Dec 6, 2024
When you think of self-care, what comes to mind? For a while, most people thought about decadent chocolates and bubble baths after a long day at work. Nowadays you might think of yoga, meditation, or that pilates class that leaves you feeling sore for weeks.
All of those things could be self-care activities, but in no way defines all that self-care can be. Self-care is a way to take care of yourself holistically: your physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual self. Although it can often be misconstrued as "relaxing", relaxing and self-care aren’t the same thing. When done right, self-care does more than rejuvenate. It strengthens, heals, and protects.
Do you want to develop a self-care routine that meets your specific needs and goals? Read on for tips and templates.
What is self-care?
Self-care is an intentional activity aimed at improving your health and wellness. If that sounds broad, good! Health and wellness is a large umbrella term that covers a lot of ground, so what self-care looks like to you will depend on what your needs are.
A self-care plan is an intentional, personal approach to managing your health and wellness. In the same way that some people make a dedicated training plan for their time at the gym and others go in and work out whatever they feel like, a self-care plan provides direction, accountability, and precision. It’s a win if you show up to the gym at all, and the same goes for self-care: a little bit is always better than none at all.
Self-care plans are especially helpful (and important) for people struggling with their mental health, going through a stressful life transition, or who have big goals that they need to be performing at their best to achieve.
Many people abide by the 7 areas of self-care and believe a good, holistic self-care plan should touch on all six. These areas of self-care are:
- Emotional
- Physical
- Mental
- Spiritual
- Social
- Professional/Academic
- Environmental
Below we’ll dive into how you can use these 7 pillars of self-care to create a complete self-care plan that is achievable, sustainable, and helpful for your unique needs.
Benefits of self-care
Self-care isn’t something to ignore. It’s a vital part of our wellness, and without it, mental illness is more likely to develop. People with good self-care plans are less likely to develop common mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
Other benefits of a self-care plan include:
- Improved Mental Health
- Enhanced Physical Health
- Increased Productivity
- Better Relationships
- Enhanced Self-Esteem
- Improved Resilience
- Emotional Regulation
- Goal Setting and Achievement
When done right, self-care should elevate your health in all areas, resulting in feeling better, having more energy, and performing better in the areas of your life that you prioritize.
Self-care Tips
If you’ve never intentionally tried self-care, it can be overwhelming. Where do you start? There’s so much information on the internet, not to mention the countless products being sold to you on the premise of being “self-care”.
Keep these self-care tips in mind when you’re first starting to build a self-care plan:
- Start small: Don’t overwhelm yourself with many difficult, long, or expensive self-care activities every day. Start small and affordable.
- Build from current habits: You probably already do some self-care things, even if you don’t know it. What are the activities in your life that you enjoy? How can you expand upon them to make them intentional and target one of the seven pillars of self-care?
- Hold yourself accountable: This might mean setting reminders, rewarding yourself when you’ve done a full week of self-care activities, or having an accountability buddy to do it with you.
- Let go of the “all or nothing mindset”: All or nothing thinking is a cognitive distortion that says if we missed one day of self-care, then there’s no point in continuing our plan at all. Remember that it’s okay if you miss a day or two. Keep going the best you can.
- Build up slowly: After you’ve made a habit out of a self-care activity, add on one more. Take it slow and bring it back if you get overwhelmed.
- Build a community: Originally, self-care was as much a community-building exercise as it was a personal one. Find friends that you can work out with, talk about your growth with your family, and connect with new people through your efforts.
These tips will help you build a strong foundation on which your personalized self-care plan can stand. Ready to create a self-care plan that fits your needs? Let’s begin!
How to Create a Self-Care Plan
A good self-care plan should be personalized and achievable. When you’re constructing a self-care plan make sure to be honest with yourself about your limits, goals, and what you’re willing to do. There’s no shame in starting small and building up later.
Here’s how to create a good self-care plan:
- Identify your goals: Where do you want to be in a month, a year, or five years? Who do you want to be? What traits do you want to exhibit?
- Identify your needs: Break down those goals into smaller steps by examining where you are now. What needs to change to get you from where you are to where you want to be? For example, you want to be someone confident, but you have social anxiety. So, you have a need to build self-esteem and people skills.
- Find activities that meet your specific needs: A bubble bath isn’t going to help you overcome social anxiety and isolation. Instead, try a group exercise class, text a friend, or go buy a coffee at your local cafe.
- Set goals for your self-care activities: Maybe working out every day isn’t reasonable, so you set a goal to work out three times a week. Maybe journaling every morning is overwhelming, so you aim for two times a week instead. Self-care doesn’t have to be an all-the-time, every-day thing. Remember, a little bit matters! You can also use SMART goals to help you set achievable goals.
- Make time for your self-care: If you don’t make time for your self-care, it might not happen. Wake up earlier or schedule time to do the self-care activities you chose for yourself.
- Let yourself adjust: Is a self-care activity not working? Is it overwhelming or too much? Adjust your plan so it is comfortable for you.
Self-care may not always be fun and comfortable, but it should always leave you feeling better than when you started. Exercise, for example, is rarely comfortable, but the endorphins (feel-good hormones) and mental benefits of it will leave you feeling better. This benefit may not always be obvious right away, so it can be helpful to track your successes and how you feel to keep yourself motivated.
Examples of Self-Care Activities
These self-care activities can help you fulfill the seven pillars of self-care.
- Immerse yourself in nature
- Work out (Doesn’t have to be the gym, could be a dance class, rock climbing, or walking!)
- Get coffee with a close friend
- Engage in your creativity for one hour
- Drink enough water (around 12 cups!)
- Get at least 8 hours of sleep (you’re probably not sleeping enough)
- Read a book or listen to a podcast about something you’re interested in
- Download and use a screentime app to limit your screentime
- Turn off work notifications after you’re off the clock
- Engage in a spiritual exercise once a week—this could be going to church, or any other way you practice.
- Clean one area of your house today
Get creative with your self-care activities! Remember that self-care is more than being comfortable; it’s about filling yourself with the things that matter the most to you.
Self-Care Plan Templates
So, you’ve identified your goals and needs. Maybe you have a few self-care activities you want to try. But how do you string them together in a cohesive self-care plan?
Here are three self-care templates you can use to help you thrive. Print them off and customize them how you need!
Self-Care Wheel: This is the simplest template because it draws directly from the seven pillars of self-care. The idea is that once a week you do at least one activity for each pillar of your life. This is best suited for people who struggle with balance and holistic wellness.
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Self-Care checklist: For the person that needs a little bit more structure, a checklist can be a visual reminder to take care of yourself. This example has self-care activities broken down into days, but you can also zoom out into weeks or months.
Self-Care Journal Entry: If you already know what you want to work on, but just want a place to track it, a journal entry could be a good place to start. This entry has some basic self-care activities, but you can customize it to fit your needs.
Self-care is a great way to take care of yourself and start feeling better. Although good self-care is an important part in everyone’s life, it isn’t a substitute for mental health care. If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, substance abuse, Bipolar Disorder, or any other mental health disorder, talk therapy and medication can help.
Talk to a Lifebulb about how therapy can help you today. We have little to no wait times and accept most major insurance plans.
