In the first quarter of 2018 alone, consumers spent $32 million on self-care apps available through the Apple App Store and Google Play.
As such, Apple announced this genre of health, wellness, and mindfulness as its app trend of the year. From mobile buddies that remind us to drink water and take breaks to yoga videos and more, there’s an entire industry focused on helping us live better, feel better and look better.
Yet, this is hardly a new concept.
Women around the world have understood for centuries the incredible power of taking time away from the world to look inward. Whether we’re sinking to our nose in a bubble bath or taking a long drive down a back road, we relish time to ourselves.
Have you scheduled a solo night in on your calendar? If so, it’s time to think of new and exciting ways to love yourself! Today, we’re sharing 12 ideas for inspiration.
Ready to learn more? Let’s get started!
1. Meditate
When is the last time the house was truly quiet? Without anyone else around to ask you questions, talk your ear off or ask you to help out with the chores, you’re free to truly embrace the calm.
Slip on your softest yoga pants, light some incense or a salt lamp, and turn some calming music on low. Then, browse your phone for a meditation app that suits you, and let it guide you through the practice.
2. Find a Mission
We’re often so wrapped up in our own busy lives that we fail to take the time to research worthy causes around us. Do you have a plight that causes your heart to break?
Maybe it’s hunger in your community, foster children, the homeless population or stray animals.
Whatever it is, research local programs that you can plug into or charities you can support. Honing your altruism takes intention and focus, two things you’ll have plenty of when spending the evening alone.
3. Try a New Skill
Have you been interested in painting with watercolors? What about knitting, crafting or writing a poem?
When you have a few hours to yourself, this is the ideal time to pick up a new hobby.
The best part? You can find your sea legs with no one around to watch you. That means if your scarf turns out skinnier than a ruler or your painting looks like a kindergartener did it, that’s OK!
Research shows it takes 20 hours to learn a new skill. That just means you’ll have to schedule a few more solo nights in to become an expert!
4. Become Your Own Chef
One of the most fun things to do alone is to get into the kitchen and let yourself be creative.
Now if you’re used to cooking all the time, your perfect night might include heating up a frozen entree or calling the pizza guy. That’s fine!
But, if you’re up for it, the art of cooking can take center stage in your night. Turn up some jazz, fill your glass with a little wine and dance barefoot in front of the stove while you whip up a pot of spaghetti bolognese.
Plate it on your fine china and savor each bite without interruptions!
5. Tidy Up Your Home
One night alone might not be enough time to go through all of your belongings to determine what sparks joy, but you can start!
Follow the much-hyped Marie Kondo method to get started. Through this, you’ll pare down your household to only the items you use or adore. The result? A cleaner space, calmer mind, and more organized life.
Start with that junk drawer in the kitchen or your bedroom dresser and you’ll be amazed at how accomplished you feel when it’s complete.
6. Pull Out the Stationery
In today’s era of text messages and emails, the idea of sitting down to write a letter to someone feels almost antiquated.
Yet, it can be one of the most therapeutic and rewarding ways to spend your night alone.
Think of someone you haven’t corresponded with for a while, and pull out your favorite stationery to get inspired. Tell them what they mean to you, catch them up on your life and put a stamp on it for the next morning.
7. Read Chapter 1
Do you have a stack of books piling up on your nightstand? Do you keep getting notices from the library that your checked-out items are overdue?
It’s easy to get enraptured by the idea of reading but let it fall by the wayside as we live our busy lives. Wondering what to do by yourself? Sit down on the sofa and open to the first page!
8. Plan Something to Look Forward To
It’s a human inclination to plan ahead. Look at your own calendar. Chances are, you have important upcoming dates circled. Are they all doctor’s appointments and children’s playdates?
If so, schedule something for yourself tonight.
Set up a pedicure next week, then call your best girlfriend to come along. Plan a little family getaway for the summertime or buy tickets to that great concert coming to town. The anticipation can help propel you through the next few weeks or months until the big day arrives.
9. Sightsee for a Few Hours
Sure, this would be the ideal night to get comfy in your sweats, pop in a chick flick and make a few bags of popcorn. If that’s your speed, go for it!
Or, you could step out of your comfort zone a little and go out on the town! Go see a movie by yourself, take a class or hit up the new cafe or museum around the corner. You aren’t doing it to meet people, but rather to feel secure and confident alone.
This can rejuvenate you in ways that other self-care techniques, like massages, cannot. You’ll return home feeling freer than when you left. Then, you’ll be ready to put on those fuzzy socks and fire up the television.
10. Play a Game
We rarely let our minds relax. We’re always stressing, worrying or hurrying from one task to the next. On your next night in, why not hop online and play a relaxing game instead?
From those that test your vocabulary and trivia skills to ones that have higher stakes, you’ll have plenty to choose from. Find one in a niche you’re interested in and settle in for a few hours.
Just be sure to get up every once in a while to stretch and allow your eyes to rest. Grab a snack from the kitchen or lean back into Child’s Pose. Spending time online can be a great stress-reliever, but balance it with the rest of your evening.
11. Take a Mentor Deep-Dive
Is there someone whose work you admire? Maybe it’s a famous author or an esteemed actor? If so, take the evening to do a deep-dive into that person’s collection of work.
For instance, if you adore Matt Damon, you might devote a few hours to watching the entire Bourne film series. Or, you may pull out that old “Friends” DVD series and watch a few seasons if you’re a Jen Anniston fan.
When’s the last time you binge-watched a television show or read more than one book in one sitting? This can be a great way to soak up some new inspiration and jumpstart your own creativity!
12. Find a DIY Fix
Has that awful dresser in your guest bedroom been bugging you for years? Make this the night that you finally paint it. Is that drippy upstairs faucet driving you nuts? Watch a few YouTube videos on how to fix it.
What about that picture you need to frame or that sweater that needs mending? You’ve put it all off due to a lack of time, but now you have it in spades. So, get to work but keep the task small.
This isn’t the night to repaint all of your kitchen cabinets. A manageable project you can complete in a few hours, however, is just right!
Find New Ways to Love Yourself Today
With these ideas in mind, are you ready to soak up your solo night in and use that time alone to truly love yourself?
After all, you deserve it. And, taking time to practice self-care isn’t selfish. Rather, it’s what fuels us to be the strongest, most capable women we can be.
This is a mission we believe in and support.
A lifestyle, health and beauty blog directed toward women, we’re dedicated to bringing you timely advice on how to live the fullest, most fulfilling life possible.
Want to start your night off on the right foot? Whip up a soothing face mask and put your best face forward!
