Self-care strategies for sustained expat success

So, what does self-care mean? Simply put its actively maintaining and supporting your own health and happiness. In other words, nurturing your body and mind and, of course, the two are inter-related.

Self-care often falls to the bottom of our to do list or doesn’t make it onto it in the first place! We become aware of the need for it when we’re feeling unhappy, unwell, exhausted, or burnt out.

But real self-care needs to be pro-active and part of your strategy for success.

There’s no single ingredient or one-size fits all for self-care. Think of it more as having a menu of activities. Some you incorporate into your daily or weekly routine. Other activities are occasional – perhaps as treats or when you need a top-up or boost, like a relaxing massage, weekend away or a longer vacation.

We talked to expats, like you, about their self-care tactics and explored some insights from science to share some tips and tools to try.  

1. Move your body for your mind
 

• How much activity is enough? 

 2. Maintaining a regular self-care routine on assignment

• Making your self-care time count twice
• Make ‘if-then’ plans
  
• Commit to others

3. Invest in rest for peak performance

• Sleep pays dividends 
• Top tips for sleeping well wherever you are
  

4. Balance energy drains and boosts 

• Know your energy flows 
• Use your strengths 
• Build in balance 

5. Create a sense of home wherever you are

Ever had a good idea pop into your head as you were doing something else entirely, like taking a shower, walking or pottering in the garden?

Rest-assured our brains are still busy working even if we aren’t actively thinking about an important issue at work or trying to come up with ideas to solve an urgent problem.

So, if you are strapped for time, don’t think of exercise or downtime as ‘dead-time’, use it as unconscious thinking space as well as a workout for your body or relaxation for your mind.

Try priming your mind with the topic or issue you’re grappling with. Like ideas for that report you’re struggling to get started on or a problem you need to solve, then stop thinking about it and take a walk or a break or go to the gym.  Chances are useful thoughts and ideas will surface naturally. Often good ideas pop into our head in the shower or other moments of downtime! Or you’ll find it easier to get started when you get back to your desk.

Think about doubling up in other ways too, for example walking or working out with others. Hobbies that you do with friends or family can also be a great way to boost social connection another important ingredient of happiness and wellbeing, as well as moving your body or unwinding.

Imagine you’ve set yourself a self-care routine like going for a swim after work three times a week. What happens when, for the third day, in a row something unforeseen gets in the way? Persistently missing our target can be discouraging or even mean we give up all together.

Psychologists have found investing a little bit of time up front planning for what might get in the way of our personal goals can facilitate sustained achievement. It sets up a connection in our brain between the likely obstacles and our plan B. So when one of those things actually happens it triggers the alternative plan of action to come into our mind. Because this involves less conscious effort and doesn’t rely solely on willpower, it increases our chances of achieving our goal.

So back to the goal of swimming three times a week. If you’ve recognised that sometimes you might have to work late, beyond the closing time of the pool, you might have lodged in your mind a plan B of walking home or even a plan C of doing an exercise video as soon as you get in.  

Another strategy that can help is making commitments that involve others.

Rifka, an expat in Singapore, recognised her demanding job would sometimes mean she didn’t feel like exercising or even attending the dance class she loved. So, her strategy was to join a team in a local soccer league and agree to be part of a dance performance. This meant even if she was tired, she wouldn’t cancel as she didn’t want to let her soccer teammates or fellow performers down.  

Sleep can feel like wasted time as you grapple with the pace of life and work as an expat.  Something to minimise if we’re to get everything done.

But that’s not only a false economy it can be seriously detrimental to our mental and physical health as well as our ability to function well.  

Whilst sleeping may feel like a passive activity, it is an essential biological function. Indeed too little sleep can:

• reduce our ability to recall information,
• make us prone to focusing on what’s wrong (which can set a path towards depression and negatively impact our relationships)
• make it harder to make decisions
• reduce our performance on complex or creative tasks
• make us more likely to reach for sugary foods, which in turn have a negative impact on our mood, as well as our waistline.

What’s more, the old adage ‘sleep on it’ turns out to be true when we are trying to find a solution to a problem or come to the right decision.

Sleep is a priority for the very highest performers.  Whilst most of us are chronically sleep deprived, averaging seven hours or less a night, elite athletes, musicians and the like, sleep on average 8.6 hours. 

Do you generally wake up feeling rested? Or do you usually have to drag yourself from your bed with the snooze button on repeat?

How do we maximise both the quantity and quality of our sleep?

• Get outside – our ‘body clock’ is set by daylight so get outside during the day
• Invest in black out blinds or a good eye mask – Daylight sends the signal to our brain that it’s time to wake up. So if you are sensitive to light have a way to block it out, both at home and when you travel.
• Set an alarm for bed – Sounds counter-intuitive but it is so easy to get caught up on social media, watching films or catching up with people in different time zones that before we know it we’ve gone hours past our intended bedtime.
• Have a wind down routine – A bedtime routine can help you and your brain switch off and relax. So thirty minutes to an hour before bed, dim the lights, put on your pjs, clean your teeth and read a book.
• Go low tech in the bedroom -  Get a proper alarm clock! Although our phones are convenient, using them as an alarm can mean it’s all too tempting to check social media and messages when we turn in for the night or wake up during it – stimulating our brain rather than allowing it to rest.
• Practice gratitude – reflecting on the good things from your day and in your life can help switch off worries and rumination and has been shown to help people fall asleep quicker and improve their sleep quality.  

Having a balance with work, family time and leisure was important for the expats I interviewed. Wherever they are they make time for hobbies they enjoy.

Gaelle has leisure activities that travel with her.  “Anywhere I am, I find a yoga class.  It’s good for my life balance”. 

Rifka highlighted the boost she gets from being in nature: “Here in Singapore spending time at the Botanic Gardens helps me regenerate”.  Indeed, studies back this up, showing the restorative benefits of being outside, in the natural environment around greenery and water.  

The notion of ‘home’ is powerful, even for lifelong expats. Home is where we can be ourselves, let down our guard, relax and retreat at the end of a busy day or week. It can help to create a sense of stability on assignment too.

Even if you are only going to be living in a place for a short period, think about how you can make it feel like home. Be that having photos of family and friends’ pictures and items you love, or space for your hobbies.

Gaelle who has been an expat all her life, from childhood through to having children of her own, advises “Keep your personal stuff and move your furniture from country to country as you move.” Those familiar, much loved chairs can instantly help you feel a sense of home, provide continuity for your family, as well as save time and money not having to find new stuff for every move.  

Looking for more information and ideas on expat happiness? The Allianz Care Expat Happiness Hub contains more practical articles, webinars and our Happiness Habits quiz where you can track the things you do that have been shown to contribute to happiness.