Self care checklist

My goal this 2024 year is to continue working on expanding my therapeutic knowledge and insight to be able to share it with others! I shared this post on my instagram and thought I would share it here as a reminder about the importance of self care and what self care looks like! Feel free to save it as a reminder or allow it to inspire the creation of your own self care checklist!

In 2024, let’s bring self care back to it’s true roots of just taking care of self. In occupational therapy, when we talk about self care we are talking about the activities of daily living – this is simple things like eating, drinking water, toileting, bathing etc. Of course, for some people this is just a daily routine, but sometimes when our mental health gets bad or when we are struggling with physical challenges, these “simple” things can become a very challenging task.

When you are creating your self care checklist, you can try to explore different categories of self care – of course everyone is different, and some of these categories cross over, but here are some examples of categories you can think about.

Basic self care – washing your face, brushing your teeth, eating healthy food, drinking water, sleeping 8 hours, taking your medication, taking a shower

Increased health self care – stretching, walking, working out, doing a hair care/face care routine in the shower

Mental health self care – list 3 things you are grateful for, seeing a therapist, reflecting on a positive part of your day, spending time/phone calling/texting with someone you love, engaging in an enjoyable activity (ex: reading, knitting, video games, sports etc)

Indulgent self care – luxurious bubble baths, facials, manicures, shopping

When you are creating your self care list, remember the number one rule I always tell my clients (and myself) is to approach yourself with compassion. We are often way more forgiving towards others and harsher to ourselves. If you had a plan to shower or go to the gym, or maybe you didn’t complete your gratitude journal… that is okay. Take time to go through your self care checklist and prioritize your time just like you would at work – if you need to shower 100 percent and only have the energy for that, perhaps you don’t go to the gym that day. That is ok, tomorrow is a new day!

Final tip for this post is to take time to schedule in your self care. As humans, we are always going to prioritize the things other people are expecting us to do, or the things that are in our calendar, so make the time carved out in your day for self care! If you want to go to the gym, schedule that in! Or schedule in time to read, listen to music, journal etc…. it seems silly and tedious at first, but eventually it will become more of a habit and priority that you will choose to do! You are important, make time for you!

Check out my other posts about self care! 🙂

A cute way to self care – recommendation for a self care app

Self care over the holidays

Self care means giving yourself permission to pause…. GUILT FREE