Modern professional men are very busy and have many responsibilities on their shoulders: providing for their families, paying bills, working, maintaining friendships, etc. With all these responsibilities being juggled on a daily basis, it’s easy to forget that even men need to prioritize their self-care.
To start things off—self-care is real, even for men. Self-care is often seen as bubble baths and spa days to relax and recharge. Because of this oversaturated concept of self-care, many men just don’t take self-care seriously. Most middle-aged, professional men just aren’t into the idea of a mani/pedi treatment as a self-care day. However, even men can benefit from taking time for themselves and prioritizing their self-care, although it may not resemble the feminized versions of self-care that you may be familiar with.
Why Busy Professional Men Need To Prioritize Self-Care
From a cultural standpoint, men are conditioned to believe they need to “power through” and “soldier on” even if they need a break. It’s more socially acceptable for women to take self-care days as they are the “nurturers” of society. As nurturers, women are expected to need to take time to recharge and rest. However, busy professional men working day in and day out to provide for their families need to take time to prioritize their self-care just as much as women do.
Busy professionals carry a lot of stress, and men are socially conditioned to look to unhealthy habits to deal with that stress—watching sports for hours on end, drinking, and so on. These coping habits are not sustainable for men in the long run. Men need healthier self-care routines. The first step? Convincing men that taking time to prioritize their self-care is not only okay but a necessary step in reducing stress and improving their overall quality of life.
Why Self-Care Is Worth Making A Priority For Busy Professional Men
Self-care is all about engaging in healthy habits that improve your overall mental and physical health by reducing stress and improving your overall sense of well-being.
As a busy professional man, prioritizing your self-care matters because:
- It reduces the negative impact stress has on your body.
- It allows you the chance to “check in” with your mind and body.
- It allows you to become more resilient when life throws stressful situations your way.
- It provides an opportunity to rest up and feel recharged.
- It gives you more energy to devote to family and friends.
- It improves your overall outlook on life.
How Should Busy Professional Men Choose A Self-Care Routine?
Not all self-care routines will work for every man. As a busy professional, you’ll need to find routines that take into account your busy schedule while still providing the benefits listed above. To help you find a self-care activity that you can fit into your schedule, below you’ll find a list of common routines men use to prioritize their self-care.
Make Going to the Gym a Regular Part of Your Routine
Many busy professional men find the gym as a fantastic self-care routine. Exercising helps reduce stress, releases endorphins, and allows you to take out the frustrations of your busy life in a healthy way!
For most busy professionals, the gym is a great choice because you can exercise for as long or as little as you can fit into your schedule. Most men can easily get a great workout completed in as little as 15 minutes, so even men with the busiest schedules can fit in a quick gym session a few times a week as a self-care routine.
Make Time for Leisure Reading
Many men find reading a good book is a great way to prioritize their self-care. Like the gym, reading is a self-care activity that takes your schedule into account—you can choose how long you read for, making it easy to fit into your busy day!
Reading a good book can give you a temporary escape from reality, but is a healthier distraction than zoning out on Netflix or ESPN. Since you can choose any book, you also have the opportunity to use this self-care ritual to learn a new skill or read up on something of interest, keeping your mind sharp while reducing your stress.
If reading just isn’t your thing, consider trying out an audiobook while you do something with your hands. Maybe that means yard work, or putting in some hours in the garage workshop on a furniture restoration project, or listening to a podcast while you ride a bike around town.
Plan a Man-Spa Day
This one takes a little planning, but most busy professionals can fit this into their schedule with some proactive effort—and it’ll be well worth it. While this is labeled as a man-spa day, it doesn’t mean you have to actually go to a spa. This self-care activity can be as thorough as a massage day, or as simple as a fresh haircut and shave.
Most men know how amazing you feel after going to the barber and getting a haircut and a straight-razor shave. Your stress melts away, and you feel like a million bucks. Regardless of how big or small your man-spa day is, it is definitely a great way for men to prioritize self-care.
Get Out In Nature
Are you a beach guy? A forest guy? A mountain guy? A sand dunes guy? Regardless of your preferred terrain, getting out in nature is a great way men can prioritize their self-care. Yes, this activity requires some planning for a busy professional, but it can be done and doesn’t have to be super time-consuming.
You can go fishing, go for a hike, go surfing, go hunting, rent a cabin for a day; the possibilities are endless. What matters is you get out in nature. Nature is soothing and the right surroundings will help reduce your stress and help you be more present rather than focused on your work or other responsibilities.
Plan a Getaway Trip
Everyone knows a vacation is a great self-care activity, so it had to be included. It doesn’t have to be a long trip, but a getaway is an excellent way for busy professional men to prioritize their self-care.
Whether you go on a family vacation, plan a guy’s trip, or just head out of town solo for a day or two, a getaway trip helps distract you from your work and helps you focus on relaxing rather than juggling all of your responsibilities.
Find a Support Group
Talking to someone you trust is an excellent way for men to prioritize self-care. This can take on many forms, such as: a men’s group, a church group, a social club, etc. Each of these groups will look different, but they all have the same goal: connecting with someone or a group of people who understand your struggles and can offer support when you need it.
These are just a few possible methods busy professional men can use to prioritize their self-care. With that said, sometimes men need something a little nuanced and particular to better handle the stress of daily life. When this happens, an outlet such as online therapy could be more beneficial than the typical self-care activities.
How Men Can Use Online Therapy As Self-Care
As busy professional men, support is very much needed to find a sense of balance and well-being. Often that support doesn’t come from family or friends. Maybe they just cannot understand the unique pressures you face on a daily basis, so you need to find someone who can better understand the pressure you’re under and provide guidance and support in a unique way. This is where online therapy can shine.
How Busy Professionals Can Benefit From Online Therapy
Failure to engage in adequate self-care is detrimental to the mental and physical health of busy professionals juggling more than their fair share of responsibilities. Some of those detrimental side effects of a lack of self-care include:
- Lower levels of morale and productivity in your professional life and personal life.
- Lower level of satisfaction in your personal and professional relationships.
- Increased risk of engaging in unhealthy coping habits such as binge drinking, drug abuse, and reckless behaviors.
Participating in therapy can open doors to numerous positive benefits in a busy professional’s life. For busy men, online therapy is more befitting due to the flexibility in scheduling and the ability to set appointments in smaller time frames to allow therapy to fit seamlessly into a busy life.
Furthermore, online therapy checks the list of a self-care activity for busy professional men because it gives men a chance to vent and seek support through a medium that can be perceived as less vulnerable than a typical in-person therapy session. The screen can be as intimate or as detached as you need to open up without feeling overwhelmed doing so.
Lastly, the whole point of self-care is that it fits into your world in a way that is meaningful to you. Online therapy gives busy professional men the opportunity to prioritize their self-care in ways that make sense for their lifestyle. You control the tempo and the you lead the narrative—this makes online therapy the perfect medium for men to explore stressors and dysfunction in their lives at a comfortable pace. In turn, this self-work is just as much self-care as the gym or reading a good book.
Understand More About The Importance Of Men Taking Time To Prioritize Self-Care Through Online Therapy In California, Oregon, and Florida
We know men often struggle to take time for themselves in today’s modern world. It can feel like you are being weak or not getting enough done if you try to take a break. Trust us—this is not the case! We have worked with many men over the years to help them find the balance they need with online therapy to combat the stresses of modern life as a busy professional. We have helped these men find self-care routines that improve their sense of well-being and develop the resilience they need to confidently tackle their responsibilities.
At Stress Solutions, we are dedicated to helping men understand the importance of prioritizing self-care and finding the necessary balance between taking time for themselves and navigating their busy lives. We work with you to help you find the right approach to streamlining your life and improving your outlook on life.
To learn more about how to prioritize self-care in your life, schedule a consultation with an online therapist in California, Oregon, or Florida today!
