The Ultimate Guide to Building a Self-Care Strategy That Actually Works for You

Self Care – What It Is All About

The key to building habits is intentionality. You want to treat this just as you’d treat any other project in your life – with a plan, intentionality, clear purpose, and a way to hold yourself accountable.

Bringing more of yourself
If you feel selfish doing things for yourself – it’s not just about you, it’s also about bringing more of yourself to the circles you run in.

Act of rebellion
Like we said before, taking care of yourself in order to continue to work to make an impact is an act of rebellion. If broken systems won’t take care of yourself, taking matters into your own hands can fuel you as you work to fix/rebuild those systems for the future.

It’s for everyone
It’s not just for those who can afford it. It’s not just for those in helping professions. It’s different for everyone. Everyone’s self-care plans SHOULD look different. We’re all different with different wants, needs, strengths, resources, etc.

It’s about intentionality and reflection
If you aren’t being purposeful in how you choose to incorporate self-care into your life, I guarantee your efforts will not be effective. They might give you relief for a moment, but you’ll very likely end up right back where you started.

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“There is a distinction between self-care and treating yourself. Is the motivation behind your self-care just to make you happy for a moment, or is it to ensure that you will be your best self for the rest of society?” ~ Yashna Padamsee of the National Domestic Workers Alliance in The New York Times

Self-care cannot be a substitute for mental health care. “I still feel that putting mental health coping strategies in the same bucket as lightweight self-care activities undermines the true meaning of self-care, and suggests that there’s no difference between taking care of your mental health and getting a spray tan.”

Read more HERE.

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Things To Keep In Mind While Building A Self-Care Strategy

“the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.” ~ Girlboss.com

“self-care is any necessary human regulatory function which is under individual control, deliberate and self-initiated” ~ Wikipedia.com

“Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.” ~ Psychcentral.com

“Self-care is broad concept which also encompasses hygiene (general and personal); nutrition (type and quality of food eaten); lifestyle (sporting activities, leisure, etc.); environmental factors (living conditions, social habits, etc.); socioeconomic factors (income level, cultural beliefs, etc.); and self-medication.” ~ World Health Organization

Self Care

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STEP 1: CHOOSE AN AREA OF WELLNESS

Based on different facets of wellness, pick one you want to work on. The way you go about improving that area of wellness can definitely impact other areas, but try to pick one to keep it simple. For example, for me, working out is primarily for my physical health but it DEFINITELY impacts my mental health.

Physical: nutrition, sleep, moving your body
Mental: caring for your mind / mental health
Emotional: meeting your emotional needs
Social: cultivating and maintaining healthy relationships
Environmental: maintaining your physical space
Spiritual: nurturing your spirit (with or without religion)
Financial: having a conscious relationship with money

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR WHY

Why did you choose this area of wellness? Why will it help you to work on this area? Who else in your life will benefit from the changes you make? Why is this important now? What do you think you’ll be able to do more of when you are functioning more optimally?
No one else can answer these questions for you. Sit down and do some noodling.

STEP 3: SCHEDULE IT

Add it to whatever scheduling tool you use (online calendar, physical agenda/planner, post-it notes on your laptop, writing on your hand, whatever). Schedule it just like any other important obligations in your life.

STEP 4: ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

• Pick a person you trust who is also working towards a goal of their own

• Counseling/Therapy: In-person (psychologytoday.com, goodtherapy.com), Online (betterhelp.com, talkspace.com)

• Exercise: Campus rec center, Home options(running/jogging, body weight exercises, yoga)

• Nutrition: Meal prepping, identifying when you usually get hungry and sluggish and planning ahead to have food ready, etc.

• Meditation: On your own or with apps like Headspace, Calm, etc.

• Boundaries: Saying No, Defining priorities and sticking to them, etc.

STEP 5: CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF PERIODICALLY

Ask yourself:

• What’s working for me?

• What’s not working for me?

• What do I want to add?

• What do I want to take away?

You might need to tweak certain things. Maybe you cut back from 4 workouts a week to 3 because it fits better with your schedule. Maybe meditating isn’t your thing. Maybe the budgeting system you chose is to complex. Maybe you need to give your efforts another week or so before you decide if any changes need to be made at all. It’s expected and totally okay for things not to workout right away.

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