Back in January, I wrote a self-care plan for my Spring 2020 semester. If I’m being honest, that went out the door since the stay-at-home orders in California. I finish my semester in two weeks: just a couple more assignments and finishing up my internship.
For example, one of my goals was to incorporate new fruits and vegetables into my weekly grocery runs. Now, I make grocery trips about every two weeks and sometimes they do not have the things I need.
My schedule has also changed, given that classes and my internship are virtual now. Lately, I feel like I’m going nonstop, yet I feel like I get hardly anything done.
It’s clear I need a new self-care plan that’s more lenient and applicable to my life as it is right now. Not only to manage during the remainder of this stay-at-home order, but also to manage the unspecified amount of time that I will be job-searching over the summer.
STAY-AT-HOME Self Care Plan
Keep my checklists to a minimum. I have had very optimistic checklists, and I get disappointed when I do not complete everything. My new goal is to have more realistic amounts of tasks for each day (ie I cannot expect to get tons of school work done when I have classes all day).
Add things to my checklist that I know will get done. I don’t write down tasks like “contact client parents,” although it is something that I do in the mornings on internship days. Checking this off my list will simply make me feel good and help me see everything I did in my day, so I don't feel so unproductive.
Affirmations: Little ones, Big ones. I need to give myself recognition for the things I am doing. Finished an assignment? Engaged my client? Or maybe I am just trying my best? It matters.
Outside time. It is no longer cloudy and rainy here in Southern California. Staying at home doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get some sun and fresh air.
Exercise or stretch for at least 20 minutes 3x/week. Exercise is a big self-care tool for me, but it’s often the first to go when I get overwhelmed. So, I am lowering the standard I have for my workouts: they can be shorter and do not have to occur most days.
Meet myself where I am. I am blocking out outside influences telling me how productive I should be (learning new languages, getting super fit). This is not just working from home or taking online classes. I didn’t sign up for this, but I am doing my part and adapting.
Drink more water. This one IS from my past self-care plan but it FLEW out the window. This one might be the most important of them all, because it will give me the energy to do everything else.
Self care looks different for everyone, and what works for me won’t work for everyone. Hopefully, this will just let anyone reading know that it’s okay if your self care routine flew out the window like mine did (or if you never had one). Maybe this will even inspire you to make one small step to care for yourself.
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