Having a self-care plan can help manage your stress, enhance your health and wellbeing, and maintain professionalism at the workplace.

In this article, we will cover some practices and activities that will support your wellbeing and help ensure you are able to sustain positive self-care in the long run.

Different Aspects of Self-Care

Everyone’s approach to self-care is different. However, the following should provide some sort of guide you can use when developing your self-care plan.

Physical Self-Care

These activities should help you stay healthy and fit and with ample energy to get through all your commitments whether personal or at work.

• Develop a good sleep routine.
• Aim to eat healthy and nutritious meals.
• Take your lunch breaks.
• Go for a quick walk during lunch times.
• Take your dog for a walk when you get home from work.
• Use your sick leaves.
• Get some regular exercise before or after work.

Psychological Self-Care

These activities can help you feel clear-headed and allow you to be able to engage intellectually with any challenges in your personal or work life.

• Keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings.
• Keep a gratitude journal.
• Seek external supervision.
• Get the needed supervision.
• Get a hobby that’s not related to your work.
• Make time  for relaxation.
• Turn off your work phone and email outside work hours.
• Get rid of toxic people in your life.

Spiritual Self-Care

These activities involve having a sense of perspective that goes beyond your day-to-day life.

• Go on walks.
• Engage in reflective practices such as meditation.
• Go to the mosque, temple, or church.
• Do some yoga.

Emotional Self-Care

These activities allow you to safely experience your emotions.

• Develop supportive friendships.
• Write three random acts of kindness.
• Play a sport.
• Go to the movies and watch something you enjoy.
• Meet with your social group regularly.
• Talk to a trusted friend about how you are coping.

Professional Self-Care

These are activities that can help you work consistently at the level expected of you. 

• Engage in consulting or regular supervisions with more experienced colleagues.
• Set up peer support groups.
• Be particular about boundaries between staff and clients.
• Read professional journals.
• Attend programs that are designed to help with your professional or personal development.

Creating Your Own Self-Care Plan

For each of the categories above, pick at least one activity or strategy that you can undertake. The idea is to create a self-care plan that’s holistic and unique to you:

• Create a self-care plan template.
• Fill your self-care plan with activities that you find enjoyable and that support your well-being and happiness. 
• Keep your self-care plan in a place where you can see it everyday. 
• Adhere to your plan strictly.
• Re-assess your progress at the end of each month.

Over to You

Once you have created your self-care plan, it is important to ask yourself what are the possible things that can get in your way and how you can remove them. If you can’t remove the barriers, what tweaks can you do to your current strategy? Don’t hesitate to make changes as needed. Soon enough, you will be able to create a strategy that will help you create a more balanced life.