Over time I’ve worked with various practitioners, each with their own recommended approaches. I’ve also studied different approaches for personal growth and identified some health conditions needing attention. The result is that my list of self-care practices has continued to grow. If I were to do everything I have heard or learned about, I would spend a significant portion of my day completing them.
How do you decide which practices to incorporate into your daily or weekly routine and in doing so, how do you follow through on the commitment?
Here are some ideas:
Prioritize and set boundaries—Consider which practices are most important to you, the ones to which you are the most committed. Then, consider how often you need to do them. Maybe you want to exercise five times a week but only want a massage every five weeks. How many items drop off your list when you prioritize? Which ones become weekly or monthly rather than daily?
Identify a time niche—With all the activities we need to do in a day, it can sometimes be a challenge to find enough time. Look at the list and determine what time during the day is the best fit. Also, review the items to see if they are connected and if their time slot can be linked or combined. For instance, I recently shared with someone that I do my Aura-Soma® at the same time as my skincare, and they found that a helpful suggestion.
Have an activity reminder—When I found myself forgetting one of my practices (skin brushing in this instance), I opted to put the brushes where I could easily see them. This created an anchor for the activity and increased my consistency. I also list practices in my calendar and others in a spreadsheet. What serves you best as a reminder?
Do them with someone else – I know when I have an appointment for a self-care activity, it tends to get done. Sometimes, that is because money is involved, such as with an acupuncturist, chiropractor, or personal trainer. Other times, because I’ve made a commitment to myself and someone else. I know people who walk on the phone (talk with someone while they both walk in different locations) and others who have workout buddies. Consider the self-care items on your list that would benefit from doing them with someone else.
Review, reexamine, revise—As new self-care items come onto my list, I sometimes need to review and reassess whether the older ones are still useful. At times, they may need a bit of revision or enhancement, but in other instances, the time has come to move them off the list. How do you determine when a self-care practice is no longer needed?
Remember your underlying reason—At times, we may forget why we put something on the list in the first place. Our “why” may be the nudge to stick with it. I was recently reminded of a practice that was challenging to incorporate, but when I remembered its intended purpose, I found an activity reminder that brought it back into focus so I could take consistent action. How do you stay connected to the “why” of your self-care routines?
No one approach works for everyone. For example, after I launched 30 Days of Self-Kindness, someone said they would prefer a monthly cadence and a person doing the program said she appreciated the daily reminders.
The suggestions included here are some simple ways to make your self-care practices into more of a routine, smooth-running plan. Self-care doesn’t need to be an effort but it does require effort to establish – and it IS worth it.
© 2024, Systems of Change, LLC