How to Create a Self Care Routine Checklist That Works for You

Last Updated on December 8, 2022

It’s no secret that women are constantly juggling a million things at once. Between work, family, and social obligations, it can be hard to find time for ourselves.

That’s why it’s so important to create a self care routine checklist that works for you. If you try to commit to self-care practices that aren’t tailored to you personally, it will be much harder to stick with it and to reap the benefits.

In this blog post, we’ll provide several practical and helpful self-care tips. We’ll discuss the basics of creating a self-care routine, including why it’s essential and how to make sure it fits into your lifestyle. We’ll also provide a free self-care checklist template to help you get started!

What is a Self Care Checklist?

Creating a self care checklist may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be!

To get started, simply identify the key areas of your life that you want to focus on. These could be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Once you’ve identified these areas, you can start brainstorming ideas for how to care for yourself in each one.

For example, if you want to focus on your physical health, you might add “exercise” and “eat healthy” to your checklist. If you’re looking to improve your mental health, you might add “meditate” and “journal.”

 And if you’re hoping to boost your emotional well-being, you might add “spend time with friends” and “do something that makes me happy.” Remember, there’s no wrong way to create a self care routine checklist. The most important thing is that it works for YOU.

Why Is It Important to Have a Self Care Checklist?

Creating a self-care routine checklist is important for a number of reasons. First, it helps to ensure that you are taking care of yourself on a regular basis. When you have a list of tasks that need to be completed each day, week, or month, it is easier to stick to a schedule and make self care a priority.

A self-care routine checklist can help to keep you organized and motivated. Having all of your self care tasks in one place makes it easier to remember to do them, and checking items off of the list can give you a sense of accomplishment.

Finally, a self care checklists can help to keep you accountable. Creating a self care checklist can help to improve your physical and mental health, which can do wonders for your self-confidence and self-esteem!

6 Areas of Self Care to Consider

When it comes to taking care of ourselves, it’s important to consider all aspects of our well-being. This includes our physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, and financial health. By taking a holistic approach to self-care, we can create a more balanced and healthy life.

Here are six areas of self-care to consider:

1. Physical: Taking care of our physical health is essential for overall well-being. This includes eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise, and getting enough sleep.

2. Emotional: It’s also important to take care of our emotional health. This means managing stress in healthy ways, expressing our feelings in positive ways, and maintaining healthy relationships.

3. Spiritual: Connecting with our spirituality can help us find meaning and purpose in life. This might include practices such as meditation, prayer, journaling, or spending time in nature.

4. Intellectual: Stimulating our minds can help us stay sharp and engaged in life. This can be done through activities like reading, learning new things, and engaging in thoughtful conversations.

5. Social: Our social health refers to the quality of our relationships with others. It’s important to have supportive and positive relationships in order to live a happy and fulfilling life.

6. Financial: Finally, it’s important to take care of our financial health. This means creating a budget, staying out of debt, and saving for the future.

What Does Your Current Self Care Look Like?

It can be helpful to sit down and take a good look at your current self-care routine. What are you doing that’s working well? What could you improve on? And what are some self care activities that you’ve been meaning to try but haven’t had a chance to get around to?

Taking stock of where you’re at with self care can be a helpful first step in creating a more intentional and holistic self care routine. And it doesn’t have to be complicated!

Just start by asking yourself a few simple questions. What do I need more of in my life right now? What would make me feel better on a day-to-day basis? What are some small changes I can make that will have a big impact on my overall well-being?

From there, you can start to build out your own personal self care checklist. Not sure where to begin?

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Get adequate sleep each night (7-8 hours is ideal)
• Eat healthy, nourishing meals regularly
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day
• Exercise or move your body in a way that feels good to you
• Spend time outside in nature every day, if possible
• Take breaks throughout the day to de-stress and recharge (this might include things like taking a few deep breaths, reading for pleasure, listening to music, or taking a hot bath)
• Connect with loved ones regularly (in person or via phone/video chat)
• Make time for hobbies and activities that bring you joy

Remember, there is no one perfect way to practice self-care. The most important thing is that you find what works for you and make it a priority in your life.

Daily, Weekly, or Monthly Self Care Routine Checklist?

When you’re creating a self care routine checklist, it can be helpful to decide if you want it to be set up as a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. This will help you determine how often you need to check in with yourself and make sure you’re staying on track.

If you create a daily self-care checklist, you’ll need to be more diligent about checking off each task every day. But this level of accountability can also be very motivating.

If you opt for a weekly self care checklist, you’ll have more flexibility in how you complete each task, but you’ll still need to make sure you’re making time for self care every week.

And if you choose a monthly self-care checklist, you can focus on larger goals and leave some room for flexibility.

Ultimately, the type of schedule you choose should be based on what works best for you and your lifestyle. But regardless of which route you choose, having a self care routine checklist can be a great way to hold yourself accountable and make sure you’re taking care of yourself.

More Examples to Help You Get Started

Physical self-care

When it comes to our self care journey, physical activities are often some of the first things that come to mind. And for good reason – taking care of our bodies is an important part of living a healthy and balanced life. However, with our hectic schedules, it can be easy to let physical self care fall by the wayside. To help you make sure that you’re giving your body the attention it deserves, we’ve created a checklist of physical self care activities to consider adding to your routine.

Exercise: Taking some time out for a daily workout can do wonders for your energy levels, mood, and overall health. Even just a quick walk around the block can make a difference.

Healthy eating: Eating healthy foods helps to give your body the nutrients it needs to function at its best. Make sure to include a nutritious breakfast, and plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet.

Proper sleep: Getting enough sleep is crucial for both physical and mental health. Most adults need 7-8 hours per night.

Regular doctor appointments: Keeping up with regular doctor appointments helps to ensure that any health issues are caught early on.

Emotional self-care

Taking care of your body is important, but you can’t forget about your mental health, too. Here are some examples of emotional self-care to add to your routine:

Schedule time for yourself every day. Whether it’s 10 minutes or an hour, make sure you have some time set aside each day to do something for yourself. This can be reading, taking a bath, writing in a journal, or anything else that brings you joy.

Reach out to your friends and family. Social interaction is important for our mental health. Make sure you stay in touch with your loved ones, even if it’s just through text or social media.

Do something new. Trying new things can help us feel more alive and can be a great way to reduce stress. Pick something that sounds fun and give it a shot!

Make time for relaxation. Relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation can help to ease anxiety and promote peace of mind. Give yourself some time each day to relax and de-stress.

Spiritual self-care

Spiritual self-care is anything that helps you connect with God. It can be something as simple as taking a few deep breaths and saying a quick prayer or meditation. Or, it could be something more involved like attending weekly religious services or going on a retreat.

The important thing is to find what works for you and to make it a part of your routine. Here are a few examples of spiritual self-care to get you started:

Set aside time each day for prayer or meditation. Even just five minutes can make a difference!

Read religious or spiritual texts that inspire you.

Connect with nature – go for a walk in the park or spend time in your backyard. Pay attention to the beauty around you and take time to appreciate it.

Spend time with people who share your beliefs. This could be attending religious services together, participating in a small group at church, attending a regular Bible study, or simply talking about your faith with friends or family members.

Give back to others. One way to experience true joy is by helping those in need. Whether you volunteer at a local soup kitchen or donate money to a worthy cause, giving back is always good for the soul.

Intellectual self-care

To create a self care routine that meets your needs, it’s important to consider all aspects of your well-being. In addition to physical and emotional self-care, it’s also essential to nurture your intellectual side.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Read something for pleasure every day. Make time for a book, magazine, or even just a few pages of a new author or genre.

2. Expand your mind with new experiences. Visit a museum, take a cooking class, or join an online discussion group on a topic that interests you.

3. Keep your brain active with puzzles and games. Work on a challenging crossword puzzle, play Sudoku, or compete in online trivia contests with friends.

4. Make time for creative expression. Whether you enjoy painting, writing, or another form of art, allow yourself some time each day to explore your creativity.

By making intellectual self care a priority, you can help yourself stay sharp, engaged, and inspired. When creating your self care routine checklist, be sure to add activities that nourish your mind as well as your body and soul.

Social self-care

Here are some examples of social self care you can add to your routine: 

• Stay in touch with friends and family. Social connection is key to a healthy mind and body, so make sure to schedule time for the people you love. Whether it’s planning a weekly girls’ night or just scheduling a regular check-in call with your mom, staying connected will do wonders for your well-being.

• Make time for your hobbies. Doing things you enjoy is not only fun, but it’s also great for your mental health. Dedicate some time each week to pursuing your hobbies, whether it’s playing tennis, painting, or biking.

• Get involved in your community. From volunteering to attending local events, there are countless ways to get involved in your community. Not only will you feel good about giving back, but you’ll also meet new people and have fun in the process.

Financial self-care

One important, but often overlooked, part of self care is financial self care. It’s easy to get so caught up in the day-to-day that we forget to take care of our long-term financial health.

Here are a few things to consider as you create your own self care routine checklist:

Are you contributing to a retirement account? If not, now might be a good time to start. Even if you can only afford to contribute a small amount each month, it will add up over time.

Do you have an emergency fund? Every household should have savings set aside in case of unexpected expenses. If you don’t have an emergency fund, start working on building one up as soon as possible.

Do you have any debt? If so, how much and what kind? Debt can be stressful, so it’s important to develop a plan for paying it off. Whether you want to pay off your debt as quickly as possible or focus on the debts with the highest interest rates first, make sure you’re making progress each month.

Are your bills up to date? Late fees and interest charges can add up quickly, so it’s important to stay on top of your bills. Set up autopay if possible, or create a budget so you know exactly how much needs to be set aside each month for bills.

Taking care of your finances is an important part of taking care of yourself. By incorporating financial self care into your routine, you can reduce stress and build a solid foundation for your future.

Your Self Care Routine Checklist

Are you ready to start pondering, planning, and creating your own checklist for self care? Yes, my friend, it is essential to your long-term ongoing health and well-being!

Here is a template I created, and you can use that to first help you determine what is most important to you personally, then help you take that information, those self-care goals, and transfer them to a checklist you can use regularly.

Once you have access to this checklist and download it, updating as your life and needs change is quite simple.

Final Thoughts: A Self Care Routine Checklist

I’m not gonna lie. Regular self care is work. It’s almost like a part-time job. But it is so worth it when you feel good, whole, and complete, inside and out.

Don’t wait another day, my friend. Create that self-care routine today!