Put these 5 ‘wellness days' on your calendar every month: ‘We have to have time to relax,' psychologist says

Balancing responsibilities like work and caring for your family, oftentimes means your own health and wellness is put on the back burner.

"Our society focuses so much on keeping up and doing things for others, but bringing that back to you so that you have more to give on those other days is so important," says Casey Tallent, a psychologist at Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center.

But penciling in the time to devote to your well-being can help ensure your mental health isn't overlooked, she says: "We have to have time to relax. We have to have time to refocus what's important to us, to engage in mindfulness," especially if we're feeling burned out.

There are a number of lists online that suggest ways to schedule your month to focus on and improve wellness — many recommend taking yourself out on a date or spending a day outdoors.

"I think scheduling is certainly a good idea, as long as somebody also schedules in unscheduled time," Tallent says. It's also important to be able to "reevaluate and reschedule and be flexible."

Here are five wellness days that Tallent suggests including on your calendar each month, or when you can, for positive mental health.

Add these 5 wellness days to your calendar every month

1. A day to connect

"I think a lunch with a friend is a great way to keep connection with those that are important to you and that keep you balanced," Tallent says.

The key is to schedule a time to connect with the people that bring you joy, even if you hop on a video call or chat on the phone, she adds.

Maintaining the positive relationships in your life can increase your overall happiness and help you a longer life, according to an 86-year-long Harvard study that's still ongoing.

2. A day to catch up on sleep

It can be difficult to get an adequate amount of good quality sleep each night, especially during busier periods of your month.

"Having a day where you focus on getting a full night's sleep, taking a nap if you need it, would certainly be another one that I would add in," Tallent says.

"I feel like oftentimes we schedule our month or our week or our lives, and we forget about sleep."

It may seem as if prioritizing work over sleep can help you be more productive, but the opposite is true. You must get enough sleep to reach peak levels of physical and mental health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

3. A day devoted to yourself

Having time to yourself is extremely important, Tallent says. And if you can devote a full day to yourself, that would be beneficial for your mental health.

Though "having a full day to yourself can sometimes be challenging, and so that might need to be broken up," she notes.

Maybe start by "having a morning to yourself, an afternoon to yourself [or] an evening to yourself so that you can reconnect and do the things that you find enjoyable, or the things that you need to refresh and be renewed."

You can use the day to practice self-care, tap into your hobbies or visit somewhere new.

4. A day with less social media

Disconnecting, especially from social media, can allow the time and space for you to connect more deeply with yourself.

"I think 24 hours of no social media can be incredibly helpful," Tallent says. But she finds that people sometimes struggle to devote that amount of time offline. Tallent suggests being flexible.

Many phones allow you to set time restrictions on your apps. Start by limiting how many hours you spend on apps like Instagram and TikTok.

5. A day without a schedule

"The other day that I would add to this list would be an unscheduled day, like a day where you can just do whatever you need to do," Tallent says.

A day without a routine or the impulse to stick to a schedule can be a refreshing way to relax and slow down in a fast-paced environment.

"It might be like a day of cleaning, it may be a day of connecting [or] it may be a day of running errands. It could be whatever it needs to be," she says. "Sometimes you just need to schedule nothing for a day, just because things can be so busy."

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