“I don’t have time to ______ today.” How many times have you said that to yourself, filling in the blank with a self-care activity such as meditating, walking, or getting a massage? How many times have you prioritized everything else before allowing time for yourself? If you’re anything like I used to be, the answer to those questions was some variation between “all the time” and “every day”.

This past summer I decided to make a priority change that ended up changing my whole life for the better. I decided to make self-care my first priority every day. It made things simple; instead of waiting until after the laundry or bookkeeping were done to take my walk, I took my walk first. I did that with everything from meditation, to yoga or Pilates practice, to receiving massage and acupuncture, to cooking and eating my meals. Do you know what happened when I did that? I didn’t have to close my business and my apartment isn’t filthy, instead I am sleeping better and have more energy.

The more time I give to myself, the more I want to use to take care of myself, the easier it is for me to make that happen. I have more to give my clients during their appointments, and the day to day tasks of running a business and household management take less time and effort than they used to. It really is true that you can’t take proper care of others if you aren’t taking care of yourself.

So here’s what I’d like for you to do: pick one self-care activity and make it your first priority to do that every day. For most of us, this won’t be a linear process. Some days, particularly in the beginning, you may just plain forget; some days you may consciously choose not to do your activity. One of the most important things is to not get attached to the days you miss, or look at them as a failure. You didn’t fail; tomorrow is a brand new opportunity to prioritize yourself!

Start as big or as small as you want. You can take an hour-long walk or do 5 minutes of meditation, or anything else that appeals to you. By making self-care your first priority, you are giving yourself the gift of love. Go ahead, you deserve it.