Often when discussing self care with busy clients, I want to know what their daily non-negotiables are. Because self care is so self-prescriptive, I always encourage you to go inwards to ask what your mind, body and soul needs on a daily basis. I love this idea of a daily self care checklist, so to give you some ideas and inspiration, here’s mine.
Please note – this is completely individual to me and I always want your self care rituals to be guided by you and your intuition. This will and should change on a daily basis depending on how your body feels, what your day looks like and a number of other things.
Intuitive eating
I’m a couple of years into my journey with intuitive eating. For me and my busy schedule, it often looks like planning ahead to look after my future self.
- How can I make time in my schedule to sit down and eat?
- Am I hydrated or do I need to grab a drink?
- What healthy meals can I prep for lunch so I don’t end up skipping food during a busy day?
- Have I filled and packed my water bottle before heading out?
- How can I support and refuel my body today? (Particularly on an active day or a day around my period when I’m waaay hungrier!)
Movement
- How can I move my body today?
- Am I feeling sore and fatigued or energised and itching to go?
- Have I moved from my desk today? If not, can I incorporate more movement into my schedule? (e.g. a short walk to run an errand or a break to walk around the block listening to a podcast)
- During a workout, how do I feel? Strong and capable of pushing more, or fatigued and in need of slowing down?
- Am I in the mood to lift weights, run or do yoga today?
- Do I need to move at all today, or does my body need to rest?
Sleep
Consistently getting 8 hours of sleep has been an absolute game-changer for me. Sleep changes every aspect of your life and is so underrated. Mood, energy, focus, decision making, performance and let’s face it, your skin and appearance (it’s called beauty sleep for a reason!)
If someone sold a pill that would transform you into the best possible version of yourself, you’d pay hundreds, if not thousands. Sleep is free!
Stress
The number one enemy of self care is stress. Managing stress is an ongoing, daily discipline that we all need to address ’til the day we die. The funny thing with stress is its accumulative. It can creep up over hours, days, weeks until we can’t handle it anymore. Preventative measures will always win for me for that reason.
Right now, my daily preventative stress measures are
- Meditation and breathing exercises
- Switching my phone on airplane mode for the first and last part of my day
- Having at least one full day off a week
- Saying no more
- Spending time with loved ones
- Spending time alone
- Going out of my way to experience more joy (because we need more joy in our busy lives to counteract the serious stuff) e.g. using my skincare routine, dancing to music, complimenting a stranger, eating a chocolate bar, the list could go on!
- Doing something physical that gets me out of my head (working out, walking, deep breaths, creative outlets like dance classes or crafts, etc.)
Connection
This is one I’m thinking about more and more lately. Particularly after hearing about the power of touch and its necessity for our mental and emotional wellbeing on Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s podcast. Working at home on my own can get lonely. I love to connect with people on social media or with clients on Skype, but I have discovered the power of physical connection too. There’s nothing like sitting down face to face!
For me, this means sitting down and listening to Adam when I see him in the evening, or whoever else I’m with that day. Having a cuddle! Asking sincere questions, making eye contact and actively showing interest. Showing people that I care and am happy to see them. Putting my phone away. Communicating with honesty and vulnerability, even on the days where it’s really scary to do.
Self care is so important, but a vital part of self care and our wellbeing is hugely impacted by the people around us. I hope you have people in your life who make you feel safe and loved, I’m really grateful that I do and want to make sure those people know how much I appreciate them! Which is why I’m prioritising my relationships with the people who deserve it the most.
Time to take action! Start your daily self care checklist
What can you make more time for, that you know improves your physical and mental wellbeing?
Which hobbies or activities light you up and make you feel amazing?
How are you going to prioritise them in your busy day?
Let me know in a comment below, DM on Instagram or get in touch
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I’m Kat, a women’s life coach dedicated to empowering YOU to put yourself first so you can achieve your goals (and live your besssst life!!)
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