It’s January which means nearly everyone is reflecting on last year and setting resolutions and goals for the coming year. In general I don’t think that you should wait for a new year to make positive changes in your life but I also acknowledge that the turning of the year does create an obvious time for reflection.
I have been working on self care for several years now. When my therapist first mentioned self care to me I thought it sounded kind of silly. I was under the misguided impression that it meant bubble baths and wine. Not that it can’t be bubble baths and wine sometimes but my therapist quickly explained that it’s often things like paying my bills on time and going to the dentist when I’m supposed to. In other words it’s often not fun or particularly enjoyable, but it does make my life better and healthier in the long run.
Over the past 5 or 6 years I’ve developed a lot of good habits in regards to self care, but there is always room for improvement. As I’ve been thinking about how to do better at this I’ve had a few ideas. Ever since 2015 when my health took a major downturn I’ve had to prioritize my physical well being over my mental well being. It’s not really a dichotomy. Having better physical health benefits my mental health. But I think I’ve come to a place where my physical health is fairly steady and stable and I can start to prioritize my mental health a bit more. I’m not exactly sure how this will play out but I think part of it is doing more things that I enjoy even if doing those things mean I need some recovery time afterwards. Currently I’m planning about one thing a month that is exciting but that will mean recovering. I think I can do more of those things and I think if I do, my quality of life will improve. This can be anything from going to an event or concert to taking a hike on a nice day.
Another thing I’d like to do is read more books in the new year. I’ve noticed that I spend a lot of time on my phone. I’m not always just wasting time but it’s still a lot of staring at a screen and eventually I get headaches from that. If I made reading my default activity I think I’d be happier and I’d get through a lot more books. Plus I’d have less headaches with less screen time. I haven’t set a specific number but I am going to keep track of the books I’ve read for the first time. I think knowing the number will feel encouraging to me.
I’d also like to figure out and implement an organizational system for all of the papers that accumulate in my house. I have been able to do this kind of thing at jobs in the past so I believe I have the skillset to do it at home, I just need to find the motivation to start it and maintain it. This will be a two part system, one where I sort my mail and another where it is stored long term in a filing cabinet. This is one of those not so fun self care activities.
TLDR
1. I will prioritize my mental health more often by planning things to look forward to.
2. I will keep track of the books I read and make reading my default bored activity.
3. I will organize all the accumulated papers in my house and create a system moving forward.
What are your self care goals for 2019? Share in comments.
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