What’s in your Self-Care Toolbox?

I’ve always been motivated by stars.

Like in the 3rd grade, when you get that bright shiny gold star on your assignment. Or, as an adult at work, when you get an achievement award that usually gets framed in your office, shining golden for you to see! ⭐️ 😍

It’s oddly motivating for me.

So much that for the last year, I’ve been using a daily habit tracker calendar. It’s a calendar where I can track my self-care or wellness habits and then award myself a bright shiny star when I do them. (See below for free habit trackers.)

I was sold.

This checklist is my self-care toolbox. The eight habits listed aren’t selfish or optional but rather essential and mandatory.

As a self-care coach, I am finding the more my clients (and myself) practice daily self-care, we are more successful at keeping stress at bay.

Our adaptation energy, the way we handle a change of expectation or demand, fills back up when we practice self-care. When you run out of adaptation energy mid-day and keep getting more demands (aka, stress), your body will go involuntarily into fight-or-flight stress reactions.

And that’s generally not pretty.

For instance, my fight-or-flight stress reaction usually consists of irritability, snapping at people, yelling, and feeling so upset with myself for being a jerk that I meltdown like a toddler. *sigh.

That is why self-care is essential, especially in our times.

If you have practical tools, or as I like to call it, “a self-care toolbox,” to manage stress levels and anxiety, even the most significant demands can become an opportunity for growth or new possibilities.

There are many ways to self-care; physical, mental, spiritual, social, and environmental self-care are just a few. The most important aspect of self-care to consider is the benefits to your wellbeing, either long-term or short-term benefits.

Long-term self-care is beneficial for you in the... you guessed it, long-term. You can financially afford to do it once a day, and it helps increase your adaptation energy to take on daily demands, such as a morning workout or meditation. It might not feel pleasant at the moment, but the long-term effects are worth it. Rest, as you can see below, is both long-term and instant self-care, because, as we know, quality sleep effects are health in the long-term, but also, a nap is necessary sometimes for that instant relief.

Instant self-care is short-term, and generally, it is not realistic to do every day. You feel terrific in and just after the moment, but it’s a fleeting moment. Other examples are those treats we give ourselves—a glass of wine, a manicure, or a shopping spree. These are things you wouldn’t necessarily do every day because of cost, time, and, well, if you are anything like me, a wine hangover after just one glass.

By tracking my self-care, I not only fulfilled the third grader in me, but I discovered how essential it was for me to have a self-care toolbox and to pulling from it daily.

The weeks that barely had any stars were the weeks I felt anxious, stressed, and mentally exhausted.

The weeks that had more stars were the weeks I felt more energy, recharged, creative, and accomplishing more.

When you track your self-care and emotions, you create awareness between the two, allowing you to notice if your daily self-care makes a difference. Knowing this helps build your why, your motivation, which is a friendly reminder to continue your self-care practice.

Just like I hate walking out of the house without brushing my teeth, not doing my meditation leaves me feeling yuck. I wasn’t fully aware of it until I tracked my habits with stars and how I felt while doing them versus not doing them.

Do I follow through with all eight habits in my day? Nope.

Self-care doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

It works similar to an election. The more votes you have toward self-care than stress, the less likely stress will make you feel lousy—majority rules.

What is in your self-care toolbox?

What makes you feel alive?

How do you track your self-care and stress?

Do the things that make you feel good.

Schedule them like you would a meeting with your boss.

Because self-care isn’t selfish, it’s essential.