Raise your hand if you've ever felt ashamed of binge-watching your favourite series, taking a midday nap, or turning down plans because you're exhausted. Same, but it shouldn't be this way! We all need to stop feeling guilty for putting ourselves first. We talk about self-care [1] so much, and yet not everyone puts it into practice. It's more than just a buzzword; it's essential to good overall health. And as we've recently learned, self-care involves [2] physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, personal, and professional maintenance. I admittedly lack in some areas, which is why I decided to reclaim my weekend to give myself whatever I most needed. Here's why it was the best thing I could've done for myself.

Going into the weekend with the mindset that I was going to focus on myself helped me feel empowered to make "selfish" decisions. It eliminated the internal debate that I usually have with myself: Should I? No, I shouldn't . . . Instead, I set the rules and didn't feel apologetic for doing things I wanted to do or skipping out on what I didn't want to do. By the time Monday came around, I felt refreshed and ready to go. It was exactly the reset I needed. Take a look at my self-care weekend below.

Friday

• After a long week, I decided that the best thing to do for myself was to turn down plans to hang out with a friend and go to the gym instead. I wanted to sweat it out — and you know what? I'm so glad I did. I left the gym feeling energized and excited for the weekend.
• The rest of my evening consisted of cooking dinner and unwinding with a joint and a good movie on Netflix.
• Since I didn't have a great week of sleep, I hit the sheets early and slept through the night.

Saturday

• I slept in until 11 a.m. and headed over to a friend's house to meet a couple others for an afternoon of wine and cheese. It was great to just relax and share good conversation with friends.
• As an INTJ personality type [3], I need to recharge after socialising by spending time alone. With the rest of my night open, I ordered my favourite takeout and dedicated the next few hours catching up on my guilty-pleasure show (Riverdale [4]).
• I was suddenly in the mood for a hot bath, so I turned my bathroom into a sanctuary by lighting candles, turning off the lights, and playing a relaxing playlist [5].

Sunday

• It's important to me that I spend my Sundays recharging before the workweek. I enjoyed a slow and mellow morning with coffee and my book club book in bed.
• Before heading to the gym, I purged my kitchen and storage spaces of unnecessary and expired crap (something I've been meaning to do for months) until I had two garbage bags filled. I can't even begin to explain how satisfying that was.
• After my workout, I came home and decided to continue my little cleaning spree, but digitally this time. I went through Instagram and unfollowed 150 people who I've either lost touch with, put me in a bad mood, or add negativity to my life in any way.
• After that digital detox, I turned my phone off and unplugged completely while I watched a couple more episodes of Riverdale and then caught up on some reading.
• By bedtime, I was fully relaxed and ready for Monday to roll around.

The great thing about self-care is that there's no right or wrong way of going about it. The most important thing is to give yourself what you need most, whether that's self-love, a stress outlet, or sleep. There are endless ways you can practice personal wellness [6], but I highly recommend that you dedicate your next weekend (and maybe even every weekend) to living a happier and more fulfiling life.