In a recent article included in Issue # 23 ‘Being Proactive’ for Women & Biz.com, I discussed personal self-worth as a vital practice for every entrepreneur.  Following that vein, this article will cover the best way I know to incorporate self-care, wellness and personal value check-ins within the context of your, perhaps stressful, workday. It is easy to let days, weeks, events and activities blur together, therefore it is important to devise a simple plan for chronicling self-care.

First: Set a goal.  Be specific.  For example replace ‘get in shape’ with ‘go to the gym 3 times a week’ or ‘take a long walk 4 times weekly’.  Replace ‘stop eating sweets’ with ‘eat only 2 deserts per week’.   Replace ‘I can’t’ with ‘I will’ or ‘I do not want to’.  It is crucial to be very specific when talking about resolutions, building new habits, and taking care of yourself.

Second: Keep a personal calendar:

This may seem too easy, however it is the most effective way to check in and keep an eye on the ways you care for yourself.   I have done this for years.  It works.  Use a wall calendar or print out blank calendar months from your computer.  Do not write business, family or doctor’s appointments here.  Make a list of activities you enjoy, find relaxing and stimulating.  Place, hang or staple this list near your personal calendar.

Use this to record:

-All activities from your list you do

-Time with friends

-Quality time spent with your partner/ lover

-Quality time spent with you

-Quality time with family members and/ or children

-Books read for pleasure, films viewed, shows attended

If you are working on specific goals record them here, for example:

-Include times of judgment and times of personal praise

-Note days when you value your work and days when you feel you are under-performing

-Note when you go to the gym [not how long or what you did, just that you went]

-Include the number of glasses of water you drink each day

-Note your lunchtime walks

-A yoga practice

-Number of cups of coffee

-Number of cigarettes

-How many hours of sleep you get each night

Remember: This is YOUR personal practice.  Keep track of what is important to YOU!

Make sure you use a calendar that allows you to see the entire month at once.  This way you can quickly see how you are faring in your daily self-care.  This is not a place of self-punishment or cheating.  Do not think of it as a showing of what you are not doing.  Rather it is a place to practice encouragement and investigation.  Use this calendar to keep little notes for yourself.   Write down how you feel after a week of making time for loved ones, exercise and deep breathing.  Give yourself ‘pats on the back’ for weeks of self-awareness and listening when your body needed rest. 

Third:  Use your time of personal self-care ‘check-in’ to explore and examine what truly works for you.  You may find a supplemental journal becomes appropriate.  Again note what you are trying, how it makes you feel and its impact on your over-all productivity and happiness. 

Have fun taking care of you.  This is not a chore.  Build flexibility into your life. Allow your personal calendar, and perhaps journal, to be the reflection and testament to your growing awareness of who you are and how you work best.

In a culture focused on high-tech, complex solutions, this may sound over-simplified.  I often have clients cast quizzical looks when I suggest it.  However there is nothing so direct as a clear picture.  Using a paper monthly calendar gives you a clear and tangible map of where you have been and what you have been doing for you in the course of the month.  It also creates accountability to you for your self-care practice.  These are invaluable tools indeed.