The other day, I shared with all of you 5 ways to practice self-care which you can read about here.
I recently went to a social work self-care lunch and learn and the guest speaker taught us how to develop a self-care plan.
If you’ll allow me, I’d like to share with you some ways she shared that you can begin using to develop your own, personal, self-care plan.
At the end of the post, you’ll find a copy of a self-care plan worksheet that you can use to aid in the development of your plan.
I pray this helps you as it did me!
There are 5 areas where we must strive to practice self-care:
1. Physical
We need to take care of our physical bodies.
As a Christian, I believe the Bible and it says that our “bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
We can practice self-care of our physical bodies by eating real food (nothing processed, definitely not fast food), and eating away from work or away from our desk.
If you are a social worker who travels, take 30 minutes to get out of your car and sit down in a restaurant to enjoy your meal.
If you’re like me and have to be in an office all day, go to the break room (and leave your cell phone in the office) to enjoy your meal.
Seek medical care if you are sick, or take advantage of preventative measures to keep you in you in the best shape possible.
Strive to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity 3 days a week.
Yoga can be really good for keeping you flexible.
Do something special to treat yourself.
Get a massage or treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure.
Do whatever it takes to make sure you are taking care of your physical body.
You cannot take care of others if you are not taking care of yourself first.
2. Professional
Make sure you’re taking care of your professional-well being.
How can you do that, you ask?
Join a peer support group.
Talk to other individuals who are in the same career field as you and seek out their advice and support.
Make sure that you are getting supervision.
If your boss is too busy to provide adequate supervision, seek out a coworker to mentor you and help you.
You cannot do this job alone, and you shouldn’t have to!
Participate in professional development (this one is one of my favorites).
Go to as many workshops and trainings as possible.
If it is related to the client population you serve, try to convince your company to pay for it.
If they can’t pay up front, maybe they can reimburse you for your expenses.
Take advantage of all the knowledge out their and use it to your advantage.
Advocate for resources that will help you at work.
As service providers, we are often told to do the impossible without any resources.
If there is something you need to do your job more effectively, let your boss know.
Use your vacation time.
This one is not as easy for me because I feel at times as though I owe it to my clients to be at work *sigh*.
Don’t hoard your vacation time.
Don’t wait until you have to take 50 hours in two days, use a little at a time so that you protect your mental well-being.
Use your insurance benefits.
Often times, insurance companies will pay for a massage or other therapeutic things because it can prevent serious health problems such as heart attacks or strokes.
Explain to your insurance company why you need the weekly massage or yoga class and they may pay for it.
3. Psychological
Go to therapy.
It has been said that “every great therapist needs a great therapist”.
This is true.
Often times, we stigmatize going to therapy since we are the professionals but therapy is cool, fun, and confidential.
Take advantage of your mental health benefits and see a therapist.
Pray or meditate so that you are letting go of all the negative things that have happened at work.
You were never meant to carry the burden of everyone else’s problems by yourself.
Writing in a journal is another great way to vent your feelings.
Don’t feel like doing any of the above, read a book or learn a new hobby to get your mind off of things.
4. Emotionally
Acknowledge your feelings and cry or laugh.
It’s ok to express your feelings when you need to.
Maintain your social interactions away from work (another hard one for me since I’m so tired when I get off).
Keep in contact with your friends so that you can prevent feelings of isolation.
Once again, take a social media detox.
No one needs that negativity in their life all the time.
5. Spiritually
Attend church (not just on Sundays but midweek too).
Get plugged into a worship service so you are surrounding yourself with people who can support you and give your problems to the only one who can always help you perfectly.
Keep a gratitude journal.
An attitude of thankfulness goes a long way.
How to Develop a Self-Care Plan
Make time.
This one is so important.
What good is making a plan if you never use it?
Make a self-care plan and devote time to putting it into action.
Also, make a daily to do list.
As you begin to accomplish things on your list, you will feel better and more successful in the work that you are doing.
Set boundaries (oh, big one here for me).
You must learn how to say no.
A good book that I recommend is Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend’s book “Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life”.
It even comes with an amazing workbook that you can use alone or with a group of other individuals.
Another thing that goes along with setting boundaries is setting a certain time to answer emails or texts.
I recommend cutting the phone off at night so you’re not waking up just to answer a text from someone for something that can wait.
If it’s a real emergency, they will find a way to get in touch with you. If not, you can rest knowing that you can handle it tomorrow.
Now that you know what you can include in your plan, click the following download and add into each box some things you can do to take care of that part of yourself (e.g. physical, emotional).
2 thoughts on “Self-Care Plan: A How to Guide for Service Workers”