I always knew I wanted to do a monthly blogging update and income report. I also knew I wanted to do it from the beginning, long before I ever earned a penny. I wanted to give people a real picture of what online business and blogging are like for most people before all the blood, sweat, and tears pay off.
Income reports have been so helpful to me. They’ve been a great way for me to learn from the mistakes of others. So I also knew I wanted to include my goals, successes, and pitfalls along the way. I knew I wanted these monthly posts to be jam-packed with helpful content for anyone even thinking about starting a blogging or online business journey.
But this website and community is about so much more than thriving financially. It’s about taking care of ourselves in every way. So I decided to do a monthly self-care check-in to complement my monthly blogging reports. Because it’s equally important to take care of ourselves in all the other facets of our lives too. And that’s definitely not an easy feat!
Another reason I want to start doing a monthly self care check-in is to focus on the positive. Not in some ostrich stick-my-head-in-the-sand and avoid reality kind of way. I just mean that self-care can often feel like another thing on our to-do list. Another thing we’re failing at.
I want these monthly blog posts to be a reminder to focus on all the ways you have taken care of yourself recently. All the self-care practices you may not even realize you’ve got in place. And selfishly, they will kind of force me to do the same.
Categories
My thinking right now is that I will share short and sweet self-care wins in different categories. The hope is you get some ideas for yourself. (And that you’ll share some of yours with me too!)
These are the categories I have in mind. I probably won’t fit all of them in every single month, and I’ll probably tweak them, but it’s a starting point.
They are not in any specific order.
- Diet- not the lose weight kind, just the what I put in my mouth kind
- Movement
- Work
- Business
- Play
- Rest and Sleep
- Finances
- Socialization
Although I aim to focus on the positive, I’d also like to add a reflection at the end of each monthly self-care check-in:
What I’d like to start doing, stop doing, and keep doing. I want to see if this short, easy reflection could be a beneficial, little practice for me and my readers.
So here goes! Here are some of my self-care wins for the month of February.
Diet
I’ve been trying to lower my sugar intake since late last year. While my sugar-free campaign was less than successful, I think I have lowered my sugar intake to some small degree. But rather than continuing to beat myself over the head with something that wasn’t working, I decided to change where I put my attention.
Instead of focusing on what not to have, I’ve decided to add in more fruits and vegetables. I try to eat a salad or have veggies before at least one meal a day. And I’ve started eating more fruit, often for dessert.
The funny thing is I think this has actually curbed my sugar cravings a bit. And it feels much better than trying to force myself NOT to do something. I think I’ll be sticking with this!
Movement
There has not been much physical movement in my life these days. (Besides the 10,000 steps I get each work day from being an elementary school teacher.)
Increasing this has been another goal I did not accomplish. And I’m okay with that.
My partner and I had set a goal to go to the gym for even a 15 minute video class at least 2-3 times a week. It didn’t happen.
I’ve decided to accept that the winter months are slower, heartier, busier, rounder months for me and go with that flow.
I know I will naturally start to get outdoors, move my body more, and have more energy as the sun peeks out and sticks around more and more.
(I’m noticing a theme around being gentle with myself, and I’m loving it! Especially since this wasn’t always the case.)
Work
The gentle with myself theme continues.
I constantly feel like I’m drowning at work. The alternative is to stress myself out and kill myself trying to meet impossible demands. Been there. Done that.
10 out of 10 do not recommend. 10 out of 10 am NOT doing that again.
So constantly feeling behind and judged and getting more and more okay with that is the lesser of two not great choices for me.
Business
I’ve let go of other people’s expectations here as well.
You have to put in 10 plus hours a week.
You have to post content every day.
You have to
You have to
You have to
Having the world of information about blogging and online business at my fingertips is amazing. But it can also be exhausting to feel like you have to follow everyone’s advice. You don’t.
There’s more than one path to success.
If it’s a path that burns you out…
That’s. Not it.
Play
Being in a relationship has been good for me. It’s kind of forced me to put my to-do lists aside once in a while and make time to play and do fun things. We don’t go out and do anything crazy, but it motivates me to go to the movies, go out to dinner, and explore places I otherwise probably would not have.
I’d like to do more of these things on my own or with others as well, but for now I’m just glad I have someone that helps me to laugh and have fun once in a while, even during the crazy school year.
Rest and Sleep
I have to say I’ve always been pretty good at prioritizing my rest and sleep. I will forgo fun before I get behind in relaxing and resting.
Unfortunately, the last couple years of my life have come with bouts of insomnia, which is new for me, and horrible. I’m pretty sure it’s anxiety induced, and it probably doesn’t help that I haven’t been getting outside and walking in the sunshine recently.
But I have started a new mediation practice. I spend 5-10 minutes (usually 5) before bed, doing a short guided meditation. My favorite source is the YouTube channel Great Meditations. They really do have great meditations of varying lengths and types.
At one point, I would sometimes watch a short video from Therapy in a Nutshell before bed, often from her anxiety playlist. Her voice is just so soothing, and her content is so actionable and well-explained.
Social
I’ve been in a new city with few family members for less than a year, and I have struggled to make social connections. Besides finding the time and social energy to put myself out there, it’s just been difficult. In previous cities, I’ve had success with Meetup, but my current city just doesn’t have many groups I’m interested in.
I also tried Bumble BFF, but the women I encountered turned out to be very flaky. I did have one pretty decent hiking date, but she and I just didn’t click enough to hang out again.
I also joined a couple of local Facebook groups, and so far I am having a bit more luck with those. I even went to a networking meetup for women who work fulltime and have a business on the side. I had a great time and it was nice to meet women I relate to.
I have also gone for a couple walks with a Facebook walking group, and that has been fun and refreshing as well.
If you are having a hard time making friends in a new city, or just as an adult, hang in there and keep trying!
I do think it’s important that we all have a village.
What I’d Like to Start Doing, Stop Doing, and Keep Doing
Start
I’d like to start being more mindful about what I eat and moving more as well!
Stop
I can’t say there’s much I’d stop doing at this point. Like I mentioned above, I’m focusing on being gentle with myself, so my habit goals are more focused on what I am doing and would like to do more of. That approach just works better for me than being hard on myself.
Keep
This is the most important part! I urge you to take a moment to reflect on how you are already taking care of yourself!
You might be pleasantly surprised to find out that you are doing more for yourself than you think. I know that’s what happened to me once my brain went down this pathway. So I’ll just give you four of the best things I’ve done for myself this month.
- I made enough time for sleep and rest.
- I stopped shoulding on myself about eating too much sugar.
- I added in more fruits and veggies to my diet.
- I made time to enjoy my life.
Keep taking care of you! You deserve it just as much as anyone else. Maybe more! 💕
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