Self-care was without a doubt a buzzword in 2018, with everything from the popular #selfcaresunday to endless books and articles it is almost impossible to escape. But what happens when a well-intentioned concept becomes commercialized and trendy? While vacations, spa days, and fancy treats are all wonderful – they are outside of the realm of possibility for most individuals.

With full-time jobs, families, lives to live, and bills to pay it is often hard to find time to pick up your dry cleaning, let alone spend hours and $$$ on something that seems so nonessential. At CipherHealth, we find that our team faces the same challenges, especially as we are constantly working towards our mission. To balance our work hard mentality, we also try to find ways of helping each other prioritize our emotional and physical wellbeing.

Here are a few ways that you can put yourself first, even when working hard:

• Ask yourself why you are not making time for self-care: Do you feel it is overindulgent? You can’t seem to make the time? You do not have the money?

• Decide why self-care is important to you: Repeat after me, self-care is NOT selfish. Why do you need this time to reset? Why do you deserve it? (And trust us, you DO!)

• Determine what self-care means to you: Do you love running, baking, reading, dancing? Think about what brings you joy and peace that is realistic for you to incorporate into your life.

• Take baby steps: Start off small. Dedicate 15 minutes each day or some time on the weekends to unwind and focus on taking care of yourself.

• Be consistent: As life gets busy it is going to be tempting to relinquish your self-care time to your ever growing to do list – but don’t give in! Taking care of yourself is more important and remember that you’re health and wellness are worth prioritizing.

CipherHealth works to promote an environment where employees are given the tools they need to succeed – and that includes the tools they need to take care of themselves. With a flexible working policy, monthly ELEVATE wellness challenges, healthy snacks, in office massages, and other initiatives, CipherHealth ensures that our team is taking care of business while taking care of ourselves. Visit our careers page to learn more about the opportunities available to join our team.