Self-Care, Part 2

I sincerely hope you at least started a list from last week's post.  I know it can be a struggle to come up with a list, but YOU are important enough to spend the time and effort.  With your list in hand, it's time to get organized! If you didn't do it when you were making the list, divide things up into different time and money commitment categories.  In whatever way works best with your brain, open a spreadsheet or grab some paper and colored pens or highlighters. Here are your categories:

• Free and cheap ideas that take 15 minutes or less
• Free and cheap ideas that take more than 15 minutes, but less than 2 hours
• Free and cheap ideas that take more than 2 hours, but less than 24 hours
• Free and cheap ideas that take longer than a day
• Budget-able ideas that take 15 minutes or less
• Budget-able ideas that take more than 15 minutes, but less than 2 hours
• Budget-able ideas that take more than 2 hours, but less than 24 hours
• Budget-able ideas that take longer than a day
• Save up for ideas that take 15 minutes or less
• Save up for ideas that take more than 15 minutes, but less than 2 hours
• Save up for ideas that take more than 2 hours, but less than 24 hours
• Save up for ideas that take longer than a day

The financial amounts are really up to you and will vary from person to person.  I mean really, what is cheap?    I think I might have made up the word "budget-able."  I also think "Save up for ideas" is terrible grammar.  Feel free to both change the titles around the money and define them how you see fit. It is OKAY if you don't have something in every single category, as well.  It may even seem silly to have a "Save up for" idea that takes less than 15 minutes.  Have it open anyway.  Let your creative juices flow. The most important step is to get it on your schedule!  Seriously!  Do it!  Write it on your calendar or make yourself a schedule!  Baby step goal number is one is to have something on every single day!  Work up to 3 to 5 things on every single day!  It is A-Okay to have the same thing on every day.  I spend time in my coffee corner sipping coffee every day, except for the one day a week I am at the coffee shop.  I have done this with very little variation for at least 7 years.  The variation may be where I made my coffee corner, but I took a moment somewhere to sip coffee and ease into my day. Baby step goal number two is to decide how often you can do a budget-able activity.  Does your budget allow a weekly item from your list?  Or a couple times per month?  Or once a month?  This one can be tough for some of us!  We are telling ourselves stories about how that money can be better spent somewhere else.  It comes down to our worth here.  Try to stretch it a little bit.  YOU ARE WORTH this self-care!  Once you have how often you can add in the budget-able items from your list, get them on the calendar.  It can be something different each week or month....or the same thing.  Build up on this one.  If you start with one thing per month, try to build up to twice a week, then maybe up to once a week. Watch for the stories you tell yourself here.  If I listen to Jamie and "build up" to more and more self-care, pretty soon that's all I will be spending my time and money on.  How selfish and indulgent is that?  It is so funny our brains start to tell us stories about this.  Many of us are coming from a place of not enough self-care but just the idea of ramping it up a bit, we start thinking it is going to get out of control.  Coach yourself here....try to find the balance.  So many times I will ask a client what they do to take care of themselves and they look at me with wide eyes and not have an answer.  So....if you are starting at ZERO self-care, you are out of balance.  What it is going to take to get to be balanced?  Some baby steps and checking in... Oh yeah....baby step goal number three.  This one is fun!  At least ONE of your "Save up for" ideas needs to be in the works!  Pick one and plan for it.  This is so good for you!  Even if it is years in the future, start moving toward it, putting aside some money for it.  Research it, download brochures or pictures from the internet.  Be looking forward to it.  This can boost your mood, according to some neuroscience research.