You deserve the best, but it can be hard to remember this if you’re staggering under a lot of responsibilities. Even if you love your family, your job and your volunteer gig, sometimes it all gets to be a little too much. You might not be able to take off for a week or even a weekend to lie on a beach and relax, but bringing some small luxuries into your everyday life can make a big difference. Depending on what you enjoy doing, some of the suggestions below may appeal to you or might spark inspiration for others that will.
Improve Your Hobbies
Find ways to make something that you already enjoy more pleasant. Dry herb enthusiasts swear by vaporizers, which can give you a better, smoke-free experience. Give yourself a gift by shopping a collection of vaporizers that can release the herbal essence. If you like mixing drinks from time to time, indulge in a cocktail set. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, figure out what you can gift to yourself to make it even better.
Warm Baths or Showers
Few things feel quite so luxurious or relaxing as a warm bath at the end of the day. You can get scented soap and your favorite drink and read, listen to music or watch a movie on your tablet in comfort. If you think baths aren’t your thing, give it a try anyway, but if you aren’t convinced, a shower at bedtime can feel almost as good. Make it cool if it’s hot out to rinse away all the sweat and grime of the day and hot if it’s cold out to warm you up before you slide between the sheets. If you have seen signs of wear and tear signaling you're your bathroom vanity and other fixtures could stand to be replaced, consider how upgrading this space can make your bath time that much more luxurious.
Time
One of the only things that might feel even more luxurious than that relaxing bath is giving yourself the gift of time. Like most people, you probably spend most of your time busy with one thing or racing to the next thing. But what if you set aside some time to really just do something that you enjoy? There are a couple of catches though. You have to put down your phone, and it should be something that isn’t productive. It can be easy to fall into the trap of turning ‘you' time into another item on your to-do list, using the time to exercise or work on a project. Instead, you can sit and read a trashy novel, watch several episodes of your favorite show or just daydream.
Opt for Quantity Over Quality
One way to think about adding luxury is in terms of fewer items that are better. For example, instead of buying a box of cookies, get one piece of gourmet chocolate. Opt for a set of high-quality bedsheets instead of a lot of impulsively purchased knick knacks for your home that will just end up gathering dust. You can think this way about experiences as well. Work to be present in all of your interactions with people instead of allowing yourself to be distracted by your phone. There can be a real luxury in a less is more approach to both tangible and intangible things.