Self care: My 1-Hour Rise From Chaos to Calm

The Rat Race That Nearly Burned Me Out!

I didn’t realise how badly I was running on autopilot until my body literally gave up on me. For the past four years, I used to follow the 3W’s in my life: Wake up -> Washroom -> Work

Yes, I followed this destructive routine to a certain point that I was reduced to bones! Yes, I mean it. A day in my life would look like getting up, getting ready and going off to work, coming back home, work piled up, needing to do household chores, and so on.

I always felt like the 24-hour clock was less for me and that I needed a few extra hours for some me time or self care. Coming back from work, I had to focus on so many things that I often used to shift some things to be done the next day, and when the deadline would arrive, I would often stay up till midnight to complete all that work.

This continued for four years, and as a result, I lost a drastic amount of weight, my eyes went inside the sockets, and under-eye dark circles were so prominent that it kinda gave a smudged, smoky eye look.

The Day My Body Forced Me to Stop

One day I fell so sick, it felt like the world was going to end. I blacked out while working in the office (NGL, died of embarrassment). The only thing was that I was good at my work and my manager loved me, and that day she gave me off. She later emailed me to say I was granted 2 days of paid leave (surprisingly, without even asking or maybe I just had leave balance and I rarely take one), and that my co-workers would handle my work.

That day, my mom scolded me as if I were an eight-year-old child. But she was right; I kept so busy with everything else that I never bothered about myself or my health. She was right, I needed some self care.

That evening I slept well. After waking up, we were both sipping tea, and my mom was like, If this is the lifestyle that continues, then something worse can happen in the future.

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Stepping Into My Softest Self Care Era

The 5 AM Awakening I Never Saw Coming

The next morning, my mom woke me up at 5 am! Umm, excuse me? Me an early bird? Never! I was surprised, cracked, and lazy, unaware of what’s going around, she insisted that everything’s gonna change from that day. She kinda took charge of that day as if I were back in school.

Breathing Life Back Into My Tired Self

After freshening up, Mom called me from the porch, where we have a small garden. We then started doing the deep breathing exercise, the one which is inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds. I never knew such a small breathing exercise would actually wake me up. Sitting amongst nature (my small lil garden) calmed me down and kinda woke all my senses.

The Meditation That Carried Me Into Another World

The next up was my nightmare, as I knew meditation = going back to sleep. If I were asked to meditate, I would sit up straight, close my eyes, and after some time, doze off to sleep…

Well, my mom made meditation feel so luxurious. She had put on some soft  therapeutic music, we sat up straight, and closed our eyes. Then, she started guiding, and only by listening to her voice, I started imagining.  

What happened next felt so unexpectedly deep that I have to explain it properly. I’ll try to quote a few of what she guided –

“Focus on the music… imagine all your worries are wiped out, all your stress, anxiety, fear, is leaving you, from the top of your head…take a deep breath… imagine all the goals that you have in your life, you have already succeeded…deep breath… imagine yourself on top of the mountain…deep breathing…”

This is a gist of her guidance, the music was playing in the background all the time. Btw, if you try this, don’t just say or focus on all these altogether, it was like after deep pauses.

I don’t know if this is how people actually meditate, or how and from where she learned this, but this was wholesome. By following her voice and the BGM, I was like flying away in some other dimension.

I can guarantee, I have never had such an amazing experience in my life before. I never thought I would incorporate meditation in my “self care routine”. Also, fun fact, I didn’t sleep!

Drinking Calm, One Glass at a Time

My mom had been a big fan of hydration, and, goes without saying, she handed me a bottle of water, not to take a sip, but to have around a full glass!

Moving My Body Back Into Joy

Next up, we headed to walk our furry baby (my dog), stretched out a bit in the park, did some jogging and a few light exercises, and played with my buddy (that’s cardio! If you don’t have a dog you won’t understand). After a long time, I felt like we were actually having a good life, to be honest!

Washing Off the Weight of Yesterday

After returning home, I had a good warm bath… while bathing, I realised that every day I used to wake up with my alarm buzzing, and a bag full of notifications from the team, I used to check and reply to them all while getting ready.

There was never a moment of peace in the morning because I had to contribute to all of it right after getting up. These messages forced me to have a digital conversation first thing in the morning.

I overworked my brain, which increased fatigue, and I lost all my motivation and productivity. Anyway, after having a nice bath, I finally got some time for my skincare and my self care, and I did feel good in and out!

Learning the Art of Organising My Life Again

Mom handed me a cute to-do notepad, asking me to fill it up, but I was on leave, so I didn’t have anything special to do. She then took over and asked me to write her to-do list which included grocery shopping, bill payments, bathing my fluffy baby, and so on. The list ended with my most favourite part, which is watching Stranger Things together!

At first I didn’t really get how was this to-do list relatable for my “self care routine”. I told mom that a to-do list is okay, but this did not need to be written down; those can be memorised as well. That is when she explained, it’s not about the things, it’s about the habit – the habit of organising and prioritising the work we need to do in a day and getting those done.

Speaking Kindness Into My Own Heart

Then we both started making breakfast together. While doing so, she made me say out loud a few positive affirmations for self-love and made sure I included this in my “self care routine”… I felt a little dumb, but eventually did it.  It wasn’t really that bad, though.

Breakfast That Felt Like a Warm Hug

After a long time, we sat down together to have breakfast, even though it might sound super simple thing for most people, but it wasn’t for me. Most days, I would skip breakfast. While having breakfast, I was wondering how is that I didn’t get any notifications or pings from the team that day! Even though I was on leave, notifs do pop up. That is when I realised the timing, it was only 5.50 am!

Five Minutes That Made My Heart Softer

For the next 5 minutes, we did some gratitude practice. She gifted me a cute journal and a few cute stationery items (she definitely knows my weak point). So, I wrote down all the things I am grateful for. I already felt I had done so much already that day after waking up and it wasn’t even 6!

Resetting My Space, Resetting My Mind

While making my bed, and my room, I did realise that waking up early might be the most terrifying thing for a night owl like me, but it isn’t that bad. I mean I usually wake up at 7.30 am with the crazy alarm going off and piles of notifications on my phone. But that day I even had one hour still left to be 7, which means I can still do a lot of things or during work days I would get ample amount of time for getting ready and some self care.

I was already making plans, if I could survive this self care routine for at least for 21 days (because I heard people say it takes 21 days for a person to make anything a habit) with this same routine, then maybe later on I can start incorporating gym, maybe?

(While Smiling and Imagining) I heard mom calling my name, it was time for grocery shopping…

Glowing And Gorgeously Growing

Fast forward to today, I can proudly say, that I am a morning person and it is all because of one single self care routine change. It wasn’t only a change in the routine, but a change in lifestyle.

Today I finish my work by 8 pm and I’m back home by 9 pm. Have a nice family dinner every day and go to bed by 11. Some days are hectic, yes, that can’t be undone, but most of the days are peaceful. I don’t remember when was the last time that I stayed up late night.

To everyone who is still reading this, if you think all this while, I made up a story or maybe it’s easier to say than to do – it’s not! Neither did I make up a story, nor do I say it’s easier to follow. But changing a routine that has the power to change oneself is worth giving a try. The best part? I am in my ideal weight and my skin is flawless. 😌

My Reflection: The Day I Chose Myself Again

It hit me that my mom didn’t just give me a self care routine; she gave me back parts of myself I had lost. The way she guided me through the meditation, handed me a to-do list, or woke me up with tea — it made me realise how deeply she cared, even when I didn’t notice.

When I look at myself now, I genuinely feel proud. Not because everything is perfect but because I finally took the first step. I didn’t know a one-hour self care routine could make me feel like I had control over my life again.

One morning didn’t fix my life, but it changed its direction — and that’s enough for anyone to begin!

Checklist Of My 5–6 AM Self-Care Hour: The Routine That Saved Me

If you’re inspired by my journey and want to explore more self-care ideas, be sure to check out my Pinterest profile for tips and inspiration!

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