Creating Your Own Self-Care Plan

The topic of self-care has always been a personal favorite of mine and one that I cover with nearly all my clients. It's so important to pursue activities that help you feel healthy- mentally, emotionally and physically. I like to think about the instructions airline attendants give us before take-off: secure the mask over your face before reaching over to help another person.  Before we can show up for other people, we need to first show up for ourselves and make sure our own needs are met.

Yes, I said needs!  Often times, we forget the simple things in life that bring us pleasure, whether it’s reading a book, an invigorating workout, listening to music, exploring the wilderness or engaging with those who are important to us.

Self-care is doing something just for you.  It’s personal. You can chose to share it with others, or you can do it by yourself. It’s a holistic approach to personal contentedness. Now, we all know this sounds great in theory, but the reality is, whatever that “self care activity” is, it's usually ”the first item” that winds up getting shuffled around from list to list and never happens because it isn't considered a priority.

So, how do we make self care a priority so it becomes something we look forward to rather than another chore? We customize it!  Remember, everyone’s self care looks different, so try not to compare or imitate someone else's routine. Here are a few suggestions to assist you in creating your own personal checklist.

Designing Your Self-Care Checklist

Identify what self-care looks like for you

Self-care looks different for every person. What works for one person might be draining for another, so personalizing your self-care plan is key. Think about the activities that make you feel energized, refreshed, and renewed (remember, these activities might be different than your friends’ or partner’s). Here are some questions to ask yourself when creating your self-care plan:

What helps me feel relaxed?
What are some hobbies I’ve lost touch with?
What helps me feel re-energized?
Does my plan involve others, or do I feel refreshed after alone time?
What activities bring me happiness?

Create a realistic plan of action to make it happen

This is where the rubber hits the road, so to speak.  If you are someone who is very organized (or very busy) it is perfectly acceptable to literally schedule self-care time for yourself.  Let me repeat that: schedule self-care time for yourself.  This could be hard and fast: you might decide every morning to spend an hour engaging in self-care and tackling that list you made.  Or, it could be loose: you know you have Mondays off, so you might decide every other Monday you’ll find time in the day to take care of your needs.  

Whatever you decide, make time for yourself!   It’s like getting a paycheck: you should first pay yourself and put money into savings before paying rent or buying a new TV.


Reach out to an accountability partner

Having someone to keep you accountable for sticking with your self-care plan is a great way to stay on-track! Reach out to someone you can check-in with regularly, and offer to be their self-care accountability partner, too. Come up with a regular time to touch base with each other (weekly, monthly), and make sure it happens. Don’t skip it! When we have someone to “report to”, we increase the odds of sticking to a self-care plan, and making it an ongoing part of our lives.


Check in with yourself

Ask yourself: is this plan working for me? Am I able to keep this up long-term? If you’re finding it challenging to schedule in your self-care time, or if you’re not really feeling like your plan is working for you, guess what? You can change it! That’s the beauty of an ongoing self-care plan...it’s flexible, it’s personal, and it’s unique to every individual. If there’s something that’s not working for you, do your best to identify what it is, why it’s not working and promptly switch it out with something more YOU  and more FUN!!!

Remember to be patient and gentle with yourself during this ongoing process. Life is about the journey, not the destination! Be sure to put this list someplace you will see it daily (fridge, mirror, dashboard in your truck) and show yourself some love and wait for a newfound sense of energy, fulfillment and purpose:)

Ashlan Warsteane - The Life Solutionist
Southern Oregon
(760) 974-6058
info@lifesolutionist.com