Take Yourself on a Date – tips, tricks, and ideas

When you take yourself on a date it is self-love 101. It’s so important to take care of ourselves, especially when we’re trying to figure out what it is that we want or need. Self-love is an important step on the self-discovery journey! Here are some ways to make your next self-date a success:

• Set aside time when you are going to take yourself on a date and actually put it in your calendar. Treat your date as though it is any other appointment that you can’t cancel!
• Figure out what you want to do for self-care beforehand. Sometimes self-care looks like taking a bubble bath. But that is not always the case. It can be deeper than that like taking time in the morning to practice your affirmations or writing in a journal and getting some of those feelings out. Full disclosure, sometimes I’ll open my camera app and take a video of how it is that I’m feeling. Is that weird? It feels a little weird, but it really helps me process it!
• Don’t feel guilty about taking time for yourself even if you’re in a relationship. My husband and I have been married for almost 5 years, and we both need time to ourselves. That can mean leaving the house or it can mean going into a different room. For example, if I’m going to self-date in the house I will order in Chinese food and watch a TV show he doesn’t love or read a book without distractions. Sometimes I do feel guilty about self-dating even though J is totally supportive. It’s not always as easy as it sounds to put myself first (hello enneagram type 2) but I know I’m a happier person when I do! Sometimes I’ll take myself to the movies or a museum!
• If you are feeling stuck, try to identify what it is that seems “off”. For me, my brain often has too many thoughts. I just need to get them out. Writing everything down immediately helps me feel more organized. I have about a dozen notebooks for different reasons. Maybe you don’t need that many!

And just in case you’re like me and need some ideas to jump-start your creativity here are my 4 favorite self-dates:

1. Make yourself a reading nook and curl up with a good book for an hour.
2. Order your favorite bath or shower bomb (my favorite is the rose jam from LUSH) and make your bath super romantic. I go all out with the bubbles, and candles, and my favorite beverage
3. Did you know there are YouTube videos about how to give yourself a massage? I love giving myself face and hand massages
4. I love going to a coffee shop just down the street from my house. When I walk in they already know that I want a hot chai latte. Then I’ll just sit in my car alone and it’s weirdly soothing to me.

If you’ve never taken yourself to a movie by yourself you know that at first, it might feel awkward, but afterward, it’s just good. I hope this gives you some ideas to get there!

If you’re looking for date ideas with your partner here are 14 of my favorites!