Self-Care – When it Becomes Just Another To-do List Item

“You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

“Put your oxygen mask on first before you assist others.”

There are so many different quotes out there about self-care and the importance of self-care. Taking time to care for ourselves is important and sometimes I feel like it becomes just another thing to do on my task list. 

It becomes a chore, which makes me less likely to want to do it. 

So what do we do when even self-care becomes a burden? 

1. Take it off your task list – If your routines have become too tasky, it probably is not helping you in the same way it once did. For now, take it off your to-do list. 

2. Call it something else – Sometimes I need a reframe and instead of calling some self-care I will call it rest, rejuvenation, downtime, a break, a pause, etc. Thinking about the activity in relation to what I will receive from it when I give myself that time. 

3. Disconnect it from other tasks – We love to be busy and one of the ways that we make ourselves busy is through multitasking, if I combine these two things then I cross them both off the list. Question for you, does your phone recharge faster when you are on it and running several different apps or when you set it down, close all the apps, and put it on airplane mode? Your body and your mind will also recharge faster and more effectively when you stop all the other things and focus only on the rest. 

4. Try something new – I think that there can be a very fine line between burnout and boredom. And we can get bored with our recovery practices. So, when your self-care becomes a “have to” instead of a “want to” try a new tactic. Love the dance party but are  not feeling your music, try a new playlist. Feeling bored with your afternoon walk, try a different time of the day or a new route. If your morning journal feels like a chore, try listening to mediation or an uplifting podcast instead. 

5. Try something you haven’t done in a long time – As our recovery process evolves we change how we approach our burn events. Try going back to something that you found to be helpful a few months or a year ago, but haven’t tried in a while. It could be something that became tasky so you moved on, try reintroducing it into your life. 

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