how to take care of yourself

I was wondering if people might be able to provide tips on self-care? I know it's important to exercise, to eat healthy, to brush your teeth daily, to shower regularly, to keep your room clean, to keep up with laundry, etc..., but all this stuff is quite a hassle and not very enjoyable, and takes up so much time, especially when you can use the same time to do other things that you enjoy. It's very easy to put off these things, like not exercise, eat microwave food, shower less frequently, leave the room messy, wear the same clothes for a few days in a row, etc.... So how do you motivate yourself to put aside doing the things you like, and make yourself do the chores in life?

  • Thanks for sharing! It seems like you are experiencing a lot of success :) Good job for ironing this year.

    I have been thinking about writing my tasks down and going through my days according to plan - I do it sometimes and do find that they help me make sure that I do those tasks - but I guess my personal obstacle is that I find the tasks a burden and don't have the motivation to write them down.  

    I might try a daily planner and see if it helps. When I do write things down, I usually just write my tasks for a week down on a random piece of paper. But having a planner seems nice, as you mention the "collecting data" and "recording things" I quite like as well. It might seem more like accomplishments when you accumulate many completed tasks. 

    Thanks again for sharing your tips. I think this is good advice. I just need to overcome my own laziness and get a start on it.

  • Great question and I fail on all those accounts, daily, so I’m interested in reading any tips and advice offered. Thanks for the question Pray tone3

  • I use a chart.

    I tick off the self-care tasks I complete.

    It doesn't mean they always get done but ticking them off is satisfying.

    It's also nice to see if I'm improving in my quest towards functioning better.

    I also just like "data", "records", "recording things", etc.

    I also use a daily planner and try my best to plan my day in 30 minute time slots. I struggle to plan and initiate full days but I can be real helpful to write things down that I'm going to do even for part of the day and tick them off.

    The planner also helps me to know what I'll manage when so I knew tonight that tomorrow is busy and that showering, washing and drying my hair is exhausting so I planned to do it tonight so I don't need to do it tomorrow. This means tomorrow I can focus on doing the other things I need to rather than wasting the day trying to initiate too many self-care tasks at once and potentially not getting out of the house.

    Tonight I ironed for the first time this year!!! It's been in the planner lots but hasn't happened so it's not 100% successful but my toothbrushing is more consistent for example and all progress is good progress.