75 Nice Little Things to Do For Yourself

I'm away from the internet to focus on my book this month, so I’m bringing you AUGLIST: four weeks of lists. These special editions are built on questions that you asked me to include in the reader survey back in April, and I’ve synthesized your more than 3,000 replies. 

Next Friday: Back to our regular newsletter format! Today: What's one small thing you've done to care for yourself that had a noticeable impact?

1. Stop looking at your phone first thing in the morning. Just stare around your room for a few minutes first.
2. Get up an hour early and let yourself watch bad TV while you eat a hot breakfast and leisurely get dressed. 
3. Eat an edible + 60 min reflexology session.
4. Stick to exercise that you enjoy and let go of the stuff that feels like a chore.
5. Prioritize consistency over intensity in exercise.
6. Get a nice haircut!!
7. Keep dumplings in the freezer.
8. Take fart walks.
9. Get an ergonomic desk setup for work. Doesn’t have to be fancy, just adjust until everything is actually at the correct height for your body!
10. Grant yourself permission to wear clothes that aren't "flattering." You don't owe anyone a particular body shape or size. 
11. Let yourself cry. 
12. Do a small creative project on your lunch break. 
13. Practice the mantra “I’m still learning.”
14. If you notice yourself judging, reframe it as a neutral statement. "That woman is wearing a cop-top", or "that guy is eating a donut.”
15. Put yourself in time-out when you’re feeling irritable. Rather than push through, cancel your plans, sit quietly, and feel better.
16. Set an alarm every 30 minutes while you work to make sure you take plenty of breaks and breaths.
17. Allow 10-15 minutes of movement to “count.” Little movements more often.
18. Take a day of PTO every month to do nothing.
19. Quit things you don't want to do. Not just saying no beforehand, like actually stopping mid-activity if you aren't enjoying it. 
20. Share positive things you think about other people.
21. Take quiet weeks after social weeks. 
22. Delete TikTok and Instagram.
23. When you have a work trip, go a day early and stay in a hotel alone.
24. Reintroduce things you loved when you were younger (swimming, singing, tennis, drawing).
25. Masturbate, the ultimate form of self care.
26. Put "outside days" on the calendar months in advance and then follow through.
27. Change to a more gender-affirming shower gel scent.
28. Stare out the window and do nothing for a moment.
29. Make a list of fun, normal, and hard things you hope to do in a week (sorted by category) and pick a few from each category every day to accomplish. 
30. Don’t hold your pee for anyone! Go when you need to go.
31. Buy new underwear more often.
32. Refill your prescriptions automatically.
33. Get a backpack you don't hate. 
34. Go analog regularly—write by hand, listen to vinyl, etc.
35. Take a breath before reacting.
36. Smile whenever you see yourself in the mirror.
37. Ask a friend to do a hard thing with you.
38. Use mouthwash. Your gums will be THRILLED. 
39. Get a weekly babysitter.
40. Schedule time with friends and stick to it. 
41. Use ChatGPT to help you compose emails and texts when you need to address conflict but feel scared about hurting people’s feelings! Helps deal with conflict rather than avoid it.
42. Switch to NA beers/drinks on the weekdays.
43. Do not apologize for things that aren’t actually your fault. 
44. Light candles. Amazing how helpful it can be to stay grounded when activating your sense of smell. 
45. Get to sink zero (aka no dirty dishes) every work night.
46. Tell someone about a thing that’s difficult for you.
47. Switch doctors if yours is making you feel bad.
48. Schedule a “life admin date” with yourself to pay bills, make appointments, respond to tough emails.
49. Let yourself say, “I don’t know.” Give yourself more time to think, more time to be unsure, more time in general.
50. Leave the party when you’re ready.
51. Stop weighing yourself.
52. Soak in hot water (Korean spas, hot springs, baths, etc).
53. Roll your glutes. 
54. Try needlepoint or knitting to watch TV without simultaneously scrolling on your phone.
55. Spend more time with your friends without drinking.
56. Buy multiple pairs of glasses. Wearing glasses every day inevitably irritates the nose, ears, eyes. Having different pairs to rotate makes such a difference. 
57. Reframe household chores as messages to yourself that your comfort is worth the effort.
58. Set a timer to clean up and STOP when the timer stops.
59. Write out what three things matter most to you right now.
60. Stop giving 110% at work and dial it down to 80%. Honestly no one will even know.
61. Acknowledge when everything feels like too much and take a day to reset if you can. 
62. Stop reading the news like it’s your job.
63. Embrace slutting.
64. Add pumps to everything in the shower.
65. Keep your warmest blanket nicely folded in the living room so it's always right there when you need it.
66. Almost always have music on in your house.
67. Practice self-compassion by telling yourself "I'm a good person having a hard time."
68. Let yourself eat frozen/instant/fast food when you’re busy and tired, even though it doesn't fit the aesthetic of what we've been told is a successful life. Always keep a supply of Cool Ranch Doritos on hand.
69. Do the 5-minute tasks the moment you think of them, don’t put them off.
70. Sleep in a separate bedroom from your partner if you want to.
71. Try a magnesium sleep cocktail at night.
72. Give yourself a little facial massage.
73. Plug in your phone outside the bedroom. Only read fiction after 8pm.
74. Remind yourself to “start with half.” Applies to so many things.
75. Stop trying to find a perfect self-care routine and just try to do something every day to make yourself and the world more loving.