How Practising Self-Care Helps Me Rest And Connect For My Wellbeing

This post is a collaboration with TV Licensing (a trademark of the BBC), but all thoughts and experiences are my own.

Like most people, I have always found it relaxing to watch comfort shows and films on TV. I love getting fully absorbed in a TV programme or movie and losing myself in someone else’s story for an hour or two. But we often underestimate the value of this simple escapism and so, inspired by the BBC’s Rest and Connect campaign, I wanted to share how TV shows and films help me wind down after a busy day and form part of my self-care toolkit.

Setting The Scene

Picture this: It’s shortly before 9pm, I have finally closed my laptop after what was supposed to be an 8-hour workday stretched into 12 hours. My shoulders ache, my eyes are dry, and my brain is still churning through tomorrow’s to-do list.

Then, the familiar theme tune of Celebrity Big Brother fills my living room, and something magical happens. My breathing slows. The mental spreadsheets and email responses dissolve. For the next hour, I’m not a worker bee; I’m just me, curled up on the sofa with my dinner and a cup of tea, completely absorbed in the delicious drama unfolding before me on the TV screen.

This is the boundary ritual that has significantly helped my wellbeing since I’ve been working from home. When your office is just steps from your sofa, finding that clear line between work and rest becomes both challenging and essential. For me, that line is drawn in the glow of my television screen, and it’s become the most unexpectedly powerful tool in my self-care arsenal.

The Work-Life Balance Challenge

For much of my life, my workplaces have been away from my home, creating a natural separation between work time and downtime. Although the line blurred slightly when I had a work mobile phone or occasionally worked from home, I generally maintained a healthy balance.

In recent years, however, I’ve worked from home full-time in various roles. While this eliminated commuting stress and reduced travel costs, it severely impacted my work-life balance. As someone who constantly strives to excel, I found it all too easy to work endlessly when my office was my home.

It took me a long time to realise that being a good employee doesn’t mean working ridiculously long hours or putting myself under unnecessary pressure. Even now, I struggle with this concept daily, but I recognise that being kinder to myself is essential self-care.

Creating Boundaries Through Routine

These days, I’m making a conscious effort to establish clear boundaries between work and personal time, knowing how vital it is for my wellbeing.

I feel significantly better with a regular schedule – rising at a consistent time, working similar hours and following a regular evening routine. As a natural night owl, it’s temptingly easy to keep working into the early hours. Even writing this article, I’ve gone three hours past my intended stop time! Old habits certainly die hard, but I’m working on them.

My Self-Care Strategy: Scheduled TV Time

What works remarkably well for me is having a compelling reason to stop working. Having a TV show to look forward to is the perfect solution.

My routine now includes:

1. Shutting my laptop at a designated time
2. Doing a few quick chores
3. Preparing dinner
4. Sitting down for scheduled TV time while I eat and unwind

This simple ritual has become a crucial part of my daily self-care practice.

Finding Your Perfect Wind-Down Shows

As a huge reality TV fan (and I mean ‘reality’ in the traditional sense – people-watching rather than the fabricated drama of TOWIE or Made In Chelsea), I love shows like Celebrity Big Brother. People’s behaviour fascinates me, and watching these programmes helps me relax at day’s end. The 9pm live broadcast creates the perfect pre-bedtime routine.

The Traitors is another favourite. I watch it live on BBC1, followed by The Traitors: Uncloaked. Though technically a game show, its psychological elements make it perfectly suited to my interests.

Being a sports fan, I enjoyed the snooker World Championship coverage recently, and I usually watched the later coverage via BBC iPlayer – a service I couldn’t manage without! I was rooting for Ronnie O’Sullivan but as he went out in the semi-final I am already looking forward to cheering him on again next year.

Making Self-Care Work For You

Watching TV for self-care can work for anyone; the key is finding programmes that help you relax. While I gravitate toward reality TV and sports, you might prefer nature documentaries like Planet Earth III or weekend favourites like Sunday Brunch.

There’s something deeply relaxing about losing yourself in television for a while. It provides a valuable opportunity to be absorbed by what’s on screen rather than your own worries – a genuine form of self-care in our hyper-connected world.

By establishing a regular routine and giving yourself permission to truly rest, you’re investing in both immediate and long-term wellbeing. In today’s always-on environment, creating these intentional breaks might be the most important self-care practice of all.

What does self-care look like for you? Which TV shows help you transition from work mode to relaxation? Let’s chat in the comments – but no spoilers, please!

Your TV Licence lets you enjoy a huge range of live TV. It covers you for:

• All TV channels, like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Dave and international channels – but you don’t need a licence if you only watch non-BBC channels on-demand
• Pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media and BT – but these are platforms that could have both live and on-demand services
• Live TV on streaming services, like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video
• Everything on BBC iPlayer

This includes recording and downloading. On any device.

As always, thanks for reading!