Self-Care - Reflecting & Improving Our Routines

In this session, we’ll use coaching strategies to reflect on and strengthen our self-care routines. Together, we’ll explore the six areas of self-care—physical, emotional, social, mindful, intellectual, and practical—and identify small steps to nurture each one. (Notebook optional!)

Transcript

Hi, Today we are going to be using a strategy that we use in coaching to reflect on our self-care routines and see what we can do to improve in the six different areas of self-care. We do this because we are trying to get some balance in our life. We are trying to make sure that we are fully recharging so that we can not only take care of others and support others, But so we can take care of our own goals and our own dreams and all those wonderful ambitions you have. In order to do this, We do need to be well balanced. To make sure that we are taking care of ourselves to the full extent. So there are six different areas that we're going to dive into. And if you want to have a notebook, I know I like having paper and pencil in front of me, You're more than welcome to do that. Or if you just want to close your eyes and reflect that way, Or maybe you have notes in your phone, You want to do it there. However, This is going to be the most helpful for you. I invite you to go grab those materials now. And when you're ready, You can go ahead and resume the video. And we are going to go ahead and start with first area of self-care and we're going to rate ourselves. So we're going to go in a scale of 1 to 5. A 1 would be I need some additional support and a 5 would be this is an area I'm thriving at, I'm feeling good, This is my top, Right? So I'll go ahead and say the area and describe it a little bit as well as give some examples and I want you to go ahead and do this with me if you're ready. So first area is going to be our physical self-care. This is going to be anything that has to do with the body. How are we taking care of our physical health? Are we finding that we have energy, That we're feeling good? Some examples of this could be prioritizing our sleep and rest, Eating healthy, Balanced meals, Getting movement, Staying hydrated. Maybe it's keeping up with appointments that you might have. Again, These are just some examples. You might be having your own that are popping into your head, But what I would love for you to do now is to rate yourself, And I'll go ahead and do this with you. I have my notebook, And we're gonna go ahead So from a 1 to a 5, How would I rate myself on physical self-care? And I'm gonna go ahead and share my example, At least for this first one, Just so you have an idea of how I do this, But then the rest will move on a little bit more quickly. And if you need to pause the video at any point so that you can really think and reflect on each category, I really encourage you to do so. So for me, The first category from a one, Needing support, A five being I'm thriving, I got this. I put myself for physical self-care as a three. I did this because I think I've improved on my physical self-care care a lot. I try to get movement. I try to eat well, Drink water. I find that most of the time I have good energy. But recently, I have found that my afternoon routine for movement has kind of been slacking. And I know this because my energy is not always there. I find that I get a little bit bored of the routine I have right now in place. And so in that my mind tries to avoid it. And sometimes I just skip all together the movement in afternoons. So even though my My morning routine for movement is really looking solid. I do think it's an area I could improve. So what I just did was I rated myself. I asked myself why, Because when we ask ourselves why, We can understand a little bit more, We can dig a little further. And then afterwards, I want to find one small step. So I asked myself why, Which was movement, Movement in the afternoon specifically was where I want to improve in. And that small step for me, Well, I could go and just change my entire routine, But that feels a little overwhelming. So instead I would say a small step. I'm going to say a small step is just like writing down what I currently do because unless I physically see it, It's going to be hard for me to kind of take that data and see where I can refine it and adjust it. So I'm going to do writing down my afternoon schedule specifically when it comes to getting movement and see what I can do to make it a little bit more attainable, More realistic for me to actually get some more movement in my afternoon days and where would that fit so I can keep that energy. So again, That was my example. You might have had your own different example for this one, But where you are going with our rating, We're asking ourselves why, And then we're going to say one small step that I can do to try to improve in this area. And remember, I want us to make a step that feels like it's not overwhelming. So if your step, You are looking at it right now and you're like, Not going to do it, Then make it smaller. It tinier so that we can't fall through. Okay, So like I said the first one I wanted to give you my own example, But for the rest I'm going to go a little bit faster and I want you to pause when you need to in order to reflect and take your time that you want to, But I don't want to hold you up either. So okay, Next area is going to be emotional self-care. Emotional self-care is how do we manage our feelings and our emotions and are we doing it in a healthy way. Some examples of this is going to be journaling or writing to process feelings. Maybe it's practicing meditation mindfulness. I know that's something I've been really getting into recently. Seeking a therapy or a coach for support. Setting boundaries to protect your emotional energy. Maybe it's engaging in some creative outlets for helping you process your emotions. So again, Just some examples. You might have your own that are popping up, Which I hope so. But I want you to rate yourself a one to a five. One, Need supports. Five, I'm thriving. This is my jam, Right? And we are going to ask ourselves, Why? Why did I give myself this rating? This is how you're going to process and really think about how we can improve. And then we are going to think about one small step that we can take in this area. Okay, So pause when you need to, But when you're ready, The next category is going to be social self-care. This is going to be centering on building and maintaining healthy relationships. So in order to give us some examples, I have spending quality time with loved ones. It might look like joining clubs or groups that align with your interests. That's one personally I've been really interested in looking into more saying no to social obligations that aren't giving you energy or they're just not the right time for you. Seeking support from friends or community or this could even look like giving back to your community when you do feel like you have that energy or maybe it just gives you energy to give back. So again social self-care we are giving ourselves a rating between one and five. We are asking ourselves why and remember when we ask ourselves why I want us to look at this with curiosity not with judgments and then we ask ourselves why, We're going to say one small step. Okay, When you're ready, The next category is mindful self-care. Mindful self-care is a little bit different than emotional self-care. So emotional self-care, Remember, Is how do I manage my emotions, And am I managing it in a healthy way, Expressing myself in a healthy way. Mindful self-care is really pausing to think about your values, Your beliefs, Your ideals, And are you living in a life that is in line with this. Examples for is taking time with your own thoughts, Right? So that might look like meditation. Maybe you're just taking time to sit in nature and really give yourself time to think about what you are doing in your path that you're on. This also might be a good time for processing what's going on with you with a therapist. A coach can be really great for this. Maybe some trusted sounding boards in your life, Some people that really are good reflections and help you think a little bit deeper without over giving you their own opinion. It might be challenging, Some of these beliefs or thoughts or ideals. And so yeah, So those are just some of the examples that you might have for ways to improve your mindful self-care. But again, We're going to rate ourselves one to a five, Ask ourselves why, Not judging. And then we are going to think of one small step. If it feels too much, Make it smaller. Okay. When you're ready for it, The next and fifth of our six self-care categories is intellectual self-care. This is going to be helpful. How are we stimulating our brain? How are we keeping ourselves growing and learning and becoming a lifelong learner, Right? In order to do this, We want to make sure that we are constantly challenging ourselves, Learning new things. So some examples might be, I am reading more books, Articles, Learning new skills or hobbies, Attending workshops, Courses, If you're in any classes. But what are you doing right now that is really pushing your mind out of its typical comfort zone and really helping you grow and continue to learn because that's just really good for our long-term health is when we keep our brains stimulated and growing. So we are going to rate ourselves one to a five, Ask ourselves why did I give myself that rating, And then what is one small step. Last category and I do hope that you have paused this video as you needed to to really reflect and see is this an accurate rating for myself? Is there any that I want to go back to and adjust as needed? Because this is for our own selves, Right? This isn't something we need to share with anyone else. This is just for us to check in with ourselves today and see how am I doing with a well-balanced self-care and is there anything I need to work on so that I can re-energize myself, Right? Sometimes we think that self-care is just taking a nap or it's maybe sitting and binge watching some TV. Yeah, That's Part of self-care at times, But we wanna make sure are all areas of self-care being hit. If not, You might just find that your energy is consistently low, That you're not feeling re-energized at any point. So check in with yourself. Okay, Last area is practical self-care. This is going to be how am I managing the dailies, Right? So do I have routines in place? Do I have maybe organization systems that I have put into place to help me reduce stress so that the everyday just feels a little easier. Examples of this could be creating or sticking to a routine, Decluttering your space, Managing your finances responsibly, Planning and preparing meals in advance, Or delegating tasks when possible. Again, These are only examples. You might have your own that are coming into your mind. Please go with those as well. But we're going to rate ourselves one through a five. Remember, One is I need support. A five is I'm thriving. And we are going to ask ourselves, Why did I give myself that rating? And then what? Tiny step that we could take to try to improve in this area. When you have done and completed all six of your beautiful self-care areas, I do want us to do one final reflection because like I said, If we are looking at this and we're feeling overwhelmed, Then it's not really helping us, It's not supporting us in improving our self-care. So just like we did with each category where we simplified it and made it into one tiny little area, I want to do the same overall. So keep your notes, Keep these thoughts because some point you are going to be ready to tackle all six areas. But just for today, I want you to focus on one area. This might be the area that you rated yourself the lowest. This might be the area where you feel like you're really excited for the next step you put in place and you think it would be easy to apply. It might just be the one that today, Realistically, You can do it and get it done. But which of the six areas would you like to focus on? Ask yourself why. Why that area? And then I want you to focus on that one step that you put into place and ask yourself, Can I accomplish this today? Can I start the first step of this today? If your answer is no, You know what I'm gonna say, Make it smaller, Simplify it, And really think what is one tiny step I can set myself up for today so I can feel that sense of accomplishment, So I can know that I am making positive progress on my self-care. All right, My friends, That's all I got for you today. I hope that you were able to look at the six areas and really pause and reflect when needed in order to get the most out of each area and to brainstorm areas that you could support yourself in order to help create that balanced and wonderful life that you're working toward. And remember, The more that we reflect and refine our self-care routines, The more we're going to be able to be successful in every other aspect of our life. So take care of yourself, My loves. I want you to really focus on your self-care because you deserve it, The people around you deserve it, And your dreams deserve it too. Pennies. I'm gonna let you go now. Bye.