Self-care is something that I am not great at. Like many of us, I tend to put my own care at the bottom of the pile, below my family, work, home and so on. But I know that this isn’t good for me or for the people around me, so I am determined to make more of an effort to improve this going forward. Me being me, I know that if I add self-care to my bullet journal, I am more likely to take the time for it and focus on it. As such, I have put together some Self-Care Journal Prompts You Should Try Today, sharing with you the additions that I’m making to my bullet journal.
I believe that by just having a journal, it’s contributing to your self-care. It is a place to take time out and do whatever you want with it. That might be unleashing some of your creativity, it might be looking back and reviewing things, it might be making lists – fun or productive. In all cases, it’s a space for you, which is why my self-care starts with simply keeping a bullet journal, though any type of journal works. Go with whichever method suits you and then take these prompts from there.
List Your Me-Time Activities. You might want to make these into quick fixes, so 10 minute activities, or any and everything that you know that lifts your mood. I have added a me-time collection to my journal, thinking about those things that I know pick me up and relax me. Those things that balance me out and make me feel like I’ve had a moment to myself.
Use a Mood Tracker. This can be so simple to add in, I pop mine to the side of my daily to-dos at the end of each day. I tend to use a word, but a little emoji or stickers, or perhaps colours could work for you. By recognising my mood, it prompts me to further think about why this might be and what I can do to either lift it or sustain it.
Stress Busters. Have you ever stopped and recognised your stress points? Can you recognise your triggers and feel it building? It’s useful to do this and then jot them down and then have a think about what helps to get rid of that stress. It can be an enlightening process.
Create collections based around self-discovery questions. I found this post which is full of great questions and will really make you think. These can form your prompts, perhaps take one to complete each week, as I’ll be doing.
Choose a Word of the Week. Regular readers will know that I write a weekly post here on the blog with this title. It can be so helpful to look back and reflect upon your week like this. it’s a chance to stop and really think about it, so a good one to add in to your journal.
Build Self-Care Into Daily Habits. An easy one to add in here would be about basic self-care, perhaps adding in water intake trackers on your daily lists, sleep trackers or what you’ve eaten. Self-care for the body at its fundamental levels.
The Declutter Hit List! If you’re anything like me, a decluttered home helps to declutter my mind. So yes, this absolutely fits into self-care for me. I have created a list of areas/rooms that need my attention, and then as I am setting up my task list for the coming month, I choose one thing from it to tackle. This works in two ways as it means I make progress with something monthly and the list is at hand so I just grab something from it, and it also means that I stick to choosing just one monthly rather than pushing myself and trying to tackle a dozen projects – that’d be counter-productive and really stress me out!
Make a Smile List. What makes you smile? What are the little things? Take the time out to note them down and then call on them whenever you need them.
Add a gratitude log to your daily spread or add it in monthly form. Stop and think about three things at the end of each day that you are grateful for and note them down. This is such a powerful habit, perhaps read Why A Gratitude Journal Is The Happiest Notebook You Will Ever Own for more details around this idea.
Monthly Review. A lot of bullet journals use monthly review spreads, and it’s one that I wouldn’t be without. Reflecting back on the month often makes me stop and appreciate things I might have overlooked or taken for granted. I have mine covering areas such as memories, health, achievements, studying, gardening and the outdoors, books I’ve loved and more. I enjoy completing this each month, and I think there’s a real value in doing it.
I find that by building some of these ideas into my journal, I am more likely to do them, to think about them and reflect and to make time for me. For me, it works that I build them in like this as it moves them into priority territory, and not just things to do if ever I have any spare time, because really, who has spare time?
What other prompts do you include in your journal for helping you to prioritise self-care?
If you’ve yet to journal, you might like to read Getting Started with a Bullet Journal or take a look at my Planner Love Pinterest board for inspiration. Something is sure to take your fancy there!
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