As we reach the end of a month of self-care and love, it’s good to take a snapshot of where you are to see how you’ve progressed and identify any areas of improvement. Yesterday, we went through a few exercises for you to discover more about yourself and how you tick so you can tailor your self-care plan to your personal needs. Today, I’m giving you an outline of the eight different types of self-care so you can look at how well you’re meeting each aspect and look at ways you can improve how you look after yourself. 

As you go through this list, give yourself a score from 0-3. Award 3 points if you do three or more things in that category, 2 points if you do two things, 1 point if you do one thing and 0 if you do nothing. 

Physical self-care

This category is all about how well you look after your physical health. This includes the daily basics of self-care such as brushing your teeth and hair (so award yourself one point if you do all of those essential daily activities), but other ways you can tend to your physical self include:

• Getting enough sleep or rest
• Exercising at least 5 times a week. This can be anything from gentle stretching or yoga through to high intensity activities or cardio
• Making appointments with appropriate medical professionals when you have concerns
• Eating clean, healthy food
• Getting fresh air every day

Emotional self-care

This is all about tending to your emotional needs, being kind to yourself and getting the support you need to manage your emotions. 

• Journalling
• Talking to a friend
• Letting your emotions out through creative expression such as art, music, singing, dancing, etc.
• Stress management strategies, such as meditation
• Being kind to yourself
• Speaking to an appropriate professional such as counsellor or psychologist

Social self-care

This is all about how you maintain healthy relationships with the people around you. 

• Spending time with others, either in person or online. If you want to stay close to the people who matter to you, you should contact them at least once every fortnight. 
• Establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries
• Making sure you spend time in your own company to recharge while getting out to socialise with others
• Maintaining a positive social media presence – focus on the positive and avoid reading the news!
• Asking for help if you need it and offering help when others need it. 

Spiritual self-care

It doesn’t matter what your spiritual or religious background and beliefs. Caring for your spiritual beliefs has a positive effect on your overall wellbeing. 

• Spend time in prayer or meditation on a daily basis
• Build connection with the divine or your Higher Self
• Take time out to reflect on the meaning of life
• Go to religious or spiritual services or meetings
• Spend time in nature

Personal self-care

If you’ve doing at least some of the exercises in this month’s blogs, you’ll have a better understanding of who you are and what brings you joy. This category is all about building on that work and honouring yourself and your needs. 

• Regularly doing your hobbies
• Listening to your gut instinct
• Treating yourself – you deserve it!
• Doing something you’ve always wanted to do but have been putting off
• Spending time with yourself, building a deeper understanding of who you are

Home self-care

Caring for your home environment doesn’t just lift your mood. It also ensures you’re living in a home which is safe and best serves your needs. 

• Decluttering
• Cleaning
• Regularly taking stock of your home and attending to any required repair jobs 
• Keeping your home secure
• Keeping your home comfortable – whatever that means to you

Financial self-care

This is all about making sure you can meet all your financial goals and obligations.

• Having a budget and sticking to it
• Having money in savings
• Consulting a financial adviser as needed
• Setting aside money for having fun
• Paying all your bills on time

Work, school, childcare, etc.

This final category is all about dealing with your responsibilities in all the other areas of your life, such as school, work, caregiving, etc.

• Effective time management
• Performing at your best and being productive
• Personal development and learning new skills
• Good communication with colleagues, fellow students, teachers, etc.
• Taking regular breaks

How did you do? 

If you scored 20+ points, well done! You’ve got self-care pretty much sorted. 

If you scored 10-20 points, you’re doing well, but have a look at your results in each category to see where you could do better.

If you scored 0-10, don’t worry. The positive thing here is that you’ve got plenty of options when it comes to improving how you look after yourself. 

Doing this exercise on a regular basis will help you identify where you need to do more work, especially if you notice one category scores lower than others. Since self-care is a lifelong commitment, coming back to this exercise every few months will help you see if you’re going off track so you can maintain positive, healthy habits and be the best possible you!

Today is the Journey Through The Chakras retreat. If you weren’t able to get tickets, watch this space – I’ve got an exciting announcement coming up.