What is a self-care plan?
A self-care plan helps to enhance your health and wellbeing, and manage your stress. They are activities that help you to sustain positive self-care in the long-term.
Self-care is personal and everyone's approach will be different. It is important to choose activities that are meaningful to yourself and your own goals. There are different aspects to self-care:
• Physical
• Psychological
• Emotional
• Spiritual
• Relationships
Physical self-care
Physical self-care refers to activities that help you to stay fit and healthy, and with enough energy to get through your commitments:
• Develop a regular sleep routine
• Aim for a healthy diet
• Go for a walk during lunchtime
• Get some exercise before/ after work regularly
Psychological self-care
Psychological self-care refer to activities that help you feel clear-headed and able to intellectually engage with challenges in your life:
• Keep a reflective journal
• Engage with a non-work hobby
• Turn off your work phone and email outside of working hours
• Make time for relaxation
• Make time to engage with positive friends and family
Emotional self-care
These include activities that allow you to safely experience your full range of emotions:
• Develop friendships that are supportive
• Write 3 good things that you did each day
• Talk to your friend about how you are coping with life demands
• Do something you enjoy
Spiritual self-care
This involves having a sense of perspective beyond the day-to-day of life:
• Engage in reflective practices such as meditation
• Do yoga
• Go to places of worship
• Reflect with a close friend for support
Relationship self-care
This is about maintaining healthy and supportive relationships, and ensuring diversity in your relationships:
• Prioritise close relationships in your life (e.g. with partners, family)
• Attend the special events of your family and friends
• Arrive to work and leave on time every day
Create your own self-care plan
It is important to develop a self-care plan that is individual and holistic to you:
• Fill your plan with activities you enjoy
• Keep this plan in a place where you can see it every day
• Stick to your plan and practice the activities regularly
• Re-assess how you are going at the end of one month
After creating a plan, think about what can get in the way and what you can do to remove these barriers. Adjust your strategies if you need to.