be there and so will you.

Getting out of the house

  • Walk to the end of the road and back.
  • Go to a cafe and sit with a drink for twenty minutes.
  • Take the long way somewhere you were going anyway.
  • Go to the library. Free, warm, no obligation to buy.
  • Walk somewhere with trees in it if you can.
  • Do one errand and count it as the day's achievement.

Small things that help the next day

  • Set out tomorrow's clothes tonight.
  • Put the phone on charge outside the bedroom.
  • Write down three things to do and cross off the smallest first.
  • Say no to one thing this week.
  • Ask one person for one specific piece of help.
  • Book the appointment you have been putting off.
  • Tell one person that this week is hard.

When it is more than a bad week

  • If low mood lasts more than two weeks, speak to your GP.
  • NHS talking therapies can be self-referred in England without a GP.
  • Samaritans: 116 123, free, day or night.
  • Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 if talking is too much.
  • Mind's infoline: 0300 102 1234 for practical information.
  • Asking for help early is the low-effort option, not the dramatic one.

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How to write it so it lands

  • Pick one thing from the five minute list. Not three.
  • Clean sheets and a shower is the highest-return combination on this page.

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Frequently asked questions

What is realistic self care on a bad week?

Water, daylight, clean sheets, food that needs no cooking, and cancelling one thing. Anything more ambitious usually goes undone and adds guilt.

When should you get help?

If low mood or sleep problems last more than two weeks, speak to your GP. Samaritans on 116 123 is free at any hour in the UK.

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