My self-care toolbox

I read this great article about self-care the other day and liked the idea of the “self-care toolbox”. So I decided to make one for myself.

I have a collection of things I do to make myself feel better when I feel down, but I’ve never explicitly made a list of them. The article makes a good point about this:

Having a list of options readily available is hugely helpful because when you really need self-care, you may not have the capacity to think about what you need.

A list didn’t feel particularly creative or inspiring though, and I suspect that I would always gravitate towards the same things. So, instead, I have chosen to write them down on pieces of folded paper and have popped them into a pot so that I can reach for one when I feel I need it. The idea is that I pick a random suggestion from a list of things I think help. There are 15 different ideas in there at the moment, and I have blanks so that I can add to the toolbox as I learn more about what helps. I’ve tried to make them all have a low barrier to entry and to be free or cheap. So, theoretically, I can just pick one out and do it.

Here are some of the activities that are in there:

I don’t know whether this will be effective for me or not, but it didn’t take a lot of effort to set up. The early part of February is often a challenge, so I suspect I’ll know if it works or not in a month or two’s time. At the moment, though, I find the little pot sitting on a shelf next to me as I type this oddly reassuring. And that can only be a good thing.