In July, I started using a wellness journal to track my “self-care.” The word self care is such a buzzy word that I almost hate it but it has gained traction for a reason. I will refrain from going into a bunch of research about how busy everyone says they are and why self care is important and just talk about what it means to me.
Self Care Defined
Self care involves not just a host of activities but also a mind set shift. I believe that each person has to decide what self care means for you. Something that others find relaxing and soul restoring may be like nails on a chalk board to you.
My goal with self care is multi faceted. I have a desire to live my life in a certain way that is meaningful and interesting to me. I enjoy face masks, baths, and any kind of pampering in general. But I also include activities that are also related to improving my health. How much movement am I getting, how well hydrated am I, what does my diet look like, is it full of variety with healthy stuff and treats, how is my mental health, am I depressed, happy, content and do I have appropriate coping skills to deal with issues. Multi-faceted indeed!
Self Care Goals
- Facial masks 2-3 days per week
- Restorative bath-once per month
- Daily movement goal-400 activity on Apple Watch
- Exercise-5 days per week; strength training 3 times per week;
- Hydration intake-minimum of 36 ounces per day (water, coffee, diet soda)
- Diet-3-6 servings of fruits and veggies per day (not actively working on this right now)
- Intermittent fasting-4 days per week.
- Spiritual-reading self help type books monthly; listening to spiritual/personal growth podcasts and shows at least weekly.
- Social-spend time with family and friends at least weekly.
Most of these self care goals are “ideal”-something that I am working towards. I am further along on some and not even in the ballpark (yet) for others. My idea is that if I can incorporate ALL of these activities in my life on a regular basis then I will be living and feeling the way I want to live and feel.
Wellness Journal
My journal is not so much a record or log of what I’ve done but a demonstration of my process (yours might not look like this). It is also a log but for me the beauty lies in the whole and not just the recording of individual activities.
I like to see what I’m working on visually to get a sense of what’s working, when, why or why not, etc….
I also like to add photos because seeing my life in photos is pleasing to me. Photos remind me that I have a really good life full love and support. It’s one of my coping mechanisms for the times when I feel like things aren’t working out or going the way I want. I can look at my journal and see what is real and not just focus on what I feel. Feelings can lie and actually distract from what is real.
So of course, the first month I started the journal, it didn’t go well. I was feeling very lazy and unfocused and rather unmotivated. At first, I beat myself up about starting something and not following through. And then, I recalled one of my favorite phrases, PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION. Something is better than nothing and moving forward no matter how slowly or awkwardly still counts.
The plan is that on the monthly pages I track my water intake, exercise and strength training goals, my fasting days and my weight. Except for the weight, the other categories are represented with stickers! I like this because I can just look and see how the month is going or how it went. It helps to see if there are particular days when I don’t meet my goals and other days where I’m on it.
My weekly spreads have photos and stickers. These stickers though are more inspirational and decorative. The photos are of events that were meaningful that week. The main photos though are of my activity circle from my Apple watch. I find this information motivating (or distressing) & it is another visual reminder of what I want to do and how I’m doing.
The journal has areas to write down thoughts. Sometimes I follow the prompts but other days I don’t. It just depends on how I feel.
There are times when one area is working well and others are not. As much as I love doing facial masks and have even set alarms as a reminder, I fail every single week. I have done a mask here or there but not as planned. Sometimes I start strong and peter out towards the middle/end of the month.
I keep it real in my journal so I have blurred out some areas. I don’t need ALL of my business on the internet!! Really though, I think it’s important to be honest about what’s going on in your life, what’s working or not and maybe some possible reasons why. The days or weeks that I struggle need to be acknowledged. I don’t want to just focus on the positive.
Filling out the journal, printing the photos and choosing the stickers is a form of self care in and of itself. I continue to use my phone to track my goals throughout each day and then I refer to it when I’m filling out the journal. I do try and actually write each day but that, too is a work in progress. The tracking app I use is called HABIT BUDDY.
I will update you periodically on how things are going. Some of these goals also find their way into my monthly goals posts.
Please let me know if you have any questions about my process. If you have any ideas or want to share your self care goals, please comment below.
