How to Make a Self-Care Checklist
In our fast-paced world, it's easy to overlook the importance of self-care. A well-crafted self-care checklist can be a powerful tool to ensure you're taking the time to nurture your mind, body, and spirit. By setting aside moments for yourself, you can recharge and maintain a healthy balance in your daily life.
Maybe you had a self-care routine as a child, like ensuring you got enough playtime or choosing your favorite bedtime stories. Maybe you wanted to make sure your parents knew which activities made you happiest or what snacks you preferred during a family outing.
As adults, our self-care practices can evolve into Pinterest boards, bucket lists, wellness goals, and New Year’s Resolutions. A self-care checklist can be a valuable tool for anyone of any age to identify and maintain habits that nurture well-being.
A self-care checklist is a tool to keep track of what you need to feel your best. These lists are often organized by theme—mindfulness practices, skincare routines, or what you’re looking for in a peaceful living environment. Self-care checklists can be fun, serious, private, shared, organized, messy, detailed, vague, practical, and/or whimsical.
You can keep a self-care checklist in various formats—in a notebook, on an app, or as a mood board. The list acts as a reminder of your needs. For instance, it can remind you to schedule regular breaks when working from home. The list can also keep self-care habits at the forefront of your mind so you’re motivated to incorporate them into your daily life—if you remember that yoga class you want to try, you might be inspired to sign up for a session or set aside time each morning for meditation.
Self-care checklists could be a step toward creating clearly written life goals. Writing down self-care habits may help you integrate them into your routine. Self-care, of course, isn’t quite the same as strict goals and can be as relaxed or structured as you want. Still, bringing self-care practices into written, spoken, or visual awareness seems like a prerequisite to making them a reality. After all, what’s wellness but self-care with a plan and intention?
Ideas for Your Self-Care Checklist
Self-care in relationships
Similarly to a job checklist, a relationship self-care checklist can remind you of the emotional support you deserve and what matters to you when interacting with loved ones. Instead of focusing on specific traits, try listing qualities like, “feels appreciated,” or, “enjoys mutual respect and understanding.” This strategy may help you foster healthier relationships while opening up to connections you may never have considered otherwise.
Books to read for relaxation
This list can help you keep track of new books you want to explore for leisure; you can even set a reading goal for the year. If pen and paper are more your style, a basic notebook or a reading journal works just as well.
Movies for a cozy night in
Similarly, a list of films will keep you from feeling stumped the next time you want a relaxing evening at home.
Checklist to curb stress spending
Keeping a self-care checklist might prevent impulsive purchases by allowing you to “cool off” your excitement about buying items or by making you feel content with what you already have. Adding an item to your checklist also introduces an additional decision point, giving you extra opportunity to rationally consider whether the purchase is a good idea.
Boundaries checklist
Just as you can make a list of what you want and need, you can make a list of boundaries. It’s important to articulate what you will and will not tolerate—in other words, to set limits. For example, if you just left a stressful job, you can write down all the features you won’t accept in a new position.
Gift-giving self-care checklist
You can keep self-care checklists for others as well as yourself. For example, if a friend mentions they enjoy a particular activity, it’s a good idea to note their preferences somewhere you can find it.
How to Make a Self-Care Checklist
When making a self-care checklist, you don’t have to be practical or realistic—you can write down anything that nurtures you. You can try the strategy of setting a timer for 5-10 minutes and writing down everything that comes to mind, without self-censoring. A self-care checklist is a great place to dream big. There’ll be plenty of time to refine and prioritize items later if you want to.
When you review the list, you can amend anything that seems too out there. If something on the list seems out of reach at the moment, you can leave it on the list as a longer-term aim while acknowledging that a more modest step is more attainable right now. A second draft is also a good time to do research. If you’re making a self-care checklist for fitness, for example, you can read online reviews and explore available classes.
In Sum
Self-care checklists aren’t just for certain occasions—they can be a powerful tool for people of all ages to clarify and remember their nurturing practices. Self-care checklists can allow us to exercise our imaginations, expand our ideas about what we deserve and what’s possible for us, and begin turning our half-conscious needs into active habits and real achievements. Making a self-care checklist can also be an act of hope and an investment in a balanced future. Given the uncertainty of the modern world, many of us could use a little self-care whimsy.