I spent S$100 on 'self-care' during a work day because if I don’t take care of myself, who will?

There are several reasons why singles in Singapore deserve “self-care” days:

1. We are amazingly self-sufficient and independent
2. We don’t have partners to pamper us with lavish gifts or meals
3. If we don’t put ourselves first, who will?

That’s why the very single Singaporean in me jumped at the chance to write this article when I heard that foodpanda would be sponsoring me with S$100 to experience a “self-care” day full of food, fun and frills.

Apart from getting to treat myself to some seriously #goodstuff, this also served as a much needed breather from work and the doldrums of everyday life.

Without further ado, here’s how my “self-care” Tuesday went.

9:30am

First things first - breakfast, the most important meal of the day.

Getting a McDonald’s breakfast had been on my mind for quite a few months now, but I could never bring myself to pay more than S$10 for what was essentially a self-indulgent, one-pax, feast.

Good thing I finally decided to #putmyselffirst, because this meant splurging freely on a breakfast wrap sausage meal (my favourite breakfast item at McDonald’s) and two pieces of breakfast hotcakes for just S$12.50 (including delivery).

It was really satisfying getting to sink my teeth into that burrito-like breakfast wrap of scrambled eggs, hashbrown, ketchup and a succulent sausage patty.

I mean, the last time I got to eat this was probably a few months back, and that’s as far as food from McDonald’s goes on my timeline.

The hotcakes were also a cool reprieve from the dread of Tuesday mornings, wolfed down and polished off just minutes before my 10:30am meeting.

12 to 2pm

Given that noon is the timing whereby all the restaurants and shops on foodpanda have opened, this is where things started to get more interesting.

Having cleared two meetings and my Tuesday tasks for the morning, I decided to take the next step in my self-care journey - buying self-care essentials.

Gotta admit - it was pretty tough to make up my mind on what exactly to buy, as there were just so many options available from bath bombs and massage guns to facial masks and more.

After trawling through both pandamart and the various foodpanda shops, here’s what I ended up getting:

I reasoned that the steam eye masks would be perfect for “relieving eye strain and stress” after a long day of work, while the chamomile and lavender tea bags would make a soothing and refreshing afternoon tea drink.

And because The Aromatherapy Co’s (TAC) Summer Garden Mint & Lime candle promised to keep my work area “smelling fabulous throughout the day”, how could I pass that up?

After getting my self-care essentials sorted out, it was almost lunchtime.

With a S$15 to S$20 budget in mind, I decided to see what Swensen’s, my favourite neighbourhood Western food restaurant, had to offer.

Shortly after placing my order for lunch, the eye masks and tea bags arrived, while my candle and lunch arrived at 12:55pm and 1:10pm respectively.

(Not surprising since pandamart is available 24/7, and delivers within just 30 minutes.)

This gave me plenty of time to arrange my self-care items in an aesthetically pleasing manner for photos.

With around an hour left for lunch, I then parked myself in front of my laptop and ate my food while watching an episode of Mediacorp’s “HDB Tai Tai” starring Chen Li Ping and Kym Ng.

At the risk of sounding very “aunty” and un-millennial like, I just really enjoy the interactions between the two hosts okay.

4pm

By the time 4pm rolled around, I decided to give myself an afternoon treat.

As typical afternoon treats go, this meant whipping out the chamomile and lavender tea I had bought earlier on pandamart to make a cuppa tea and ordering - yes you guessed it - two slices of cheesecake from Cat & the Fiddle.

While S$20 for cake isn’t exactly cheap, I think we can all agree that 4pm is the time of day where you start to feel tired and restless, so a sugar rush is exactly the type of thing to splurge on.

7pm to 8pm

Alas, the end of a work day.

After having dinner (which was cooked by my mother) and taking a shower, it was time to relax.

I devoured the second slice of cheesecake and proceeded to try the steam eye masks out.

20 minutes of this dermatologist- and ophthalmologist-tested eye mask from pandamart was all I needed to soothe my tired eyes.

After all, there’s nothing like a self-warming steam eye mask to unwind and relax.

After thoughts

If I had to pick a takeaway from this whole experience, it’s that “self-care” can amount to quite the sum, especially if one intends to have “self-care” days on a regular basis.

However, I’ve also realised that even just one day of self-care can really make a difference as to how well-rested you are from work, as you end up feeling way more energised and ready to take on the challenges of another day.

My advice? Try self-care days once or twice a month, just so you don’t break the bank.

And of course, foodpanda’s subscription plan pandapro is here to help with the process.

With pandapro's exclusive offers, you can:

• Get an all-in-one plan that has exclusive deals across foodpanda
• Save as much as S$300 every month
• Enjoy free delivery and up to 20 per cent off on selected restos above S$15

Prices start from S$5.99 per month.

This sponsored article by foodpanda allowed this writer to spend S$100 on a self-care day, guilt-free.