If we talk about self-care, we immediately think of activities and things that make us feel good. While this is true, many of us make the mistake of using self-care to distract us from difficult situations or doing something that is not good for us.
Self-care comes in different forms. It can be as simple as walking your dog to the park to something more reflective, such as consulting a life coach online. Whatever self-care activity works for you, it’s crucial to develop a self-care plan to help you reach your health goals and live a fulfilling life. With that in mind, here are ways to create your own self-care plan.
Create your own rules
People have a preconceived concept of self-care that it’s all about engaging in a specific task. The truth is, self-care depends on how you make of it. This means there are no rules and the structure of activities all depends on you.
A self-care regimen can be done daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. This can vary from nightly journaling, a walk in the park, 30-minute meditations, or a mini-vacation. The main purpose of self-care is to engage in worthwhile activities that minimize stress and promote good health and well-being.
Stay realistic
To create a realistic self-care routine, you must consider your obligations and family responsibilities. Many people get so obsessed with writing their self-care plan so much so that they set overly ambitious goals that are difficult to maintain and achieve.
As mentioned earlier, the main goal of self-care is to reduce your stress, so you have to ensure your activities aren’t stressful. An ideal self-care regimen should be simple, enjoyable, meaningful, and good for health and well-being. It shouldn’t take too much of your time and force you to spend thousands of dollars. Be realistic when setting the time and cost for your self-care investment. You can make do with what you have and be open to making adjustments.
When creating a self-care routine, you have to set the right balance between intentionality and flexibility. This means your self-care plan should be calming and relaxing and is beneficial for your health. But you should also be ready to welcome changes when needed. This way, it’s easy to feel more settled and grounded as you move forward with your self-care routine.
Find what makes you feel at peace and balanced
It’s important to expose yourself to different activities when building a self-care plan. There’s no one-size-fits-all in self-care routine, so what works for someone may not work for you. That’s why you should go through all the different activities in the hopes of finding something you can do every day. A great tip is to write down all the activities you can think of that make you feel relaxed and bring joy. It can be an activity, a place, a friend, or a piece of object.
You can start by taking stock of physical self-care needs to keep your body and mind functioning well, such as sleep, healthcare visits, exercise, mindful eating, and physical intimacy. Then, move on to mental needs or things that make your brain energized and sharp. These include doing stress-reducing activities, setting personal boundaries, boosting cognitive skills, joining therapy classes, taking breaks, and focusing on personal growth.
Lastly, don’t forget your emotional needs to help you get in touch with your feelings. These include companionship, affection, personal time, and mindful awareness.
Stay consistent
You’ve heard this many times, but consistency is key in any type of endeavour. In this case, your self-care plan won’t be effective if you’re not doing it consistently. It’s always the little things that create a big difference in life. Although your self-care activities may be short and done weekly, they will eventually add up to your life, just like the domino effect.
Carve out a few minutes of free time every day and do something fulfilling. You can dance, sing, walk the dog, or listen to music.
Evaluate
If you’ve been consistently following your self-care plan weekly, it’s time to incorporate those activities into your everyday life. Come up with weekly goals but make sure they’re measurable and realistic.
The most important part is to evaluate the results based on how you’re feeling. Use the time to reflect on which activities you benefited from the most and make adjustments if necessary.
Self-care needs differ significantly from person to person, so don’t feel pressured about creating a perfect self-care plan. As you move forward, you’ll probably discover a lot of things about yourself along the way. What’s important is your willingness to take care of your health and well-being and the determination to do it consistently.
