Please note this post may contain affiliate links. If a purchase is made through these links, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
This post is all about doing a self care check in.
Are you feeling overwhelemed by life? Are you just making it through each day without much thought about how your life is serving your or what you’re doing to meet your basic needs? Sounds like you need a self care check in.
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s so freaking easy to lose sight of your own needs. This is something I am definitely no stranger to. Unfortunately, when life gets hectic, my self care is the first thing to be thrown out the window (not healthy, I know… I’m working on it). If you find yourself in a similar position to me, you might also benefit from having a wee self care check in from time to time. This will help you make sure that you are actually showing up and taking care of yourself.
This post is your invitation to take a moment to pause, breathe, and embark on a self-care check-in. It’s an intentional moment to assess how you’re truly feeling, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
What Is A Self Care Check In?
A self care check in is a moment to sit with yourself and really take stock of where you are at. It’s your chance to ask yourself how you’re really doing. It’s your chance to look at your behaviours, your habits and look at everything that is going in your life right now and see how it is all affecting you.
A self care check in requires you to show a little bit of introspection and willingness to seriously reflect on yourself and your life. It’s your chance to be honest with yourself and help yourself out. So don’t kid yourself with the classic “I’m fine” or “everything’s all good” if that’s not the case for you. Be truthful with yourself.
Why Is It Good To Check In With Yourself?
You need to truly recognise what is going on for you and how you feel, so that if things aren’t going well you can start trying to make the necessary changes or start seeking the help you may need. Or on the flip side, if your well being is in a really good place, it’s a chance to figure out what is really helping you feel this way so that you can focus on this moving forward. Taking a moment to check in with yourself occasionally can really help you do this.
The other good thing about checking in with yourself is that it helps you establish what you need. Maybe you recognise that you’re feeling really overwhelmed and therefore need some more time to yourself. Or maybe you are feeling rundown and therefore need to focus on some of your basic needs like getting a good sleep.
Your feelings and needs are really intertwined, so if you remain conscious about your feelings you can stay aligned with your needs.
How To Do A Self Care Check In
A self care check in can be whatever you want it to be really. You have to find something that works for you and your schedule. To help you get started though, here is a wee outline of how I like to try do my self care check ins:
- Find an uninterrupted moment where you can be by yourself
- Get comfy- make yourself a hot drink, find yourself a comfortable place to sit etc.
- Ask yourself some of the following questions to check in with your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being. You don’t have to ask yourself all the questions, just the ones you feel are worth focusing on.
- If you’ve identified some new areas of need. Create some goals and actionable steps that help you meet those needs.
- Plan for the upcoming days or weeks. Figure out how you are going to give yourself the care you need to get yourself through your week while maintaining your wellbeing.
- Reflect on your self care checklist and make any necessary adjustments
- Take a moment to celebrate your achievements and/or express some gratitude
Self Care Questions To Check Yourself With
Check in with your physical well being
- How have I been feeling physically?
- Have I been feeling any tension or discomfort anywhere in my body?
- What exercise have I done this week? How can I include more movement into my day?
- Is my body currently feeling tight? Have I done any stretching to try combat this?
- What’s my energy levels been like this week? What has cause me to have more/less energy?
- How many night’s this week have I gotten 8 hours of sleep?
- How many glasses of water have I had today?
- Are there particular times of the day where I feel sluggish and drained? Are there times of the day where I feel more energised and motived? How does my current routine/schedule fit in with these times?
Reflect on your emotional state
Use these questions to check in with the feelings and emotions you have experienced over the last week or so. Take a chance to acknowledge the way you have been feeling, assess why you have been feeling this way and validate these emotions without judgement.
- Has there been any times this week when I have experienced stress or feelings of overwhelm? What has caused these feelings? What could I do about them?
- What has brought me joy recently?
- Am I currently holding onto any emotions that I haven’t processed yet? Why am I bottling these feelings?
- What emotion best describes the way have I felt this week?
- Is there anything coming up that I am feeling anxious about? What can I do to help myself get through this time?
- What have I done over the last week to bring happiness into my day?
- What is one thing I might need more of this week based on how I’ve been feeling?
Review Your Mental State
There are so many things that can affect your mental state. Exercise, sleep, nutrition, emotions, events and experiences are just a few factors that contribute to your frame of mind. That’s why it’s a great idea to stay tuned into your thoughts and your state of mind so that you can be aware of how your life is impacting you. That way, if you become aware that it’s not supporting a good mental state, you can start to make necessary changes to help yourself out.
- Have my thoughts been clear or have they been scattered, disorganised and distracting?
- What have my thoughts been like this week? Have they been largely positive or largely negative?
- Have I been able to focus well recently? What has helped/not helped with my concentration?
- How often have I zoned out this week? What caused me to zone out?
- What kind thoughts have I thought about myself this week?
- Have I reinforced myself with any positive affirmations?
- Have I replaced a negative thought with a positive one this week? (Seriously congratulate yourself if you have)
- What have I been thinking about the most this week? Why have I been focusing my attention on this?
- Is there anything stressful or challenging coming up this week? What can I do to help myself during this time?
Assess Your Spiritual Wellbeing
Staying connected to yourself, pursuing your passions, hobbies and interests, working towards goals… these are all things that contribute to your spiritual wellbeing. These kind of things give you purpose and help you feel fulfilled, so it’s definitely a good idea to take a moment to check in with your spiritual health.
- Am I consistently doing activities that bring me joy and relaxation?
- Have I been feeling connected to myself recently? What could I do to work on my connection?
- Have I been respecting my boundaries recently? If the answer is no, ask yourself why this is happening.
- Are there any new boundaries that I could benefit from making?
- What can I be proud of myself for doing recently? Take a moment to celebrate an accomplishment, effort or progress, no matter how big or small.
- What have I done this week that has helped me work towards my goals?
- What have I done this week to help me fulfilled? What more could I be doing to help me feel this way?
- Have I felt connected to my passion or my purpose recently? If no, look at ways you can re-spark your passion or find ways to get back to your purpose.
- What am I grateful for recently?
- Have I had enough time alone to work on myself and my hobbies recently?
Create a self care checklist
Another helpful way of ensuring that you are meeting your self care needs, is through making yourself a self care checklist. A self care checklist is basically just a list of activities that you believe are important to maintaining your overall health and well being. They are the little (or big) things that you would like to make sure you prioritise in your life to ensure you are living well.
Self care checklists are also a great way to make sure you are sticking to your self care routine and fulfilling your self care plan. The best thing about them is that you can have many different kinds of self care checklists to keep you on track. So if you are an organisation fiend you can fill your spaces up with daily, weekly and monthly self care checklists.
Here is an example of what a self care checklist could look like:
How to create and maintain a self-care checklist:
- Figure out how much time in your schedule you realistically have available for self care. This stops you from planning too many self care activities into your day and then feeling guilty when you don’t manage to tick them all off. It also helps you allocate time towards self care so that it doesn’t become consumed by other things in your day.
- Start with ensuring you are meeting your basic needs. Make sure your checklist helps you meet the fundamentals of living like drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, exercising and getting adequate nutrition.
- Add in some activities relevant to the self care goals that you are working towards. Break down any big goals you may have for yourself into smaller daily habits that you can complete each day. Seriously, micro habits are a great way to actually start achieving your goals.
- Make sure to regularly check in with yourself. Keep note of how you’re tracking, make adjustments, be kind to yourself and celebrate your progress.
It’s time stop feeling guilty about looking after yourself and start checking in. You have the know how and you have ability, you just have to start treating yourself like a priority! Your feelings and needs are valid and they are important… don’t ignore them. Take a moment to check in with yourself regularly and start putting some focus back onto your wellbeing. You are worth it!
