Self Care Checklist

Life is full of challenges, but for many the holidays add significant stress. Whether you feel overwhelmed by the extra expectations, financially stretched, anxious about family dynamics or exhausted by travel you are not alone. However, it turns out that during this time of merriment and joy, many people report feeling fatigue, stress and loneliness, especially women.

It turns out that there are a few things we can create time for each day that allow us to experience more joy and less overwhelm. My hope is to help you create a self care checklist unique to you that can help you navigate the “holidaze” with less stress and more love.

Here’s the thing, everyone’s checklist will look different, because we all need different types and amounts of self caring activities. I’m going to toss a lot of options and ides out at you and you can feel free to add your own.

Print the self care checklist and write down the activities that speak to you, test them for the week and then reflect and course correct if needed.

Some questions to ask yourself as you begin:

• Did I get enough sleep last night?
• Have I eaten well today?
• Have I moved my body or been outside recently?
• Will this matter in a year?
• Do I feel responsible for another persons happiness?
• Am I setting unrealistic expectations for myself?
• What feelings and connections do I want to experience in the coming days/weeks?
• Am I saying yes to things to avoid judgement or to keep the peace?
• Are there people who cause me worry, anger or even sleeplessness?
• Which people surround me with support and non-judgement?
• When I feel my best, and my needs are supported is it easier for me to give freely of my time, energy and money? (the holidays ask us to do more “giving” than we normally would, so this is key if you’re feeling “tapped out” every day.

Put a little ME in Merry

Yes, that’s right. YOU are the most important part of self-care. Extra obligations and expectations tend to uproot us from what keeps us feeling grounded and supported.

The following activities are suggestions that may help you re-connect with your inner strength and wisdom. If something resonates with you add it to your self-care checklist.

Harness your body’s healing power

• move your body
• get adequate sleep
• spend some time in nature
• listen to what your body wants to eat, and enjoy preparing and consuming your mindful meal.
• drink plenty of water

Healthy Boundaries

The limits we set on how we spend our time and who we spend it with helps to create sustainable relationships and habits. Boundaries are necessary for maintaining basic physical/emotional health.

• Decide how you want to spend your time/energy and create space for that.
• Identify unhealthy activities and make a plan to limit them. While drinking, gaming, or binge watching The Good Place may be tempting, those behaviors may be a band-aid for pain that needs healing, not hiding.
• Just Say No to things that leave a bad taste in your mouth.
  • ​Complicated time consuming dinners
  • Elaborate gifts or wrapping
  • Driving long distances
  • Entertaining, Decorations
  • Work parties, etc.
• Decline invitations to events with friends, co-workers or family members that exhaust you, belittle you, judge, or guilt-trip you. If that sounds impossible try something like this, “I’m prioritizing rejuvenation and rest before the new year ahead so I won’t make it. Let’s schedule a time to connect in January. Thanks for supporting me.”

Connect to You

We all need time in our day to connect to who we are and what we want/need.

• Laugh out loud – try laugher yoga!
• Create something – collage, write a haiku, paint.
• Write in your journal
• Guided Meditation
• Turn on a song that makes you want to dance and do just that.
• Gratitude Journal – I like pen and paper but there are over a dozen apps or communities designed to help you pause and connect to what makes you thankful every day.

Nurture Authentic Relationships

Healthy relationships in which you can be yourself, feel supported and maybe even connect to something bigger than you are vital for self-care.

• Take a walk with a friend
• Get coffee with a mentor or colleague who supports you
• Write heartfelt holiday cards
• Schedule a phone call with a confidant you’ve lost touch with
• Take a yoga class
• Learn a new skill or craft with a friend (and knock a few gifts off your list, too!)
• Schedule an appointment with your therapist
• Attend church or some other spiritual group
• Join a hiking/biking/etc. group that meets regularly

Okay so now what?

Now that you’ve got your checklist full of healing activities to draw you into deeper connection with yourself and what sustains you, it’s time to track what works and what doesn’t.

Here are some things to remember:

1. Your self-care list should not be one more task that stresses you out, hopefully it’s a breath of fresh air to take time for you as you check off several boxes each day.
2. You don’t have to tick all the boxes every day – it’s okay to develop a new routine over time by consciously creating new connections in a slow and sustainable way.
3. In fact, for serous type-A recovering perfectionists I would suggest only putting 3-4 items on your checklist in the first week. You don’t have to do it all on day one!