Ideally, self-care becomes a routine part of everyday life. Making self-care routine is about checking in with yourself. Does that sound strange? You check in with others every day. You check in with your spouse and/or kids, you check in with your boss, you check in with your travel planners, financial advisors, mechanics just to see how things are going. But do you ever make the time to check in and say, “hello self how’s it going? What do we need?”
Are you saying, “Geez, something else I don’t have time for?” If so, I get it, but this is not about adding more stress. Instead, it is about finding what actions you need to take to make life more meaningful. This a way to find what you are missing and create a plan just for you.
Self-Care is Individual
The first thing to remember is that self-care is individual. Nobody but you knows what you need or don’t need or what you are or are not comfortable doing. I like to think of self-care as my own personal pan pizza. I can decide what I want and need, I know how I want it prepared and I know it won’t always be the same. You get to make your own pizza, I am here to give you some ideas and then trust you can do it. If you have trouble, reach out for help.
As a way to start making your own self-care routine, I have created a Self-Care Assessment and Actions worksheet you can use. For each self-care area, I have listed some check-in questions and then some ideas for actions you can take. Eventually, you can and should personalize it to make it your own. You can download the worksheet in a .pdf file including (a) the example sheet (with ideas for some possible actions fill in), (b) a sheet with blank spaces for you to list your own action steps, and (c) a worksheet you can personalize with your own check-ins and action steps.
Final Thoughts
When I need to remember things I set an alarm. Until doing a check in becomes routine, put “self-care” in your daily planner, or set an alarm or leave the sheet next to your bed before you go to sleep.
Self-care is important, but you may find that no amount of self-care can completely mitigate the struggles that may arise from these trying times. Maybe you just can’t do everything by yourself. If you are experiencing grief or loss, or unusual-for-you-depression or anxiety that interferes with your daily life, you should seek professional advice. I hope our discussions about self-care provided information, awareness and ideas you can use in your daily life. Feel free to let me know how things are going via: email:personalskillscoaching@gmail.com
Related Articles:
- Self-Care
- Self-Care and Self Esteem
- Physical Self-Care
- Self-Care: Relationships and Boundaries
- Self-Care Quiz
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