Create a self care plan challenge   

If you’re like me, you don’t always make time for yourself. Your to-do list is long and full of chores, errands, and plans with friends. And that’s just fine! But when you don’t prioritize self care, it can start to feel like a chore itself. And if you find yourself stressed out because of the demands on your time or overwhelmed by how much there is still left to do—it’s time to take care of yourself! That’s what this month’s self care challenge is all about: creating a plan for making sure that taking care of yourself becomes part of your regular routine.

Remember that self care is not selfish.

Self care is not selfish. Self care is a way to care for yourself, and the most important person in your life. Your mental health, physical health and overall well-being are all tied into self-care and your relationships with others.

Self care doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming – there are plenty of simple things you can do to take care of yourself each day that don’t cost anything at all:

• Drink water instead of soda/juice/sugary drinks
• Eat whole foods (fruits & veggies) instead of processed food
• Exercise regularly (take a walk, go dancing)

Identify your needs.

Self-care is the act of taking care of your physical, mental and emotional health. Self-care involves making time for yourself, finding ways to relax and recharge and learning how to manage stress in your life.

Your self-care plan will be different from anyone else’s because no two people are exactly alike. You need to figure out what works for you. Some things that might help include:

• identifying your needs
• setting goals
• prioritizing those goals according to their importance
• understanding your values (what’s most important in terms of how you want to live)

Make self care a priority.

Self care is important, but it can be hard to fit into a busy schedule. It’s easy to get caught up in work or other obligations and forget that you need to take care of yourself too. The following tips will help you find ways to incorporate self care into your daily routine:

• Start small. Even if self care doesn’t seem like something that fits into your life right now, try adding just a few minutes of quiet time (or maybe even five minutes) each day. This can help you reenergize and feel better about yourself—and the world around you! For example, try meditating for five minutes before bedtime at night or taking some quiet time during lunch break by going for a walk outside instead of eating at your desk. These tiny changes add up over time!
• Be realistic about what works for you and what doesn’t—but don’t give up on finding ways that do work! We all have different schedules, so finding out what works best for yours takes some trial and error (which is absolutely fine). Don’t be afraid not only of experimenting with different things but also changing things up as needed when something isn’t working anymore; sometimes we just need different approaches because our lives change over time too.”

Be mindful when you do something just for you.

Here’s a list of things to keep in mind when you’re doing something just for you.

• Be mindful of how you are feeling. Are you feeling excited or anxious? Are there any emotions tugging at your heartstrings?
• Be mindful of the activity. Is this something that will bring joy to your life now and in the long run, or will it only benefit others (and perhaps not even them)?
• Be mindful of how much time and money are involved. Is this an expensive hobby that could be replaced with something cheaper and less time-consuming?
• Be mindful of the people around you. Are there people who would benefit from taking over responsibility for some aspect of this activity so that it can remain valuable without being time-consuming or expensive? Or do these activities help fill a gap in their lives where they have no other meaningful relationships, hobbies, etc.? If so, consider offering them some opportunities so they can form connections with others too!

Don’t cancel plans with yourself.

Don’t cancel plans with yourself. That might sound a little weird, but it’s true. Don’t cancel your time to care for yourself because you have other obligations or things that are more important—like work.

You could be helping someone else by taking time for yourself, so don’t feel guilty about doing it!

Try creating as self care schedule to get more ideas of what you could do and to remind you to take time for yourself each day.

To help you get started, we’ve created a few lists of things you could try:

• With others. This can include friends, family members, or even co-workers. The idea is to give yourself some time away from everyday distractions so that you can focus on what matters most to you.
• Alone. Sometimes the best thing for our mental health is taking time for ourselves without any distractions at all! If this sounds like something that would appeal to your personality type then go for it!
• Something new and different every day (or week). Try mixing up your routines with something new and exciting each day so that when Friday rolls around there’s always plenty of ideas left over from previous weeks’ adventures!

Track your self care plan.

To be effective, your self care plan needs to be easy to use. That means it should be:

• written down
• stored in one place (preferably a notebook or binder) and/or with your other important documents
• visible every day so you can refer to it easily when you have time
• easy to understand and interpret at first glance

Self care should be done thoughtfully and consistently to be beneficial.

Self care is not selfish. It’s important, and you deserve it! Self care is a priority for your health and well-being. The way you treat yourself sets the tone for how others treat you. It’s not a one-time thing; self care should be incorporated into your lifestyle so that it becomes part of who you are as an individual. Self care doesn’t have to be an extravagant luxury—it can be something as simple as taking time out of your day to relax after work or going on a walk at lunchtime with a friend because they’re stressed out too and could really use some uplifting conversation.

Self care is necessary in order for us to maintain our physical health (our hearts need exercise) but also our mental health (we need sleep). We all have different needs when it comes down to what makes us feel good about ourselves, but ultimately each person has their own best practices that make them feel nourished by life rather than depleted by it (or vice versa).

Conclusion

Now that you’ve read our tips, we hope that you feel empowered to create your own self care plan. It is important to remember that this process should be done thoughtfully and consistently in order for it to be beneficial. You will be more likely to stick with your plan if it includes activities that are meaningful or enjoyable for you personally. If you’re still having trouble coming up with ideas on how best practice these suggestions, don’t worry! We have created a free printable worksheet which contains everything from identifying needs through creating schedules – all at once place!